So maybe you thought that living in a canyon in southern California can’t be all that exhilarating. Well, not so fast.
I took the cat out for a walk yesterday (yes, you read that right, I walk my cat every morning around the neighborhood) and he was doing his usual why don’t I hide behind those bushes waiting for some lizard to show up shtick and then a door opens and a neighbor comes out.
“I should warn you,” he tells me. “There was this big animal prowling on the trail behind the houses last night.”
“What big animal?” I ask.
My neighbor shrugs. “I don’t know. It looked like a very big cat. A mountain lion maybe.”
“You mean a bobcat?”
"What's the difference?"
Big, big difference.
I quickly google bobcat on my phone and show him a picture.
“That could be it,” my neighbor says. “There’s a bobcat in the neighborhood. Keep the kitty safe. We should call animal control.”
Another door opens and another neighbor comes out to greet us. “That was no bobcat,” she says. “It was a coyote.”
Neighbor #1: "I think I know what I saw."
Neighbor #2: "How could you? It was pitch dark."
A conversation ensued about checking out tracks and claw marks. I picked up the cat, made a silly excuse about making breakfast for the kids (neither kid was in the house) and waved goodbye.