Yes, they are different, we’ve eliminated them from most of their former range where they’d be preying on the same birds. Bobcats are only slightly larger than house cats, with males averaging 21 lb, I had a cat that topped that. I’ve heard the “think of the birdies!” argument a zillion times, most of the birds my cats ever caught were starlings, an even more destructive invasive species introduced by a numskull who thought America needed to have all the species mentioned in the Bible.
As for 1/4 the longevity, that ridiculous and is maybe true for ferals but not pets. We had a to put down a cat last summer who we rescued as an adult and lived 11 very happy years with us, that cat LOVED the outdoors, and having us idiots who provided a warm house and food. He barely came inside in summer, even when he was circling the bowl he scored a squirrel, and no I’m not worried for the squirrel population.
