After DNA testing can't determine suspected runaway bobcat's father, judge orders it returned

STAFFORD, N.J. – A judge has returned a 38-pound feline to a New Jersey woman after DNA testing couldn't conclusively say whether it was a purebred bobcat.

The Asbury Park Press reports (http://on.app.com/1oA0Am1) that Municipal Court Judge Damian Murray ruled Friday that Ginny Fine can regain custody of 38-pound Rocky. A DNA test found that the cat's mother was 98 percent bobcat, but couldn't determine its father's lineage.

Fine would not have been able to get the cat back without a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection if it was a purebred bobcat.

Rocky has been held since April 7 at Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey after it went missing for 12 days from Fine's home.

Fine pleaded guilty to letting the animal get loose and was fined $1,000.

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Information from: Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, http://www.app.com