I found this site and joined, in order to share an experience I had yesterday.

I drove to a lake near my home in Kansas City, KS, which is surrounded by miles and miles of thick woods running rampant with deer and wildlife. As I was leaving the lake, I spotted a HUGE blond cat THE SIZE OF A SHETLAND PONY slinking and bouncing along the edge of the woods. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I stared at it and tried to comprehend what I was seeing!!!! The HUGE CAT was walking fast, with its head lowered, along the edge of a densely-wooded area, as if it was headed somewhere, with a purpose. I could tell by its appearance that it was WILD. I didn't get a good look at its head, because it was looking down, but I DID get a VERY good look at its body. I own two dogs, a Dalmation, and also a LARGE German shepard (80#), and, judging from the distance (about 75 feet away), I would estimate the size of the cat's body as about 18-20" wide. That cat was HUGE, and it looked EXTREMELY strong and well-fed. Its fur, skin and muscles were rippling as it bounced along. The fur was short (but not short-short) and it looked very thick. The cat was totally blond -- i.e., a light shade of yellow. The tail was hanging straight down, and rather short, such as the tail of a bobcat. For the size of its body, the cat wasn't particularly tall -- no taller than my German shepard -- but oh my, was that cat HUGE! I'm positive it wasn't a bobcat (no spots), nor was it a cougar (too wide, thick and short). It definitely wasn't a dog. My 7-year-old grandson was with me, and he saw it, too.

I drove back to the lake and told a Park Ranger, who felt it was probably a cougar... (Wrong.)

As an aside, I live about 4 miles from the lake, in a farmhouse surrounded by woods (I own 5 acres). My woods abut the woods at the lake I visited yesterday. Several years ago, I positioned motion-activated cameras in my woods, to capture photos of wildlife at night. At that time, I captured a photo of a blond cat about the size of my Dalmation dog. Unfortunately the cat's face and tail were cut off in the photo. I emailed the photo to a wildlife expert, who forwarded it to wildlife "cat" experts. Their assessment of the photo: Huge house cat. (Hmmmm...)

(I saw unexplained tracks in the snow in these parts about 18 years ago, but that would probably go in another forum here.)

I hardly slept last night, for thinking of that HUGE cat...

Could it be some sort of crossbreed?

Crossbreed? I don't have any idea. I have no explanation. I only know what I saw with my own eyes. I just can't stop thinking about it, naturally. It was quite a thing to see.

Wow, thats really amazing. Yeah i was thinking it was a crossbreed aswell.

You guys are thinking crossbreed. But crossbreed between what? Bobcats and house cats are not closely related enough to be able to create hybrids. And bobcats and cougars aren't close enough to interbreed. All of these species are in different genuses. And only species in the same genus are close enough to produce a living hybrid. I don't think what you saw was a crossbreed. I don't know what you saw. And about those tracks you said you saw earlier... please enlighten us

Amazing! Yet another "ABC" find... That must have been an interesting experience...

I think this belongs in the Cryptozoology section.

Why couldn't it have been a cougar?
It's what the park ranger suggested, yet you dismiss his experience and expertise.
You don't specify under what conditions you saw this cat. You should be aware that objects sighted across water, to the other side, often appear larger than they actually are.
Granted, it was only 75 feet as you say, but sighting it over water may have added bulk to its size. It's an optical illusion I have experienced numerous times myself, thinking that a tree or boulder was much larger than it actually was across a stream or pond.
My vote is a cougar. Some cougars can get mighty large, certainly bigger than a dalmation. The color certainly fits. Cougars are not uncommon in the wild. People think they are because they don't often see them. This is because cougars are very secretive animals and will hide at the approach of humans. I hunted northern Idaho for years and never once saw a cougar, but found fresh tracks everywhere.
I don't see why cougars couldn't exist in rural areas of the midwest. Their population has increased markedly in the past two decades or so, since hunting and trapping them became largely unfashionable.

Hello again, everyone. I want to explain more about the cat I saw. The lake I visited on Sunday was Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, KS, in case anyone wants to Google map it.

There are a few private homes along the 2 entrances to the lake. I saw the cat as I was exiting the lake at 83rd Street, which is a paved lake road about 2 tenths of a mile long, leading to a "T" at 83rd Street. I turned right on 83rd Street. I was nowhere near the water. I had driven only about 2 tenths of a mile, heading S. on 83rd Street, when I saw the cat on my right (which is the direction of the lake). To be clear, though, I was about 1/2 a mile from the water at this point, and hills and tall trees obscured my view of the water. If you were dropped off where I saw the cat, you would never know you were anywhere near a lake.

When I looked to my right, I was looking across mowed grass (such as a lawn), with thick woods on the other side. That's where I spotted the giant cat, hurrying along the edge of the thicket in the same direction I was driving. I was approaching a house, and the cat passed behind the house, still along the edge of the thicket. I was driving about 30 mph, and when I passed the house, the cat was still bouncing along. It seemed totally oblivious of me. Then the cat turned away from me and headed into the thicket.

Wow, I have goosebumps just writing this, because what I saw was totally unexplainable. I know cougars have been spotted in these parts. A couple of years ago it was reported on the news that a cougar was found dead on a highway about 5 miles from here, apparently hit by a car. Rumors spread that it was probably a pet. However, authorities examined it, and declared it was definitely a wild cougar.

I am certain the cat I saw was no cougar. There's a world of difference between the cat I saw and a cougar. A cougar is a sleek, strong animal, with hind legs longer than the front legs, and smooth fur. The fur on the cat I saw appeared to be more the texture of the thick short coat of a house cat -- more wispy and furry -- and very yellow, not 2-tone beige like a cougar. The hind legs of the cat I saw weren't longer than the front legs. The most important attribute is the shape of its body. VERY thick and WIDE. Think of a sheep. The cat I saw was wide like a sheep...

I've been watching that cat over and over in my mind, like a movie reel -- rewind, replay, rewind, replay....

The word "Hogzilla" keeps coming to my mind... only in this case, it would be "Catzilla"....... aha-ha-haaa...

While driving around the lake, my 7-year-old grandson and I spotted many deer standing in the woods, and several ran across the road in front of us. The very first thing I thought of when I saw that cat was that it probably feeds on the deer...

Other than the park ranger, you guys are the only ones I've told about this, other than my family, of course. I considered reporting the cat to the Kansas State Wildlife Department, but I'm afraid they'd think I was a nut. Sort of like seeing a UFO, who do you tell? People normally scoff at such things. So here I sit with the memory of that cat running through my mind.... I saw it, my grandson saw it, and I know there's a cat the size of a pony somewhere out there.......

I have to go for now, but I'll be back this evening to tell about the tracks I once saw... (another unbelievable story)

Why? He saw it.

And I think it could be a Couger. There have been instances of unusually large and muscular ones.

Hi Whattha?
Maybe it was a many generations feral cat. A cat born in the wild, living in the wild, breeding and raising its young in the wild. Over the years, the biggest and strongest survive and breed bigger and stronger. If this Feral Cats family has been on the wild side for many generations maybe they reached a point where they produced a gigantus. Just a thought.
Budhabee

Hi budhabee,

My guess is that you've hit the nail on the head: a gigantus feral cat. (Catzilla....)

Also, here's an IMPORTANT UPDATE:

On my way home just now, I drove by the house where I saw the cat, and a man was outside mowing. Therefore, I pulled in his driveway and got out and introduced myself. Then I told him, "You'll probably think I'm crazy, but Sunday afternoon I saw a cat the size of a shetland pony lurking along the woods behind your house." I described the cat to him in every detail. Then, to my utter SHOCK, the man nodded and said, "Yes, I know, I've seen it many times, and you've described it perfectly." I said "What?? You SEE IT ALL THE TIME??" He said, "Yeah, it's probably a cougar." I told him (his name is Phil) that it looked like a gigantic house cat to me, and Phil agreed, saying, "Well, isn't that what a cougar looks like?" (hahaha...) I told him no, and I described a cougar to him, and pointed out the differences. Phil appeared to be around 30 years old, and he looked rather confused about the difference between a cougar and a house cat. (He must've skipped school the day that was covered in 6th grade.... heh-heh)

Anyway, to say the very least, I'm excited to know the man living in that house actually SEES this animal from time to time!! I told Phil I was going to contact the Kansas State Wildlife Department tomorrow, and I asked him if it was okay if they came to talk with him about the cat. He said sure, that would be okay.

So... be ready for further updates about what's going on about this cat!!!!

UPDATE:

The Wildlife Biologist from the Kansas State Wildlife Department just called me. I told him where I saw the big cat, and it just so happens he lives about 5 miles from there. He said he will visit the resident in the house where I saw the cat, and he will also look for footprints behind the house, since the cat frequently passes through there.

He said it may be a couple of weeks before he can do this, and he will get back with me.

So, more updates will be forthcoming...

Mountian lion. Trust me about this, I know a lot about mountian lions. And they do live in KS.

garfeilds cousin

Could it not be a young lion? Afaik, they are not illegal to own in the US, and they are more "housecatlike" than a cougar, right?

I believe you are right. Just moments ago on the news they were showing a mountain lion in California, which looked exactly like the cat I saw. Evidently mountain lions in California are a protected species, and mountain lion attacks on humans and animals are on the rise in California.

The texture and color of the coat on the mountain lion they just showed on the news was exactly the same as that of the cat I saw -- i.e., totally blond (the color of a house cat) and more on the "furry" side (as opposed to sleek).

What caught my attention as well was the massive strength in the hind quarters. Those cats are huge, and strong... The deer population around here must attract them.

Cougars can get that big, possibly a mountain lion.

As I said earlier:

Cougar FTW.

Source

The archive linked within the quote has articles containing sightings all over KS. You aren't alone.

Hi EP, Thanks for the articles. I wonder if any of those cats look like the one he saw? Whatever it is, sounds timid, or is it?

erm, hello! ^^not cougar people, sounds like mountain lion! whatha? agrees himself!

thats really cool though, i'm jealous you got to see one like that!

I would think so. I saw a blog entry mentioning one had been shot near Kansas City, but wasn't able to verify the story.


Yeah, I think there's a little confusion. Whatha, a cougar is a mountain lion. Strange but true!


Source

yes, it does happen, I had a friend who owned a bobcat hybrid. She looked exactly like a bobcat, but the size of a house cat.

Are you sure that it was a true hybrid? Bobcats and house cats are in different genus. Do you have a picture of it? Was it sterile? Did it look like this?

She was sterile. There were tests done on her because the Fish & Game didn't believe that she was a hybrid. And she was. If tigers and lions can cross, why not other cats?

Listen its either on of two things:

99% It was a mountain lion. Yes this couger can grow to be very stalky, dense and muscular. Especially in northern habitats.

01% An african lion escaped in your area

LOL Now that is one BIG fat cat....awwwwwwwwwwwwww

wow. I do also think its some kind of giant feral cat, maybe a giant cat hybrid(unlikely). please do keep us informed!

Do you suppose that this cougar could have had a genetic mutation?
By the way, cougars and mountain lions are the same cat, different name. Also called pumas...



Ha, or, you know. It could be an Ozark Howler ;D

maybe it was the catbus from totoro!!