When rescuing stray cats, one should ensure that one is not in fact rescuing a wild bobcat

A Maine woman yesterday struck a cat with her car, and decided to put the cat in her car and seek medical assistance.  Ordinarily, this would be admirable; however, the animal she picked up looked like this:

I don't know how to caption a photo of this magnitude

She had in fact rescued a wild bobcat, which regained consciousness in her car and naturally freaked out.  The police were able to assist, and the police chief later gave some simple recommendations to those who might be wondering whether it's easy to tell a bobcat from a house cat:

But does a bobcat look sort of like an oversized house cat?

“That would be a really big house cat,” he said. “Most cats have long tails, and a bobcat does not. They have short, stubby tails. Also, their appearance is an indicator. They look like they are built to live in the wilderness.”

This does not look like a friendly kitty.

Edwards emphasized the danger of approaching a wild animal in his police report.

“Although this seems amusing,” he wrote, “one should always be careful handling injured animals and call local animal control officer or game wardens when in doubt.”

To summarize, here is a helpful guide for interacting with felines in the wild:

If you find one of these, it's okay to save it.

If it looks more like this, seek professional assistance.  Do not put it in your car.