Kansas Mammal Atlas

Diet varies seasonally and geographically based on availability of prey. Cottontail rabbits and jackrabbits make up about half of the items in the diet. Deer, mostly fawns and injured adults, also are eaten, especially in areas where deer are heavily hunted or where severe winters and deep snow makes them susceptible to predation. Rodents and birds make up the remainder of the diet. 

In areas where wolves and Cougars occur, they prey on Bobcats. The most common predators today in Kansas are Coyotes and domestic dogs. Other common causes of mortality are trapping and hunting, injuries, starvation, and diseases. 

Bobcats are polygamous, and females are seasonally polyestrous. Females that fail to become pregnant in early spring may come into heat again later in the spring or summer. Most copulations occur from January until July or August, but breeding may take place in any month. Females sometimes breed twice a year, and litters are born after an average gestation period of 63 days. Litter size in Kansas ranges from 1 to 6 (usually 2). The eyes are closed at birth, and they remain so until kittens are from 3 to 11 days old. Only the female is involved in care of young. Nursing lasts two months, and kittens are weaned at three months. The female begins taking the kittens with her when hunting at about three months. At six months, young Bobcats begin hunting alone but remain near the natal den. Dispersal occurs before the mother bears her next litter.