Are Bobcats Dangerous to Humans? Facts and Rare Attacks

Why bobcats rarely attack people

A bobcat weighs only about 6–14 kg (13–30 lb), roughly two to three times the size of a house cat. Adult humans are far too large to be prey, and bobcats instinctively treat people as a threat to avoid rather than as food. Their normal prey is rabbits, hares, rodents and birds.

Bobcats are also secretive. They are most active around dusk and dawn, rest in thick cover and move along quiet routes. Many people live for years in bobcat country without seeing one, even where bobcats are common. When a bobcat does meet a person, the usual response is to freeze, stare and then slip away.

How common are bobcat attacks?

Bobcat attacks on people are so rare that there are no official national statistics for them; the few incidents that occur usually make local news precisely because they are unusual. They are set against a United States bobcat population that has been estimated at well over a million animals. There is no well-documented case of a healthy wild bobcat killing a person.

For comparison, many more people in North America are injured each year by domestic dogs than by all wild cats combined. The real risks from bobcats are small and mostly indirect, such as the rare encounter with a sick animal.

Rabid bobcats: the usual exception

Nearly all serious bobcat attacks on people involve rabies, a viral disease that affects the brain and can make an animal lose its normal fear. A rabid bobcat may approach people or pets, behave aggressively without provocation, stagger, or attack objects. This behavior is very different from a healthy bobcat’s.

Bobcats make up only a small share of rabid wild animals reported in the United States; most cases involve bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes. Still, any bite or scratch from a wild mammal must be taken seriously. If a bobcat bites or scratches a person, seek emergency medical help immediately or call 911, and report the animal to local animal control or the state wildlife agency.

Bobcats in suburbs and backyards

Bobcats increasingly live on the edges of towns, using greenbelts, golf courses, creek corridors and parks. Research in California and elsewhere has tracked bobcats crossing roads through wildlife underpasses and living close to houses without conflict. Seeing one in a backyard is usually just a sign that suitable habitat and prey, such as rabbits and rodents, are nearby.

Wildlife agencies give a few calm, simple guidelines:

• Give it space. Watch from a distance and let the bobcat move on; do not follow it.
• Never feed bobcats. Feeding can teach wild animals to lose their fear of people.
• Do not corner it. A trapped animal in a garage or shed should be given an open exit.
• Keep small pets close. Cats and small dogs are safest indoors or supervised, especially at night.
• Report odd behavior. Contact local animal control or the state wildlife agency about a bobcat that seems sick or unafraid.

If a bobcat comes closer than you would like, making yourself look larger and making noise is usually enough to send it away.

Daytime sightings are normal

Many people worry when they see a bobcat in daylight, because they assume it must be sick. In fact bobcats often hunt by day, especially in fall and winter when their prey is active in the daytime, and in quiet places with little disturbance. A bobcat walking calmly, hunting or resting in the sun is behaving normally.

Females with kittens also hunt more in spring and summer, so sightings rise then. What matters is behavior, not the time of day.

Are bobcats dangerous to pets and livestock?

Bobcats do sometimes kill house cats, small dogs, chickens, ducks and occasionally lambs or young goats. This is the most common real conflict between bobcats and people. Larger dogs are generally avoided, and a bobcat chased by a dog will usually climb a tree.

Bobcats also benefit people by eating large numbers of rodents and rabbits. Living with them mainly means removing easy opportunities, such as unattended small pets outdoors at night.

Bobcats compared with other wild cats

In North America, the cat that poses a real, though still small, risk to people is the cougar, which is many times heavier than a bobcat. People sometimes mistake one for the other; our guide to bobcat vs mountain lion explains how to tell them apart and why reporting the right species matters.

The bobcat’s northern cousin, the Canada lynx, is just as shy and is almost never involved in incidents with people.