Coffee heat rising

7 thoughts on “Hot Cat at the Firehouse”

  2. @ Kerry: It’s not a critter you’d want to try to catch.

    Bobcats, coyotes, and raccoons are common urban wildlife around here. Usually you’ll see bobcats in the suburbs, which abut the desert and function effectively as riparian areas. Coyotes and raccoons come deep into the city, though — they’re often seen in downtown’s Encanto park and walking around central-city neighborhoods.

    Just don’t feed them, tempt them by letting your toy poodle run loose, or harass them, and they usually will go on about their business.

  4. I didn’t know if it was like bears–where they have to get them out of the area and back to the wilderness if they get in an urban environment where they weren’t supposed to be. Raccoons and opossums I’m used to, but not much else.

    The only times I’ve seen a bobcat were probably at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Northwest Trek. My sister never mentioned seeing anything when she was in Arizona.

  5. @ Kerry: I don’t think they pose a risk to humans unless they’re rabid. Obviously, just as with a coyote or a bear, you don’t want to feed them, which can cause them to lose their fear of humans. They certainly keep the feral cat population down, and they’ll make off with a small dog if given the opportunity.

    Because they’re nocturnal, they’re even more elusive than coyotes. Most urban dwellers here have no idea how many coyotes share their space. I imagine urban wildcats are definitely Seldom Seen Smiths.

    One time when I was working at Arizona Highways, not one but two readers sent in photos of a bobcat perched atop a saguaro. At first we thought it was the same animal in the same pose, but then our editor realized the photos had come from two different people, each of whom claimed to have snapped their photo at on a different day. On closer inspection we realized, yes…these were different cacti.

    The two amateur photogs, it develops, were neighbors who lived just a few doors apart. Neither of them knew the other had seen, photographed, and sent pictures of the cat to Highways!

  6. Soooo where is Cassie? (now off to look up what the heck “Seldom Seen Smiths” refers too – jeeze you really ARE a teacher!)

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