Black California Wildcat?

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by Anna
(Northern California)

About ten years ago, I was on a bike ride with my father and sisters and saw the strangest feline.

We were riding through Bidwell Park in Chico, CA, which is a large, natural city park.

We were somewhat between the Upper (most wild) and Lower (more urban) portions and it was around 5 or 6pm.

The cat was larger than any domestic cat I’ve seen, but nowhere near the size of a mountain lion, which are occasionally seen in the area.

It was solid black or perhaps a very dark brown, had a smallish head in proportion to it’s body, quite rounded ears, exceptionally long tail (at least 1.5 times the length of the body- and it was fairly thick).

The cat probably weighed as much as a medium dog, maybe around 30-40lbs. I definitely startled it and it quickly bolted with the graceful slink of your usual feline.

A few years later, my parents purchased a lot directly across the street from the area where I saw this cat.

I haven’t seen it again, but my father, who was perhaps a bit skeptical of my story at first, has seen a cat that matches this description on a few occasions, usually at or after dusk. He has even gotten within several yards of it laying in the grass beyond their fence. We have not gotten any picture of it though!

The environment we have seen it in is: rural (only three houses in the area and all on acreage, though one decently busy road); partly forested with oaks, cottonwood, and silver pine; tall grass; lots of scrubby brush like elderberry, willow, grape vine, etc; and a creak that runs through the whole area.

Other wildlife present include deer, raccoons, skunks, jack rabbits, coyote, occasionally a lone wolf, and once mountain lion tracks were spotted around the corral of a neighbor’s mare and her newborn foal (examined by Fish and Game who requested we shoot the lion if seen- I don’t think the tracks were from the mystery black cat because they were WAY too large- think desert plate), and plenty of birds, reptiles, rodents, and insects. Also, my parents have a very small and now old domestic feline, and the neighbors have one large dog that is usually inside, and a few horses.

Any idea what this cat could be? The closest match I’ve found so far is the Jaguarundi, but this cat had a longer tail than any Jaguarundi image I have seen, and the tail was thicker.

The head was awkwardly small for it’s body (compared to a domestic cat) with rounded ears like the Jaguarundi and ocelot. Perhaps a mutant Jaguarundi, since Northern California is quite a bit isolated from the species’ reported Central American range. Also, the Jaguarundi seems smaller than our mystery cat of around 30-40lbs. Any ideas?

Anna

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Black California Wildcat?

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May 02, 2012I just saw one today
by: Sue Glad to have found your comments. Today in Navato, CA I saw a very, very large, pure black cat, small head, short bob tail, long neck somewhere between 30-45 lbs, did not appear to have the high back legs like a bob cat, seemed to have longer hair on legs. I thought at first it was a groomed standard sized poodle, until it tuned and I saw it had a cat head. It was much larger than my 30 lb dog. It crossed a 4 lane street, stopped to glare at a car going by and then disappeared into a drainage ditch, lots of rabbits in the area by the way and deer crossing is common as well.

Never saw anything like this before but will keep my eyes open and a camera handy for next time.

What is this cat?

Apr 16, 2012Re: Runty mountain lion
by: Anna You should try to bring a camera when you walk in the area again! The animal you describe sounds to me like a young mountain lion. They have a sandy color coat from afar, but if you see their fur more closely, a full grown cat has a ticked coat (each hair is banded with multiple colors), and can often have a bridle appearance. Additionally, they are born with spotted coats that go through stages as they mature.
There have been a couple of young cougars in my area that sadly had to be euthanized because they strolled down into the city portion of Bidwell Park and showed no fear of humans, making relocation dangerous. This is one of the sad side effects of top predators existing so close to urban areas.
There are bobcats near my house that exhibit behavior similar to what you mention. They are not shy at all around people, dogs, etc. I believe it is because they have grown up in the woods so close to us that they are used to seeing us just as they are used to seeing deer, squirrels, etc. One day my husband and I were walking our 3 dogs (75lbs Golden, 65lb Weimaraner, and 20lb JRT) when the Weimaraner started straining on her leash and wining. I looked to my left and not 15 yards away was a full grown bobcat perched on a rock in a neighbor’s pasture just staring at us. I passed dogs off to my husband and approached the fence line to get a closer look. The cat just sat there until I got to within about 20ft of it and then it turned and slowly sauntered off.
Thankfully bobcats aren’t much of a threat to humans. Your cougar, if that is what it is, could surely become a threat as it grows. I would strongly recommend reporting it to your local Fish and Game Department so they will at least know of the cat’s location. Most likely they will come out and inspect the area for tracks, scat, prey remains, and other signs that it is indeed a cougar. Since the area sounds rural, they will probably do nothing to the animal, but will alert other people that it is present. If it’s a more urban area, they may attempt to trap and relocate or euthanize it.
I would also be sure to bring pepper spray or other means of self-defense with you when you walk in that area. It’s always awe inspiring to see such elusive wildlife in their natural habitats, and I feel like they should be left alone as long as they pose no obvious threat, but it is very important that we know they are there and respect them.
I hope you are able to get a photo!
Best,
Anna
Apr 14, 2012Runty mountain lion?
by: Valerie Several months ago, walking my Rhodesian Ridgeback in Orinda, she became extremely agitated. I searched about for the usual suspects – deer, our local flock of wild turkeys, or my neighbor’s pet peacock. Instead lying at its complete ease not 20 feet from me, in morning winter sunshine lay what I thought was a huge, strangely dull colored bobcat. But at 10 am in broad daylight next to a residential street? I grew up in Vermont and saw bobcats many times while driving or out cross country skiing but usually at dusk and they kept their distance. Anyway after I watched it for aver 5 minutes, my dog barking and yelping and straining at the leash and carrying on, the cat utterly indifferent, that cat stood up. No bobcat. About 35 lbs I would say -my dog is a brawny 65 lbs, so I had some point of reference, what I’d call brindle brown , not spotted, not golden at all, with a thick smooth tail longer than it’s body. It proceeded to slowly saunter away toward the ravine, in what I would describe asa stately and somewhat arrogant manner, slowly swishing its magnificent tail which had dark bands at the end of it,occasionally pausing and looking back over its shoulder at my crazed dog, with utter calm and no fear. A neighbor passed at this time. When i showed this older chinese american man the cat, who walks twice a d ay, he said in his 30years living here he never saw such a car. I saw I saw it again today on the opposite side of the same street, on the lower side of the ravine. It is either a severely stunted or young mountain lion, or some kind of mutant long tailed double size bobcat. Can anyone shed light? Same cool calm behavior, same am sunshine, same stately wildcat walk.
Apr 20, 2011Black Wild Cat Butte Valley
by: Joel We saw this totally black wildcat/bobcat last week in remote area on Dry Creek Canyon in Butte Valley about 20 miles south of Chico CA. He was roaming in the green grass then climbing the live oaks in playful bliss. His coat was shiny and glistening in the spring sunshine. As previous sightings have stated he is somewhere between a very large domestic cat and a small bobcat. Comparing him to a dog he would be around the size of black Labrador.

Unless there are many solid black bobcats roaming the Butte County area; this one black bobcat has at least a range of 20+ miles compared to the other sightings. He is worth an afternoon drive into the buttes for a quiet look.

Feb 18, 2011RE: I saw one on sat.. John
by: Anonymous If the cat had a short tail, considering the area, my best guess would not be a Jaguarundi but a melanistic bobcat. Bobcats are prevelant in Northern California, and melanistic ones are just darker in color. Bobcats naturally have spots and a short tail. The Jaguarundi has a much lankier body, very long tail, smaller rounded ears, and a smaller head.
Feb 18, 2011I saw one on sat..
by: John In powder cyn above hacienda heights..must have been some sort of a cross looked nearly black but actually was dark brown, spotted, with a short tail ~30 lbs…Not sure what it was but it was cool and calm as I approached.
Dec 16, 2010CA Black Cat
by: barflips I have seen this cat on two occasions. Yesterday morning while walking our dog Sidney, I saw a black cat along our fenced property line; a distance of less than 50 feet. It was considerably larger than a bobcat. It moved slowly, but deliberately and had a long graceful tail. Our Palm Springs community is frequently visited by all manner of smaller wild animals and the occasional coyote.

I saw a similar cat a few weeks ago while driving west on I10 in the Banning area. This cat was crossing eight lanes of interstate traffic, and running to beat the approaching traffic. He made it safely across.

Oct 27, 2010Jaguarundi in California
by: Joe Sweet About 1968 I was hunting with a friend in rural area outside of Sacramento. We came across a dead animal in the tall grass of an almond orchard. It was an animal that I have never seen before to this day.. . .it was so strange and I never knew what it was until I saw photos of a dark brown jaguarundi on the Internet and videos on You Tube… I would say it was about twice the size of an average domestic house cat, dark brown, long tail, sharp teeth, etc. . . .They say there are no jaguarundi in CA but jaguarundi is the ONLY thing it looked like….it looked just like the photos on the Internet of dark brown jaguarundis.
Oct 13, 2010Black Cat
by: Kathleen I saw a black cat that looked like a jaguarundi while out running trails in the Jack’s Peak area of Monterey this morning. It was about the size of a small lab and pure black. It had a long tail and smaller head. It was in the path about 70 yards ahead and looked like it was eating when we stopped. It then leapt from the path into the underbrush and trees. It was very svelte and moved like a large cat. It was definitely not a domestic cat!
Oct 01, 2010Large Wild Black Cat
by: Anonymous I spotted a very large wild black cat this morning, it was smaller than my dog (65 lbs) but larger than a grown bobcat. This cat meets the description of the one you describe, it was strolling along the private road I live on, until it heard me approach then dove into the brush and slinked slowly into the woods, it kept stopping and looking back at my car but stayed low, its tail was thick and long. It’s head was smaller and ears more rounded than a mountain lion. I got a very good look at it until it disappeared into the hollow. It was panther like, but appeared solid black and blended into the shaded woods very well. I live in Northern California.
Sep 23, 2010Strange cat
by: Ross I saw a cat early this morning that was about the size of a domestic cat but did not at all look like one. It was black had a bushy tail and a very pointed head. It also sat up like a ground squirrel. It was very inquisative and we just looked at each other for several minutes and it strolled away. Could this be a jaguarundi-that is what it looked like but it was smaller.
Sep 23, 2010Strange cat
by: Ross I saw a cat early this morning that was about the size of a domestic cat but did not at all look like one. It was black had a bushy tail and a very pointed head. It also sat up like a ground squirrel. It was very inquisative and we just looked at each other for several minutes and it strolled away. Could this be a jaguarundi-that is what it looked like but it was smaller.
Aug 27, 2010Saw one today!!
by: Anonymous I saw a cat that sounds exactly like you described, except it had VERY pointy ears, and it didn’t run like a house cat. It almost galloped. It was much bigger than any house cat I’ve seen. I thought it was a dog at first. My husband and I saw it on Beale AFB, about an hour or so south of Chico. It was in the middle of a huge field and it was trying to blend in to the grass. We get a lot of wildlife on the base (deer, turkeys, coyotes, etc).
Aug 01, 2010I saw it today
by: Anonymous i saw the same cat today in the millwood OHV area close to sequoia lake. i was riding on my dirtbike and it ran within 20 feet of me. i have never seen anything like that. i was thinking it could have been an exotic cat that exscaped from the cat haven just down the road.
Jul 25, 2010saw it yesterday
by: Anonymous Saw this yesterday on California hwy 180 out of the Sequoia park. Above 5000 feet. It was all black with a long bushy tail. It was in the road, lept into the brush and then on top of a boulder. Looked at us once (we could see the cat’s face) and then it jumped into the brush. Mind you we were moving at 40 mph or so but it was definitely a cat and definitely all black.
Jul 17, 2010Interesting
by: Michael I find this post interesting (thanks for visiting and sharing by the way) as another visitor had a similar experience but a bigger cat in Florida and another visitor saw a cat similar to yours in New York.

You have probably checked the wildcat descriptions against the cat you saw and not found a match, the jaguarundi being the closest.

If your description and sighting was good, as I believe it was, then I think you last paragraph carries the answer – a hybrid wild cat of some sort or as you say a mutant. I favour the hybrid.

The jaguarundi range does not extend to California. Its range is central and south America. But someone could have kept one as a pet and/or bred them producing a variety of jaguarundi and releasing it or it escaped.

People in the US do cross breed the wild cats. Breeding lion and tiger is the classic to produce the huge liger. There are others, Leopon — male leopard and female lion is one example. See them here: Hybrid cats.

When cat species are crossed or different breed are crossed you get what is called “hybrid vigor” – larger animals.

There are a number of wildcats that are similar in size to the jaguarundi, see wildcat species by size.

Someone could have cross-bred one with other. This is pure speculation. Sightings of wildcats can be difficult. People sometimes exaggerate the size (but I don’t think that you have). In the UK there is meant to be a black panther wandering around Bodmin Moor in the south west of England that is probably a large back moggie that is an outdoors cat!

Michael Avatar

67 thoughts on “Black California Wildcat?”

  1. I’m so glad I found this article. I never heard of the Jaguarundi until now when I saw an article on Facebook about this.
    Around 2006 or 2007 in Riverside County, CA I saw an animal I’ve never been able to confirm. It’s a different story than this one but the photos of the Jaguarundi is as close as I’ve ever seen to what I saw. My story may sound crazy but here it is.
    In the morning I was getting on the onramp of Int 10 heading east on the way to work. I saw something eating road kill, it looked to me like a giant mouse, it was about knee high, tan in color, short hair, round ears, fangs and a long tail. I now see how it could have been a cat but never thought that before. When I got to work I drew a picture of it and my coworkers laughed. I even called The Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA to explain what I saw, they sort if giggled and said they didn’t know what I saw. Now I at least have a real idea of what it could have been.

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