Texas Native Cats

On North Texas Giving Day, September 18, please consider donating to Texas Native Cats.

Texas Native Cats is the only Texas-based organization dedicated solely to our state’s wild felines and to telling their stories, so people understand, respect, and value them. And, we hope, appreciate them not only for their beauty, strength, and agility but also for the ecological benefits they provide to us. Whether it’s the neighborhood bobcat that devours rodents, or the elusive mountain lion mostly found in the Trans-Pecos, or the beautiful but endangered ocelot in South Texas, they are all vulnerable due primarily to human-caused perils.  Even the mighty jaguar once claimed Texas as its territory. 

As an all-volunteer organization based in Dallas, our biggest effort is participating in community outreach events where we can explain our cats using various artifacts, such as synthetic cat fur, paw prints, and our taxidermy bobcat. Or perhaps you’ve visited our outreach table in Houston or Austin at area events.  

Nothing is more energizing than engaging with kids at these events. They are so eager to know more and ask questions, and even the shy ones will sometimes speak up. One of our favorite exercises is to play various cat vocalizations and then let the kids determine which of our cats is making the sound. They’re generally better at identifying the cat making the sound than the adults.

Another popular exercise is what we call cat comparison, where we show two images of the same species but ask the audience to determine if the two are from the same or a different cat. The youngsters quickly grasp that the coat pattern is what makes one cat distinct from the other. It gets challenging, however, with a cat like a mountain lion since the adults are a solid color with typically no visual distinctions in the coat.  

Whether it’s outreach, presentations, guest speakers, or our TEKS-aligned mountain lion education program, Texas Native Cats strives to be the voice of our diverse wild cats. We’ve reached over 2800 Texans this year through our programs, and your contribution will help us continue to expand our reach to other parts of the state, enhance the programs we currently operate, and implement new projects.

Donate through September 18 on NorthTexasGivingDay.org. On behalf of our cats, thank you.