Since getting our trail camera, we’ve been able to capture pictures and videos of a variety of animals making their way through our yard. While most of the videos are of Louise (the name we’ve given to our rat-recycling possum), and while we do also get occasional video of the rats themselves (ugh!), we also have picked up the occasional cat.

The cats we’ve seen tend to move fairly quickly - it does seem like they’re just passing through.

The one we’ve seen most often doesn’t look like any of the neighbor cats we recognize, and so we’ve wondered if it’s feral. Here it is poking about:

One time we got video of a cat doing its own rat work. We’re not sure if it’s the same cat that’s pictured above, but we are thankful for its service.

And then, the other night, we captured this video:

Not a great shot, and we had to look at it several times, but it looks to us like we were just visited by a bobcat!

Bobcats (so named because of their short, bobbed tail) are common throughout California, and have adapted to suburban and urban settings. While this video is only of the back end of the cat, you can definitely see how the tail is shorter than the cats in the previous videos. Bobcats prey on rabbits, rodents, raccoons, small deer(!), birds, and reptiles, and are about twice the size of a typical house cat.

We certainly have a variety of rodent meals to provide any bobcat, and are excited to see it in our yard.