Here, Kitty, Kitty… Bobcat Nabbed in Frisco
City warns residents not to set traps for big cats
By LITA BECK and FRANK HEINZ
Updated 12:02 PM CST, Tue, Mar 24, 2009
Animal control officers armed with nets and poles bagged an injured bobcat in Frisco on Sunday.
A city representative said the bobcat was missing a back paw -- possibly due to an illegal trap set by a concerned resident. Setting traps for wild animals is inhumane -- and not to mention dangerous -- animal control officers said.
On Tuesday, NBC 5 viewer Sofia Raymond explained in an email how she believe the bobcat was injured.
The city netted the bobcat on Sunday in the Kings Garden neighborhood, where resident Angela Oxley snapped pictures of the capture.
The bobcat is recovering at Plano's Outdoor Learning Center.
The city has warned residents about sightings of the cats north of Main Street and west of the tollway.
"We never intentionally harmed the bobcat and we actually appreciated having them around. After I read the article I was sad to hear that it was captured, but relieved to hear it was receiving medical attention," said Raymond. "I also did not want readers to think that there was a resident out there intentionally trying to harm this animal."
"We believe the injured paw was due to the bobcat stepping on a large rat trap that we had placed in the back of our pool area. We had a problem with rats due to the construction in the area and were trapping a lot of rats," said Raymond. " We noticed a rat trap with a lot of blood on it one morning and the trap had been dragged from one side of our home to the other. The following week we spotted the bobcat in our pool area right and noticed the injured paw and concluded it was due to the rat trap."
Raymond said they then removed the rat trap in hopes that the bobcat would help diminish the rat population.
First Published: Mar 23, 2009 10:48 PM CST
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