Preston – State police say Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials shot and killed a wildcat last week after it attacked the Preston family pet dog and then ran and hid in their home.
The wildcat then tested positive for rabies, state police soldier Armando Bettini said by phone Saturday, forcing victims Karin and Matt Davis, as well as their dog, Gabe and cat, Cooper, to receive all rabies vaccines.
Just before 8pm Wednesday, Karin Davis was on the phone Saturday, she was in her kitchen washing dishes when she heard a commotion in her backyard, which she described as “a screech, a snarl, and a crash at the same time.”
When he looked to see what was happening, he said Gabe was “tangled” in his leash line with a wildcat that appeared to be attacking the dog. “I ran to the dog to untie her and pull her collar to get her inside,” she said. “She was screaming bloody murder. I was yelling, ‘Bobcat, bobcat, get a gun.’ “
Davis said that after she ran to her dog to save him, the wildcat initially recoiled. But then, while trying to get her dog to safety, the wildcat “ran” past the two of them and ran inside the house through the open back door.
Davis said she immediately closed the door to contain the wildcat before realizing to her horror that her neighbor and husband, Matt, had rushed inside the house in an attempt to help her after hearing her scream. “I heard my neighbor scream,” he said, explaining that the cat had jumped onto the kitchen counter and then started running around the house. “The wildcat was whistling at him.”
Trooper Bettini said that once he and three other state troopers arrived at the home around 8 p.m., they began searching for the bobcat and found it hidden in the basement.
Bettini said that he and the other soldiers were in the basement with flashlights when he caught the reflection of the wild cat’s eye after directing his beam at him. “I was lucky to see the reflection in his eye before the other soldiers got too close,” he said. “I happened to be shining my light in one corner and it was on a shelf. And the (other soldiers) were walking in that direction and I told them to stop and back off. ”
He said the soldiers secured the basement and waited for DEEP officers to arrive.
When officers returned to the basement to approach the cat again, Bettini said he had changed locations and was holding on to the side of a punching bag hanging in the basement, where he was shot with a .22 rifle. His body was removed to detect rabies, which tested positive the following day.
DEEP spokesman Lee Sawyer did not immediately respond to comment calls on Saturday.
Bettini said that although the wildcat did not exhibit a strange gait or foam in the mouth, typical symptoms of an advanced-stage rabies infection, he said that healthy wildcats do not attack pets or go near houses.
“We weren’t too scared of us, which is an indicator (of rabies) and, in general, wildcats are shy animals and will flee from human and dog interaction.” And this was not, ”he said. “We couldn’t roll the dice because he had direct contact with the dog, he had to be tested (for rabies) and unfortunately for us, that meant we had to leave him.”
Bettini estimated that the cat weighed about 25 to 35 pounds. “It was a great cat. It was big, ”she said. “Almost as big as it gets.”
“If I hadn’t had direct contact with the family pet, we would have tried to catch and release it,” Bettini said. But “the behavior of attacking a dog was in bad taste. … If we launch it, there is a chance it will attack another pet.”
Davis said his dog, Gabe, has been walking well and “has been doing well” since the incident, even though he was initially a little shaken. “I was traumatized the next day,” he said. “It took him several hours to get back, but he’s been much better since then.”
She said Gabe was treated for teeth and puncture wounds to his back and chest at Norwichtown Veterinary Hospital and that the family is now treating them, making sure they don’t become infected. She said Gabe is also taking antibiotics. She is expected to make a full recovery.
Davis added that because Gabe is overweight, the extra fat surrounding his chest ended up saving his life, preventing the lynx’s tooth from reaching his heart. “So it’s good that I have a fat dog,” he said, laughing. “It is whatever positive side we can find right now.”
He added that now that the test has ended, “we are happy that he entered the house and that he was caught and we know that no other animal can get hurt. However, it has been crazy, and I do not wish this on anyone” .
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