Hi Joan -

Bobcats aren't all that uncommon, although they're a lot easier to see on
the 'dry' side of the mountains, where the vegetation doesn't hide them as
well as on the 'wet' side.

Bobcats will and do kill small pets! Where I grew up (Willamette Valley),
bobcats probably ate as many of our friend's cats as did the coyotes. When
I worked down at Malheur NWR, a young male bobcat spent several weeks near
the HQ just about the time that the Robins were fledging. He was fattening
up pretty well on young, dumb juvie robins, but that didn't keep him from
trying to catch the 'boot-dog' of one of the Refuge volunteers - the dog was
about 1/2 the size of the 'cat, and only escaped by judicious intervention
of a couple of us....

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net


Joan wrote:
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 22:35:38 EST

After 19 years of living in this house on two acres on the Sammamish Plateau
(no, we haven't moved yet!) around noon yesterday we saw a BOBCAT chase a
squirrel up a tree right outside our kitchen window!! Over the years we've
seen raccoons, opposums, deer and one coyote but this is the first time
we've
seen a BOBCAT. Got to wondering what they normally eat. Like most cats, do
they catch birds? Obviously they'll try for squirrel. Boy, was it fast! It
went up the tree like a shot! There's been so much development up here but
we still have 30 undeveloped acres behind me, I'm beginning to think all the
wildlife is living back there as I see many more critters now than I did
when
I first moved here. I read about cougar sightings occasionally in the
newspaper. Maybe because they're smaller and less dangerous, bobcats don't
get as much attention? Would they kill a small pet? Are they rare? Just
wondering .............Joan Macdonald