Discouraging Bobcats from Bobcat Behavior coming into your yard cont’d Precautions for your Pets

Here's how you can protect your pets from bobcats Try these tactics: and other wild animals:

 Use noise and/or motion-activated deterrents to  Always walk your dog on a leash. make a bobcat uncomfortable.  Always keep pets vaccinated as some wild- life are susceptible to diseases transmissible to  Try an air horn or motion-activated sprinkler; bang dogs and cats, i.e. feline panleukopenia (feline pot lids together, or put a radio outside set to a parvo), canine distemper, and rabies. news or talk channel.  Take steps to ensure you are not attracting predators to your yard – clean up brushy areas  Clear any excess vegetation to remove secluded or woodpiles, and remove any food sources. hiding spots.  Do not allow cats to roam free outdoors. Some cities have laws against free-roaming cats.  Do not leave pet food or water outside when your Cats prey on many wildlife species, i.e. song- pet is indoors. birds, face many dangers outside, and can attract predatory wildlife to your yard, as well.  Pick fruit from trees as soon as it ripens and pick up  Avoid bushy areas or paths near abandoned all fallen fruit. properties.  If you notice a coyote or bobcat in your Bobcats are indigenous to the Verdugo Mountains  If you feed the birds or squirrels, ensure there is no area, never let it go by without scaring it. Yell and sightings of them in adjacent residential areas overflowing bird seed on the ground to attract or clap loudly to scare wildlife away; carry rodents at night, or restrict feeding. Bobcats can something with you to make noise, i.e. an air are not uncommon. be attracted to the squirrels and birds that come to horn, or something to throw, like a rock or our yards to feed. baseball. In the long run it’s much safer for us, Bobcats do not attack people. In fact, bobcat attacks our pets, and the wildlife as well – if they remain  Use fencing to deter bobcats. Fencing must be at fearful of humans. are virtually unknown; however, no one should least six feet high with the bottom extending 6-12  Never encourage or allow your pet to inter- ever attempt to touch or handle a wild bobcat or inches below ground level. Add an angle at the act or “play” with wildlife. top facing outward at 45 degrees, and 16 inches in her kittens. Bobcats weigh between 15-40 pounds.  Make sure your fence is in good repair. width. Carnivore biology studies show that carnivores in  Do not leave pets unattended outdoors. this weight range take prey that is much smaller  Do not leave small pets outdoors unattended or in  Remove food sources, i.e. fallen fruit, food refuse, pet food. than they are. a poorly-enclosed yard.  Small mammals such as opossums, raccoons, and skunks, are not a threat to domestic pets. In Burbank Animal Shelter  If you have chickens or fowl, ensure they are put fact, it is usually the other way around, as such 1150 N. Victory Place animals are often the victims of dog attacks. up at night. Burbank, CA 91502

Phone: 818-238-3340 Fax: 818-238-3346 E-mail: [email protected] What do Bobcats eat? Why not trap and relocate Address the factors that attract wild animals, Bobcats eat a variety of animal species, includ- Bobcats? such as gaps in construction that allow ac- ing mice, rats, squirrels, chickens, small fawns, cess to the attic or under the deck; eliminate wild birds, feral cats and rabbits. It’s very un- There are many reasons why trapping and thick undergrowth in landscaped are- likely, but possible, that free-roaming cats or removal is not a long-term, viable solution. For small dogs left outside unattended might be as. Modification to the environment creates instance: taken as well. an inhospitable atmosphere, and will en- courage wild animals to relocate. Such  Predator species, such as the bobcat, Many people accidentally and unknowingly establish and defend a territory. When such changes will prevent roaming wildlife from encourage bobcats and other wild animals to an animal is relocated to an established territory, the defending (established) animal showing an interest in staying on your prop- live near their homes by leaving pet food out- will attack - potentially killing, injuring, or erty. side, failing to pick up fallen fruit from trees, driving the relocated bobcat from its new territory. An injured bobcat may not leaving pets to roam outdoors unattended, survive, since survival depends upon the Relocating animals, on the other hand, leaving bird seed on the ground, and leaving ability to hunt, capture and kill prey. simply leaves a "vacancy sign", inviting other wood piles or dense vegetation to provide  A wild animal that lives within the wild animals to move in. The belief that the hiding places for wildlife. Most urban wildlife boundaries of a city and has lived its life as a scavenger may not have adequate hunting solution is to remove and relocate animals is is “opportunistic” and “omnivorous,” meaning skills, and therefore may not be able to the animals will eat about anything (animal or survive without the opportunistic foraging of like assuming that if you moved out of your outdoor pet food, plentiful rodents, vegetable matter), and will take the food that backyard fruit, vegetables, and trash of its home, no one would move in. is easiest to get. If pet food is left outside, or urban upbringing. Wildlife studies show that urban wildlife learns survival skills for urban even in a garage with a pet door entrance, living, and country wildlife learns survival Discouraging Bobcats from wild animals may find it easier to help them- skills for country living; they do best when left in the environment for which they have coming into your yard selves to pet food every night than to hunt developed survival skills. down rodents. Bobcats are quiet, shy and reclusive – usually seen  Wildlife disease is another factor. Wild predators in urban settings may have been by themselves or a female with kittens. Typical- exposed to diseases associated with domestic ly, it is easy to persuade them to leave. We rec- pets, which could be transmitted to other wildlife not normally exposed to these ommend the use of deterrents and adjustments threats. around the exterior of your home (all endorsed  Trapping and removing animals has done nothing to correct the human equation. The by the Humane Society of the United States) for cycle of imbalance will continually repeat making your yard and home less inviting to wild- itself, at great cost to the community, if people fail to change their own habits and life. environments.  Recommended long term solutions for homeowners involve modification of the premises.