A small dog is recovering after being attacked by a bobcat in Bettendorf. It happened earlier this week in a subdivision along a creek in the northern part of that eastern Iowa city. Paul Bieber had let his pet dog out into the back yard about 1 in the morning and heard its cries moments later. As he ran to the injured dog, he saw a large tan cat leaving his yard.
Ed Kocal of the Iowa D.N.R. tells the Quad City Times it was likely a bobcat and he’s not surprised it was spotted in Bettendorf. Last spring, another Bettendorf resident reported a bobcat sighting, and it was confirmed. Kocal also says a bobcat was killed on a Bettendorf road several years ago.
But he says the attack of a dog in a residential area is fairly unusual. He says bobcats usually eat squirrels, rabbits, mice and an occasional fawn.
By Phil Roberts, Davenport