Man Attacked by Bobcat in Saddlebrooke, Arizona

Saddlebrooke, Arizona, is a small town not far north of Tucson. It’s in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Natural Area, and many of the homes’ backyards look out towards open land. The region is full of gorgeous scenery and a ton of native wildlife, including bobcats.

On the morning of January 4, 2023, a resident of Saddlebrooke was attacked by a bobcat. He had been bitten and scratched by the animal but wasn’t badly injured. He’s currently being treated prophylactically for rabies; local authorities want to locate the errant cat to determine whether it is indeed rabid.

Bobcats are fairly small wild cats and members of the Lynx genus. Native to North America, they’re one of two subspecies in the U.S. and southern Canada. They max out at about 40 pounds and don’t see us as prey because we’re too big. However, they may try to take smaller pets similar to the size of their normal prey animals of squirrels and rabbits.

Why Did the Bobcat Attack?

We don’t have any current information on the circumstances of the bobcat attack. It’s possible that the individual antagonized the bobcat, but it’s also possible that the animal was ill or injured. In this case, the Arizona Game & Fish Department believes that the cat may have been rabid. 

The disease only affects mammals and is nearly always fatal in untreated cases. This frightening statistic is why we require our pets to have immunity from the disease — you never know what your dog or cat will get into while you’re not looking.

Rabies causes a range of nasty symptoms, most of which you won’t even see until the disease has had time to do some damage to the body. 

• Problems with swallowing and general sickness
• Excessive drool or saliva
• An overly aggressive animal or one that appears tamer than you expect.
• Biting at imaginary objects
• Having difficulty moving or is completely paralyzed
• A bat that’s on the ground (instead of in the air)

Essentially, if you notice a wild animal exhibiting odd behavior that doesn’t match the species, it could be ill or injured, although not necessarily with rabies. It’s best to keep your distance from unknown animals.

What Happens Now?

Well, because they don’t know if the animal was rabid, they have to assume that it was rabid. As of this writing, they had not located it, so the victim is currently undergoing “Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis.” It’s a series of shots administered after suspected or confirmed rabies exposure. 

During the treatment, people (there’s an animal version, too) receive human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and a rabies vaccine dose on the day of the incident. Then, they receive a vaccine dose on days three, seven, and 14. 

By all accounts, it’s not a fun treatment to undergo, but far preferable to the possible alternative. According to the CDC, most people don’t experience allergic reactions to the treatment. Here’s the original tweet from the Arizona Game & Fish Department:

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Chandler Cruttenden / unsplash – License / Original