Mountain Lion Slaughters Cats (CA)

Mountain News ^ | May 7, 2009 | Cat Robertson

[PERKY2004]

Awww ... thank you very much!

[RichInOC]

“In San Bernardino Mountains...pussy eats you!”

[holly go-rightly]

I love your FR profile. I have three rescue cats now, the survivors of a lot of drop in kitties who had hard Montana winters to face. Not a purebred in the lot, and nobody came from a breeder.

I live with 2 3-year old golden retriever girls (they are adorable) while my husband works for FEMA far away and I love my animals one and all. Our oldest cat lived to 22, and most of the rest of ‘em lived to be seniors. Your habitat for cats is awesome!

[Slings and Arrows]

Some people don’t understand that nature doesn’t stop at city limits.

[Slings and Arrows]

CAT: “Where’s the @#$%! CEILING?!!!”

[Slings and Arrows]

Wonderful! You have very lucky cats!

[PERKY2004]

Thanks! I love Goldens! Thanks for helping animals!

[ExSoldier]

“if residents see a mountain lion they are not authorized to shoot the animal, but immediately notify the sheriff's department and the DFG.”

My answer to DFG? TFB. A critter like this attacks my animals and it's D-E-A-D via S&W XVR 460 magnum.

[CottonBall]

NICE cat room!

[jazusamo]

Yep...DFG could take a hike if one got hold of a animal of mine on my property.

[PERKY2004]

Thanks!!!

[Inyo-Mono]

Thanks for the ping jazusamo.

In California it isn’t so much, as the article states, that people are encroaching on mountain lion territory, as the fact that there are too many mountain lions in California. A retired DFG warden told me as much when I related my very close encounter with two lions to him.

[TheOldLady]

LOL! Right!

[TheOldLady]

Yes, that old Law of Unintended Consequences is literally going to bite them — again.

[djf]

Yup. 300Lbs is way over the top.

The one I hit in 01 was a mature, adult female in good shape (well, until she ran in front of my car), and probably came in about 120 or so.

[ExSoldier]

Did the impact kill the cat? If not, did you put it out of it's misery?

[djf]

Yup. Deader than a doornail, right on the center yellow line.

I was the luckiest man alive. Doin about 65-70 on a road in north-central CA.

Never saw her by the side of the road... first time I saw her, she was to my left, in the road ahead of me, very close. Saw her take one step then raise her left paw like she was gonna strike, basically hit her in the head on my lower left bumper, spun her around so bad she slammed into my driver side door...

I was shakin like a leaf, drove on about a quarter mile, stopped and got my breath, and went back.

Hauled her out of the road, took a bunch of pics and kept going. Coulda throwed her in my trunk, a carcass like that would probably get me 5G’s at a taxidermist, but didn’t think about it at the time.

[ExSoldier]

Wow, you were lucky. An impact like that might've caused you to wreck. Happens all the time. I'm glad you dragged the carcass out of the road. Obviously you prevented another accident or maybe saved the life of some poor biker. But also, I hate the disrespect it shows to the animal to have it's body slowly ground to dust by man's machines. Pulling it out of the road puts the body back in the normal cycle of nature as carrion.

[djf]

Well, I tell folks about it and show them the pics and alot of them have said “Didn’t you have time??” and try to make out like she was taking a casual saunter across the road.

In fact I didn’t. And from the memories I have she was in full attack mode. My car is a small Sentra and it is the beige color you see alot.

I figure she was out, caught the whiff of a deer, and saw the color of my car and went for it.

I did feel sorry about it. She was a beautiful animal. That particular region (abt 75 miles from Yosemite) has quite a few, I’ve even see them playing with each other in the fields during daylight hours.

[ExSoldier]

I figure she was out, caught the whiff of a deer, and saw the color of my car and went for it.

I thought they're colorblind? Maybe she whiffed the deer and then saw the movement of your vehicle and attacked thinking it was one HUMONGOUS deer or maybe an Elk.