Animal control on Pittsburgh bobcat: 'That's no domestic cat'

It's not the first time Pittsburgh Animal Care and Control Officer Steve Costa has gotten a call about a bobcat, but it's the first time the call was accurate.

"We get calls, but they usually end up being a Maine coon or a domestic cat," Costa said.

Costa and his partner, Jeff Ley, responded about 10 a.m. to a report of a bobcat running amok aboard the Gateway Clipper Fleet's Empress vessel.

Lo and behold, it was actually a bobcat.

"Once he poked out from (where he was hiding), Jeff looked at me and I said, 'That's no domestic cat,'" Costa said Monday.

Officials said crews were inspecting the vessel prior to boarding for the 11 a.m. cruise when someone spotted the animal.

Costa said a passenger reported that a train spooked the animal, which ran down the adjacent hillside and onto the boat. Costa went to one side of the upper deck with an extension pole with a loop on the end and Ley scared the bobcat toward Costa, who caught it.

Costa said the carrier they had was a bit too small, and the wildcat was cramped, so they retrieved a larger crate for his trip to the Humane Animal Rescue Wildlife Center in Penn Hills.

He said it was the first bobcat he'd ever seen in the city.

No one was injured during the ordeal, including the cat.

Jill Argall, director of the center, said bobcats are solitary animals with large territories who like the woods, and they can be found all across the state. They feed mostly on small game, like rabbits, she said, and they tend to stay away from people.

Argall said this is the tail end of bobcat breeding season, and her best guess is that the young male was tracking the scent of a female and got confused.

By Monday, the bobcat had already been released back into the wild by the state game commission.

"He was very upset to be in captivity," she said.

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.