Hostage Crisis: Wild Bobcat Holds New Jersey Family Captive

New Jersey police say a mother was forced to barricade herself and her two young children in a bathroom after a wild bobcat broke into her house.

The family called the police sometime before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening to request help.

Sgt. Robert Oranchak soon after arrived on the scene to find the animal near the back door of the house and the mother and children hiding in the bathroom.

The officers opened the doors and windows of the house in an attempt to persuade the cat to leave, and after about an hour the bobcat exited through the kitchen window and ran off into the woods, police said. The animal reportedly did not appear to be sick or rabid.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident, and no damage was done to the residence.

The next day, a bobcat was captured after attacking a dog a short distance away from the house involved in Wednesday’s incident. The animal is suspected to be rabid.

A Fish and Wildlife conservation officer was able to capture the bobcat and may administer a rabies test. The officer said the animal displayed early signs of rabies.

Washington Township police spokesman Lt. Douglas Compton said it wasn’t yet clear if the bobcat captured Thursday was the same animal involved in the break-in one day earlier.

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