Looking out her bay window, Gail Dufrene spotted what appeared to be a cat in her back yard, and then she took a closer look.
“I got out my binoculars and then saw the ears,” Dufrene said. “My husband said it was a bobcat or lynx.”
Those curled ears could be seen in the photo she snapped of it with her phone camera and then posted to Facebook. But it doesn’t reveal whether the cat has a bob tail or not.
“I just wanted to alert the neighbors about what’s going on,” Dufrene said.
She watched as the animal stayed in her yard for nearly 30 minutes.
Her neighbor came over to take a look, too, and the cat didn’t seem fazed by him. Dufrene also notified her neighbor with a Yorkie, as well as people with dogs that should keep them indoors.
“It just got up and walked away,” said Dufrene, which she took as a sign that the cat was familiar with the place and being around people. “It acted like it was after the squirrels in my bird feeder.”
The cat remained poised at the feeder until it spotted another squirrel nearby and went after it, she observed. But that squirrel ran up a tree.
The area’s wooded areas apparently serve as habitat for the animal, Dufrene said.
Some neighbors seemed concerned about what appears to be a bobcat staying in their area, but others say they don’t want it hurt or killed.
“There were wild rabbits back there, but I’ve haven’t seen any lately,” she said. “I’m thinking the big cat is eating rabbits and squirrels.”
Dufrene has also seen coyotes in the area, but observed they tend to stay closer to the woods.
“I wouldn’t want to see the pretty cat euthanized,” she said.
Melba Richard, who also lives in Bayou Gauche, said some neighbors have placed traps to catch the cat, but it’s evaded them. She would prefer to see the animal relocated rather than killed.
Bobcat sightings have been reported to the St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter, although none have been brought to the shelter.
“He is very bold,” Richard said. “He comes out during the day, but never at the same place.”
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