Females are more territorial than males. Both sexes mark their territory with urine or other body wastes and secretions. Bobcats are active at twilight and through the night. Their diet consists primarily of rabbits, but they also eat birds, rodents, and occasionally young deer. Bobcats mate in late winter or early spring.
Females make dens under logs, in thickets, or in hollow trees.
They normally give birth to 2 to 3 kittens at a time. The young remain with their mother 9 to 12 months before becoming independent. Bobcats live 12 to 13 years in the wild and up to twice that in captivity. People trap bobcats for their pelts. However, hunting and trade of the bobcat is regulated, and the species is protected in some parts of its range.