Bobcat Kitten - Chilling next to our house

A bobcat and her kitten have been resting at this house all day. These are the things I have seen watching this baby and mom today.

• The kitten was playing with what was left of a young cottontail rabbit.
• The kitten was stalking and attacking her mom's tail as it twiched.
• Mom was grooming herself, and the kitten ran over the back of the mom to attack the mom's tale, then layed down next to her. The mom then groomed the baby.
• The kitten climbed our citrus tree.
• The kitten took a nap under our living room window.
• A quail family started to walk past the window. The kitten stood up, peaked around the fireplace chimney, then squatted as though it was preparing to pounce! The quail turned around and decided not to continue as first planned.

I can't get a picture of the mom with the baby because they are up against our yard fence of expanded metal. The camera can't see through the fence. I was able to get pictures of the baby next to the window which I posted here.

Spying on Quail

The kitten is very thin as seen here. The spots on the back of the ears is evidence this is the Arizona Bobcat typical for our area. Another feature is the BIG feet. This tiny little cat has feet about twice the size of my full grown house cat.

Why are these wild cats next to the house? Well, it isn't because they are the mascot for University of AZ if that is what you were thinking. It is very dry in Arizona. With water so scarce, I believe the animals are resting near our yard where the watered grass and watered ground under the citrus tree is a retreat for these wild animals that don't typically hang out so close.