Two Council Bluffs residents woke up Sunday to a bobcat walking down the sidewalk.

Becky Mayne lives on Sunny Ridge Drive. She said she has seen foxes, deer, turkeys and other wild animals from the woods in their backyard before, but this was the first time she and her husband, Mike, had seen a bobcat.

Mayne was going to get the paper when she saw the wild feline.

“I gasped and my husband thought I was having a heart attack,” Mayne said.

Mayne took a photo upstairs, then she ran downstairs to take more.

“(The bobcat) heard me running down the stairs and he was alerted to the noise,” she said. “I snapped two more pictures of him and he ran.”

Jim Coffey, a forest wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said this is typical of wildlife as animals in Iowa tend to be afraid of people. Bobcats are also more common to see early in the morning or late at night as they use low light as cover for hunting, he said.

“It is actually very difficult to see a bobcat, one is very lucky if they see one,” he said.

Two Bluffs residents also saw a bobcat in their neighborhood, near Timbercrest Drive, earlier this month . The bobcat was sitting in a birdbath in the backyard and drinking water. The cat then disappeared into the woods behind their house.

Coffey said the reason some animals may be more visible is because of farmers cutting grass and hay, and their kittens are becoming more adventurous.

Coffey said bobcat sightings this year have been pretty typical, though not every bobcat sighting is reported.

Galen Barrett, chief animal control officer for Council Bluffs, also said this year has been fairly normal for bobcat activity.

If there is any increase in bobcat sightings at this time, Barrett thought it may be due to new kittens, lack of water from the heat or loss of habitat due to construction.

“They typically give birth in the April to May area, so we’re looking at 2- to 3-month-old kittens who would start getting curious and moving around a bit more,” he said.

During kitten season, a female bobcat could be spotted hunting or just getting time away from the kittens, according to Barrett.

If it was a male, it could have been scavenging, hunting or wandering.

“As long as they’re not hurting anything, and you and your pets are safe, I don’t have a lot of concern with bobcats being a threat,” he said.

Barrett advised residents not to leave food or water out for bobcats as that would increase the chance of a bad interaction.