Face of a kitten, but claws hint otherwise. Liberty police urge caution after bobcat bite
A woman found out the cute kitten she found and picked up to pet on Thanksgiving Day was not so cuddly after all, a spokesman for the Liberty Police Department said.
The animal bit the woman prompting Liberty police to issue a warning to the public.
“A word of advice,” the Liberty Police Department said on Twitter Wednesday, “if you want to pick up the cute little kitten to pet it, make sure it is not a bobcat first!! They do bite and scratch. #Meow.”
The woman found the animal near U.S. 69 and Missouri Route 33 in the northeast corner of Liberty. It’s not known if she was aware it was a bobcat, but when she picked it up to pet it, the bobcat bit her thumb, said Lt. Nathan Mulch, a spokesman for Liberty police.
“Medics came and checked her out, but she didn’t need any more treatment,” Mulch said. “The bobcat was let go in the woods nearby.”
The warning on Twitter was accompanied with a photo of a Liberty firefighter holding what appears to be an unhappy bobcat. The bobcat’s claws are extended.
“Look at the face, it kind of looks like a kitten but when you look at those paws, you see that it’s not,” Mulch said. “That’s just kind of our message, to be careful what you’re picking up.”
Bobcats are not unusual in Liberty, he said. The eastern and northern side of the city, which is part of the Kansas City metro area, is still pretty rural.
“They’re seen roaming around and we want people to be cautions of what they’re picking up,” he said.
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 12:43 PM.
