Earlier this week near the Colorado foothills, Amy Auffret Shelly was winding down for the night when she left her door unlatched. Her cat, Meatball, hadn’t returned home yet, and she wanted him to be able to come back inside on his own.
Meatball eventually did come in — but hours later, so did another, much wilder guest.
“At 4 a.m., I woke up to crashing and banging,” Shelly wrote. “And came face to face with this guy.”
Perched on a shelf in her living room was a full-grown bobcat.
Shelly quickly called for help. Two deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrived to handle the unusual — and slightly terrifying — situation.
“Our deputies work around the clock, and they were first on the scene at 4:55 a.m.,” the sheriff’s office told The Dodo.
Though the officers weren’t trained wildlife experts, they got creative with what they had on hand. In a move Shelly described as “hilarious,” they pulled out a pair of laser pointers, hoping the classic cat toy trick would work on this big feline.
“Cats are cats,” one deputy said with confidence. “They all like the same thing.”
Sadly, the bobcat wasn’t amused — or interested.
With the laser pointer tactic a flop, Colorado Parks and Wildlife stepped in with a more practical plan: leave the bobcat alone with a clear exit path.
“Let it be and keep the back door open,” they advised.
Sure enough, after four tense hours, the bobcat finally took the hint and strolled back out into the wild.
As for Meatball? He made it through the unexpected feline house party completely unscathed.
