Bobcats Wouldn't Leave Mesa Woman's Front Courtyard For A Month

MESA, AZ — A Mesa woman had a tough time getting rid of some unusual house guests: a group of young bobcats that claimed her front courtyard as theirs.

“Apparently, I’m running an Airbnb for bobcats,” Kate Smith wrote June 20 on Twitter when sharing a photo of three of them lounging near the front of her home. “Two last month and now three today who have moved into my courtyard for the weekend.”

The bobcats then moved even closer to the home, with Smith showing the three cubs within feet of the front door on Friday.

"These guys have been here a month," Smith told WFAA. "I've been told that as soon as the cubs are old enough to hunt on their own, they should be moving on, but they've been here a while."

It’s only the second bobcat encounter for the Mesa woman in 24 years at her home, near Usery Mountain Regional Park, WFAA reported, and the first only lasted a day or two because that bobcat was injured and needed medical help.

Relocating the group that’s moved onto Smith’s property now could lead to their deaths, the Arizona Game and Fish Department told her, according to WFAA.

So this is my front porch right now. #Friday #bobcats #arizona pic.twitter.com/lQZH6yYjGx
— Kate Smith (@KateSmithAZ) June 26, 2021

"The answer they gave me was that if you take them out of their territory, they typically don't survive, so I said, 'Oh, forget it,'" Smith told WFAA. "They're territorial, so if you plop them down in an area they're unfamiliar with, they usually won't make it."

Smith said on Tuesday the bobcat cubs have left, likely old enough to fend on their own. Bobcat sightings on the property haven't been made since Saturday.

"We’re glad to have our outdoor space back, but we will miss them," Smith tweeted.

Before they left, Smith said she had a sign in the driveway warning delivery people not to come in the courtyard, and that her dog was “grounded.”

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has offered several tips for deterring bobcats from coming near one's home, including making sure all shrubbery and grass is properly trimmed, removing any pet food, and working with neighbors to come up with a consistent community solution to the problem.