Chelsey Meissner hadn't even had her first cup of coffee Wednesday morning when she spotted a cat in her window. Not too unusual for the Serra Mesa military community she lives in, which is filled with wandering house pets.
But a double take revealed the truth -- her eyes had deceived her and a bobcat was staring straight back at her.
"We’re used to seeing a lot of feral cats that walk along that back wall so at first I didn’t think anything of it but when I saw his short tail I knew it was a bobcat,” Meissner said of her through-the-glass encounter on Wednesday morning.
She quickly whipped out her phone and called over her husband; her housecats were intrigued too. A tap on the window got the wild cat's attention and there was a brief standoff between species, video of the encounter, shared by Meissner showed.
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Wildlife encounters
Meissner wasn't fearful of the creature, she was more exhilarated to get a nature show up close in such a populous city. Her family of four, with another on the way, recently moved back to San Diego from North Carolina, where nature was aplenty. So, she quickly whipped out her camera to capture a moment not many experience.
"We felt a little nature deprived,” Meissner said. "I’ve seen them before in other parts of San Diego County but never that close."
It's not that bobcats are particularly rare, especially in communities built along the canyons that have been a part of their natural habitats for ages. There hasn't been any increase in reported sightings but it's possible San Diegans are seeing them more frequently due to the popularity of home security cameras, said Andy Blue, San Diego Humane Society Ramona Wildlife Center's campus director.
There are anywhere between 70,000 to 100,000 bobcats in the state and they're pretty easy to identify by their small, muscular build and short, stubby tail, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Blue said the species mates between February and March.
Bobcats don't typically interact with humans -- they like to keep to themselves -- but they are predators and could be a threat to your house cats, which are about a third of their size. If you notice the wild animals in your neighborhood, there are steps you can take to deter them, like reconsidering bird feeders, open compost piles, and other items that may attract rodents as that will also attract predators, Blue said.
And if you do get the chance to see one up close like Meissner did, stand back and don't interfere with nature. Just enjoy the show.
