Curious cat checks out Kelowna chicken coop

Lani Rae is no stranger to wild animals finding their way onto her property.

She recently spotted a bobcat in her backyard along Hall Road in East Kelowna.

She said it’s not the first time the curious cat was found hanging around neighbourhood backyards.

The animal, she said, has been spotted over the past month. She shared video of the cat from earlier this week online.

“The night before, I woke up because I heard my chickens freaking out, and then I went out there the following morning and saw the fresh tracks in the snow from the bobcat,” she said. “I had a look at my coop to make sure it was sealed tight, and I noticed there was a spot where he got his paw through. There was an old board there and I re-boarded it up, got it sealed up tight.”

Rae used an outdoor trail camera to see the cat come back the very next day but saw no trace of it Wednesday after the recent dump of snow.

She isn’t too worried about the animal’s presence.

“I’ve had bears in my backyard, racoons, coyotes hang around here too. … We have a lot of animals come from the mountain too,” she said. “That’s just the way it is, especially when you have chickens and all that kind of stuff, you just have to be smart and make sure everything’s sealed off properly.”

Things to know

The B.C. Conservation Office said their local RAPP line had received two separate reports of incidences involving bobcat(s) depredating unprotected poultry and killing a small goat.

It said bobcats use suburban settings often, although due to their reclusive ways, they are not often seen.

Bobcats occur less frequently in areas of deep winter snow. Unlike lynx, bobcats have relatively small feet and snow greatly reduces their mobility and ability to catch prey.

Bobcats do not generally pose a threat to humans but can be a threat to unattended pets and small animals.

Among tips to prevent interactions: don’t feed wildlife, prevent the buildup of feeder foods under bird feeders, feed dogs and cats indoors and clean up after them, keep dogs and cats indoors, especially from dusk to dawn, and enclose poultry (chickens, ducks, and turkeys) in a secure outdoor pen and house.

This article was amended Jan.4 to include information from the B.C. Conservation Office.