She peers out from the leaf-bottom woods, just across the lane from a stately home. It’s safe here, in her little square block lair, the only luxury forested lot left in an exclusive new subdivision. The autumn shadows are her friends, and she is active only at night. It’s a livable arrangement; she literally blends in.
This is no runaway child, but a solitary bobcat, thirty pounds of spotted yellowish-brown, with razor sharp claws and teeth. But she means no harm to any human, or even their family pets. There are plenty of rabbits and other small game in the shrinking fields nearby. The ever-expanding suburbia has made it more difficult to exist in her generational territory, but she manages. There is honor among predators: “Take only what you need.”
Last week, she slipped out of her wooded home in broad daylight, to retrieve one of her wayward kittens. Reckless, he chased a squirrel into the neighbor’s yard. On the way back home, youngster in mouth, the lady bobcat met another mom, pushing her young daughter in a stroller. The two froze in their tracks, instantly understanding one another, as only mothers can. The feline one moved first, trotting unfazed into the forest. But the human mother is shaken.
There’s soon talk at the monthly homeowner’s association meetings of getting the city involved. Some want to “harvest” the rogue bobcat. Others say no. Trap and release is the humane thing, “People should only harvest fruits and vegetables.” Either way, the wild cat needs to go. The truth is, she was here first–at least her mother was, long before the multi-million-dollar homes and the horse stables and the luxury SUVs.
Somehow, the cat senses the tension. One night, she and her young litter leave their forested sanctuary for good, never to return. Thankfully, there’s still room for a suburban bobcat family somewhere else, in the woods nearby. What she doesn’t know is a caring neighbor just bought her “lot” for $250,000 and plans to drag her feet developing it. Yet, the feline is wise to move on. Her home is no longer a haven. Gertrude Stein was right, “There is no there there.”
Thank you for reading. 🙏❤️ prayers and love.
The Stigma Stops Here.🛑
#mentalhealthmatters
Davids Daily Dose 
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