When deciding what wild cat species live in the US state of Louisiana, the best source of information will be the geographic range maps on the IUCN Red website, which are reproduced on PoC. The only possible wild cat species in this state are the puma, bobcat, jaguarundi and ocelot.
The bobcat is ubiquitous throughout the USA so the bobcat can be found in Louisiana. Officially, the Puma’s range extends east as far as Texas but not as far as Louisiana. Therefore, the puma (cougar or mountain lion) should not be seen in Louisiana. However, some wandering young males might enter the state looking for a home range.
As for the jaguarundi and ocelot, you can bracket these together as their geographic range extends as far north as Mexico (jaguarundi range – ocelot range). They do not exist, according to the experts, in Louisiana.
That said there may be some in the state and some might have escaped from a private zoo. That’s it really. There is nothing much more to say. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries don’t appear to tell us what wild cat species are in their state but the answer is straightforward. If a visitor to this page has seen any of these cats it would be nice if you could leave a message. All four species are discussed in detail on this website. Please use the search box or go to this page to start.
Another sighting today (8/17/19)…my husband saw the big cat that I had seen, headed for our large water fountain…orangy-tan, but no tail & large. This evening, we saw a different one, that looks like a domestic cat, but so much bigger,maybe 3 feet long. It was a female. looking like it had milk. It also had no tail, & was orangish, but had light areas on chest & head. Took pics, but sooo far away, not so good. I know the pics look like a house cat, but it was too big for that. My husband thinks they may be lynx’s. What do you think?
Hi Charlotte. You say the cat was ‘way to big for a hous cat’. The jaguarundi is generally larger than a domestic cat but not susbstantially larger. Therefore you might have seen a young puma. It is possible. They are lanky and have small heads compared to body and long tails. Great sighting and thanks Charlotte.
We have a rather large fountain which can be seen from our kitchen window. Today (7:30 PM) I saw a large cat, tan- orange, with long legs & I couldn’t see a tail. It was drinking from the fountain, & had a rather small head for it’s size, & seemed to have short hair. After drinking, it stretched, making it’s legs appear even longer. Then it crept into the bushes behind the fountain. After searching the internet, a picture of a jaguarundi seems the most similar to the cat. Could it be? It was way too big for a house cat! We live in a woodsy area West of Alexandria, in Gardner. This is my 2nd sighting of a wild cat here.
Thanks for your comment.
I never would have thought we had panthers till I saw one jump across Palmer chapel Rd in pineville couple wks ago
Thanks a lot Alexis for sharing your sighting. He or she is a bobcat as the Canada lynx does not go this far south. Great sighting and your property sounds excellent for wildlife. I’d like that. I live in a built up area but I do have access to nature.