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A bobcat prowling the beach

3 min read

I would have thought “stray cat” and never mentioned it. But when we’d checked into the beach house the day before, the owner mentioned “bobcats,” and with one word, my fears were off and running.

It was our first morning in Melbourne Beach, Fla., and I was sitting on my bed looking out the glass doors at the ocean. An animal sauntered into my peripheral view. At first, I thought it was the smaller of our two sheltie dogs. But no, this was not canine but feline – too large to be a wandering house cat and too wild to be dismissed.

“Bobcat!” I yelled to the others in the house, having lost a few seconds grasping for the word. In all my years, I’d never thought much about a bobcat or even said the word, much less encountered one. And there it was.

It’s jarring to see a bit of the wild so out of context. We can watch a program about wild animals and be fascinated, but being so close elevates things to the exotic.

In the few seconds it took to summon my family, the cat passed from view and into the coconut grove by the patio. None of the others saw the cat, and when I described it, they all raised eyebrows. This included the dogs, which were quietly unaware of the encroaching danger – and here I thought shelties were supposed to be excellent herders.

I looked up photos of bobcats and yes, that’s what I’d seen. Its short, curled tail gave it away. Now, to determine whether we were in any danger. Probably not, said Google, whose many items on “Florida bobcats” offered the old adage they’re more afraid of us than we are of them. And no, they aren’t likely to attack a dog.

Oh, but there was that one case, a few years ago, in which a Florida man had to strangle a bobcat to stop the animal from clawing him to pieces. A freak occurrence, for sure, but it was the one bit of information I took away from my research.

And so there came the edict:

1. Keep the dogs inside or on leashes.

2. Don’t take food onto the patio.

3. Avoid falling asleep while lying on the patio. My family ignored the advice. They were all still operating on the assumption I was wrong about the bobcat.

Well.

As Google will tell you, bobcats are creatures of habit and tend to hunt for food in the morning. At almost the same time the next morning, we were all sitting at the breakfast table when it wandered by.

“Bobcat!” I yelled, and three of the four of us saw it. I’d been vindicated. Nobody else admitted to being worried about the cat, but I noticed a bit less snoozing going on out there after that.

The cat came around once more that week, looking for its breakfast while we had ours. I snapped a photo from my side of the glass, and then, feeling bold, opened the door and stepped out to get a closer shot. He or she – I’ll say she – stopped, turned her head and looked at me. I stepped back inside and shut the door. Maybe she meant no harm, but she’s wild. You never know.

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