Lamia, the bobcat kitten, has been euthanized

Despite public outcry and the pleadings of one Springfield woman, a 3-week-old bobcat kitten was euthanized Wednesday.

It's unclear if Lamia had rabies — lab results will be available within a day or so — but a Springfield-Greene County Health Department spokeswoman said state law mandates the animal be euthanized and tested.

The woman who had been taking care of Lamia said there was no indication the kitten had rabies.

"I feel really empty. My heart just hurts," said Georgia Lafita, the woman caring for Lamia. "I feel like somehow I failed her."

Lafita began caring for the bobcat kitten when a man bulldozing his property discovered the kitten and took her to Lafita, who is certified to do wildlife rehabilitation.

The plan was to care for the animal until it was weaned, Lafita said, then send the cat to another animal rescue facility to be paired with another bobcat who would teach it to hunt.

Eventually, Lamia was supposed to be released into the wild, Lafita said. 

But before any of that could happen, the man stuck his hand inside Lamia's cage, Lafita said, and the kitten bit the man's hand, puncturing his skin.

Kathryn Wall, the health department spokeswoman, said Wednesday that wild animals, under state law, cannot be quarantined and that rabies is 100 percent fatal once a person starts exhibiting symptoms.

"We understand that this is an emotional issue for many people, but it is our responsibility to follow the law to protect the public’s health," Wall said.

Lafita said she told the health department that if they wanted to take Lamia away from her, the department would have to send a "SWAT team."

"I get a little impassioned sometimes," she said.

In two separate instances, people were "banging" on her door early Wednesday morning, offering to hide the kitten for her and spare its life.

Lafita turned them down.

A conservation agent took the cat without incident Wednesday morning, Lafita said, adding that she gave the kitten a final bottle before she was taken.

Lafita runs an animal rescue out of her house, where she currently is rehabilitating two beavers, eight skunks, a baby chipmunk, a squirrel, a flying squirrel and — up until Wednesday morning — Lamia, the bobcat.

"I feel the health department considers wildlife disposable," Lafita said. "That their lives don't matter."

Shortly after the bobcat was taken, Lafita said the executive director of the National Bobcat Rescue and Research Center in Texas called and asked if there was any way to help.

“I told them she was already gone,” an emotional Lafita said. “It’s over, and I just hope that this kitten has not died in vain. I hope this is opening the eyes of the powers that be.”

Lafita said a different big cat conservation organization had offered to pay for rabies shots for the man whose hand was bitten, but the man couldn't have the shots because he recently had heart surgery.

She had a simple message for anyone who comes in contact with a bobcat kitten: "Don't handle wildlife."