by Tom Haddad
(goldsboro, NC)
I saw a large strange cat in 1988 in port St.Lucie/Stuart fla. – My wife saw 2 of them. I have tried on many occasions to identify this cat
This was in my front yard, there was a new mall being built and a secluded area was being cleared for the mall.
Anyway, this cat was very big – the size of a mountain lion, but I have seen these and this wasn’t a mountain lion or cougar you’d see in Florida.
It was built like a cheetah – small head and ears, but very large jowels. The rear legs were larger than the front and it had a tail – but it appeared to have part of the tail missing.
It was a dark brownish/red color and when it turned in the sunlight – you could see dark brown brendel stripes clearly. This cat was bigger than my dog – a large full grown malamute/setter.
An old-timer told me that there used to be a Florida wildcat – supposedly extinct, and maybe that’s what I saw..
Any ideas what this was?
Tom
There are many comments on this page from people who believe that they have seen a Florida wildcat but are unsure of its species. Please read the comments for a lot more information.
Hi Tom… Could it be the almost famous Florida jaguarundi! I am writing some time after you made the post and it seems that there is now (at 2nd December 2011) a lot of talk about the Florida jaguarundi.
Of course, the jaguarundi is much smaller than a cheetah or mountain lion. So if it is the jaguarundi you may have made a mistake on the size.
Michael
Your clock is off! It is now 9/3/2013 at 9:10pm in La.
Strange is the cat world and after seeing a pair together twice of what a long time hunter can only look upon as weird was a coon shaped cat with no neck or tail with coon-tail vertical stripes on it’s body. The jaw range of a sabre-tooth when it yawns! I have found nothing on these cats after five years! Did see a number of bobcats that year, one of which was a striped dark colored and was tall in the front and down in the rear! Not creeping! Haunting is the only way to describe these sightings! We have cougars, panthers, mountain lions, ring-tailed cats, and bobcats in north Louisiana. And now a new breed hunting in pairs! A flat-faced, tailless, coon-cat much larger than a large coon. A guess of poundage 45-50lbs. Body of a coon with a large flat faced cat head. No tail and large vertical stripes of coon tail colors! Seen by others also!
To Diane
To me, that looks like a Maine Coon or Siberian cat.
Yes, Melvin quite a lot of people, including me, would agree with you. I don’t think this cat, as shown in Diane’s comment above, is a species of wild cat.
Hi Tom,
Sounds like a bobcat. Long back legs, short tail. Maybe a big one.
In the Rocky Point subdivision in Stuart, FL. small domestic cats and dogs have gone missing at a high rate. My neighbor sighted a cat bigger than a bobcat yet slightly smaller than a panther with tufted ears. It can clear a standard 4 foot fence without touching…anybody out there think it could be a fl panther, bobcat cross? Ive seen both of those cats in our large preserve.
Thanks for visiting and sharing. The first question is, “is it possible for a bobcat and puma (Florida panther) to mate and produce a hybrid wild cat?”. The answer appears to be, Yes. Your saw a wild cat that may fit the description of a hybrid. For the time being that is all we have. I wish we had more.
The large (not domestic) cat was sighted between two buildings. My sister was behind me and she saw it too. I was on North Hutchinson Island in Ft Pierce.
Robyn, could you talk to your sister again, and see what you both agree that you saw, specifically, and what you disagree on, in terms of physiology? I know this sounds stupid, but sometimes it helps. I’d really like to hear more.
Sensible advice, I think. Sighting large wild cats is problematic.
And sometimes, Robyn, when the adrenaline is rushing, in both you and the cat, you’re both scared, you may even question what you saw. I don’t think that you should. That’s when it’s necessary to take the time to really image what you saw. anything stand out to you? That is what I would ask of anyone who had a sighting… Not only what you saw, but WHAT stood out in your mind?
Hope that you reply.