So a bobcat walks into a bar..

This bobcat had been seen and reported all day long as it made it's way across town through residential and commercial areas. There was obviously something wrong with it and the logical thing was rabies. The police got there and dealt with it. I doubt very much if the local animal control person is equipped to capture a bobcat and Game and Fish wasn't there to take control. Locals weren't upset that it was shot, more shaking heads that it took that many shots to hit a cornered animal. A block wall surrounds part of the property so they weren't shooting up the neighborhood.

I've seen one bobcat in the wild here, it was hiding under some brush 40 yards off but got nervous and busted out and went away from the dog and I as fast as it could go. That's normal bobcat behavior.
 
Because they don't approach people. I grew up on a small farm. If a fox comes up to you, its sick and most likely rabid. Same thing for bobcats, feral cats, raccoons, etc. They just won't come up to you like that.
Had a raccoon attack a basketball I rolled at it one morning,was hanging around the house,walking like it was drunk.My neighbor shot it.I promise it was rabid.
 
Raccoons that walk like they’re drunk may be just that, drunk. Come Fall when any uneaten berries have long fermented, it’s not unusual to see a raccoon here and there with an unsteady gait. Unfortunately for those ‘inebriated’ critters they lose their inhibitions and approach humans as rabid ones will. As a result, well, you know how that story ends.
 
Last edited:
Mr. Spasm, with all due respect, I don't accept that reply. I grew up on the swamp and bayou. We had ALL kinds of wild creatures. If a gator or snake approached me, I would try to catch it! If I wanted it for its hide or meat, then I would shoot it. I did A LOT of that. Snake hides bring decent money. Gator meat is VERY tasty. Their hides make for very good money.
I guess me getting upset about the Wildcat being shot is, I look at it as a cat. And, I love cats. No disrespect towards you Sir.

Reptiles cannot get rabies because rabies is a disease that affects only warm-blooded animals. If a snake or gator approaches you, that's likley curiosity, protecting young, hunger or such driving it to the behavior.

When a wild warm-blooded animal (one that typically evades human contact) acts out of character for the species by approaching humans and acting "wierd", it's a very safe bet it's rabid. Rabid animals become very dilusional and agressive.

Bobcats are wild and generally VERY elusive. They are not small (relative to a house cat) and have a lot of potential to harm a person with an attack, and rabies driving that behavior is a darn good reason to shoot it. As explained by others, shooting it makes sense for these reasons:
- it's a humane end to an otherwise horrible slow, continued death; no animal with untreated rabies is going to survie - you're doing it a favor by shooting it
- it allows for recovery of the animal corpse to confirm diagnosis; this allows accurate treatment of any infected other animals (pets, humans)
- it stops that individual animal cycle from infecting other wild animals
Sometimes, death makes sense, like it or not.

As for drunk animals, that does happen to 'coons, birds, squirrels, deer, etc. But a drunk 'coon doesn't act in the same manner as a rabid 'coon. Drunk animals are rarely agressive; rabid ones are nearly always agressive. Rabid animals foam at the mouth in advanced stages; drunk animals may drool, but don't froth. Drunk animals still exhibit their natural tendencies, albiet with the typical physical challenges; rabid animals will act out of character for the species. In my LEO career, I've had to dispatch a variety of animals for a variety of reasons, including rabid behavior. It's not that hard to discern a rabid one from a drunk one.
 
Last edited:
Reptiles cannot get rabies because rabies is a disease that affects only warm-blooded animals. If a snake or gator approaches you, that's likley curiosity, protecting young, hunger or such driving it to the behavior.

When a wild warm-blooded animal (one that typically evades human contact) acts out of character for the species by approaching humans and acting "wierd", it's a very safe bet it's rabid. Rabid animals become very dilusional and agressive.

Bobcats are wild and generally VERY elusive. They are not small (relative to a house cat) and have a lot of potential to harm a person with an attack, and rabies driving that behavior is a darn good reason to shoot it. As explained by others, shooting it makes sense for these reasons:
- it's a humane end to an otherwise horrible slow, continued death; no animal with untreated rabies is going to survie - you're doing it a favor by shooting it
- it allows for recovery of the animal corpse to confirm diagnosis; this allows accurate treatment of any infected other animals (pets, humans)
- it stops that individual animal cycle from infecting other wild animals
Sometimes, death makes sense, like it or not.

As for drunk animals, that does happen to 'coons, birds, squirrels, deer, etc. But a drunk 'coon doesn't act in the same manner as a rabid 'coon. Drunk animals are rarely agressive; rabid ones are nearly always agressive. Rabid animals foam at the mouth in advanced stages; drunk animals may drool, but don't froth. Drunk animals still exhibit their natural tendencies, albiet with the typical physical challenges; rabid animals will act out of character for the species. In my LEO career, I've had to dispatch a variety of animals for a variety of reasons, including rabid behavior. It's not that hard to discern a rabid one from a drunk one.
This is true. I also had a great deal of similar experiences. One of the characteristics that differentiates a rabid one from a drunk one, aside from being aggressive, was their coats. Rabid animals often lose their desire to groom themselves and had matted, dirty and unkempt fur.
 
Hey, in today's world, angst and anger is all the exercise many get!

Friends went to a largely uninhabited house for vacation and their dog came whimpering out of the bushes with a young bobcat holding on to its muzzle. The daughter kicked the young cat and it scurried off. There was no subsequent sighting of either parent or young again.

They theorized the youngster was old enough for Momma to have gone off hunting, feeling 'confident' there was no thread (empty, quiet house).
The kicked youngster went off and whenever Momma returned the now inhabited house caused them to relocate.
 
Back
Top