A clowder of cats

Lincoln resident Theresa Proff raises a variety of animals on her property, most notably bobcats and African cats.

Proff bought her first bobcat after she got married and moved to Montana from Alaska in 2011.

"I've been a cat lover all my life. We had an opportunity to buy a bobcat kitten from a breeder in Arkansas, so that was the start," she said.

The bobcat, Lakota, is now eight years old. "I got another bobcat kitten from a breeder in Montana," said Proff. His name is Tundra, and he's now four years old.

Proff had always wanted an African cat, but they weren't legal in Alaska. "You have to check and make sure you're permitted. When we were in Great Falls, before we were divorced and moved to Lincoln, we had to go to every neighbor on the front and back and both sides to get their permission to have Lakota. Apparently, we were the first ones to do it legally in 18 years. Now I'm out of town, so it's much easier," Proff said.

Recently, she was able to finally add African cats to her family of animals.

"I had the opportunity to buy a serval from the same breeder I got Lakota from," said Proff. "Then another serval, then two caracals." Proff said.

Servals are medium-sized African wild cats, weighing up to about 40 pounds, with "tawny, black-spotted coats and long necks and long legs that allow them to see over savanna grasses," according to the African Wildlife Foundation. They have large ears and tend to live on savannas.

Caracals are another African wild cat and have "a sleek, streamlined body, short, reddish gold coat and dramatic markings on the face," according to the San Diego Zoo. They are similar in size and likely closely related to servals, and live in the dry climates of Africa and the Middle East. Their ears feature long, black tufts called tassels, which may help them camouflage or communicate with other caracals.

She's also got "two Bengal cats and a whole bunch of domestics."

Bengal cats are a breed of domestic cat with distinctive spots that look like the markings of larger breeds, like jaguars or ocelots, according to the Cat Fanciers' Association.

The personality of the larger cats varies strongly by breeder, said Proff.

"The two I got from Arkansas are very social, Lakota and Xena, the serval," she said. "Unfortunately, my little bobcat male had an accident when he was about six months old and he had to go the vet a lot, and he doesn't like people at all. One of the caracals is very social. He came from a nice breeder in Kentucky. The other caracal was not socialized at all and not fed properly. That's the difference in breeders. You have to be very careful, I'm learning."

The large cats require specific diets. "You have to supplement their meat. They eat raw meat only, because they're not in the wild and they don't get all that they need. I got the breed for the meat goats for supplementing the bobcats and big cats," said Proff, who raised Boer goats."I buy a lot of chicken from Winco and then I have a lot of friends that give me their carcasses from hunting. Once in a while I'll get a good road kill. And then I'm raising three calves, and then I raised six pigs this summer."

"I did get a lot of help and I bartered a pig here and there for help," said Proff. "Bartering is just the best way to go."

The cats also require considerable space to move about. "They have outside enclosures. I'm hoping to expand them next summer, I just ran out of time and money. They like to run; especially the servals. They're really fast. They're quite the cat. They're awesome pets, if you know what you're getting into. You have to know what you're getting into, because it's not at all like a domestic cat."

In addition to caring for the animals, Proff makes soap and lotion from the goat milk. She even switched to raising Toggenburg goats because their milk has a higher fat content, which she prefers for soaps and lotions."I watched a lot of YouTube videos because I had never done it before, but I had all this goats' milk, and it's really fun. As soon as my goats freshen in the spring, I'll start that again. Now I've got a building outside that I'll use just for the soaps and lotions.

She also has a hive of bees and harvested her first honey this year.

"There's quite a good market for beeswax. It's fun. I'm a homebody, so it's just neat to do all this stuff at home,"Proff said.

She also raises corgis and says she's expecting two litters next month.

Proff said sometimes people ask: "Why do I have so many animals? You know, it's just a passion."