Big Cat Issues

[blessedfarmgirl]

We have possible big cat on our property. My youngest sister is 11 and is the only one who has seen it, but she's so terrified we really don't think she's making it up. She's not that type of person. She's also very animal smart and good at describing. The problem is, the big cat she has seen twice now is black and about the size of our small Pyrenees, Gracie, who weighs about 90 lbs. That eliminates the jaguarundi, which is one of the few things it could be because they only weigh about 20 lbs. The only thing it could be other than that is a black panther, which is a melanistic jaguar or leopard, which supposedly don't exist in Texas. It could be a mountain lion, but she really doesn't think so. We showed her pictures and she says it was way too dark to be one and doesn't have the same face and markings. She says it has no markings.

The first time she saw it was from about fifty yards away, and it was in a tree looking down at our sheep in the pasture. It jumped down from the tree and ran off in the opposite direction. This was about 11am yesterday.

The second time she saw it was about a hundred yards closer to the house, on the ground this time at the edge of the woods, at about 5pm today. This was when she saw it more clearly (it was only about 20 feet away from her) and it was indeed black as far as she could see. Our dog Gracie was with her and growled fiercely, she doesn't usually growl, then chased it. They both disappeared into the woods, then my sister heard a yelp and Gracie came running back to stand by her. (I'm so thankful that did was with her, I really don't know what would have happened if she wasn't. They both ran back to the house after that. My dad went up with a 350 to look for it, but it was gone and they didn't find any signs of it.

Does anyone have any suggestions what we should do? I have serious doubts either of my dogs could stand up to a cat that big. It's been seen twice in two days and during the day so it's definitely scouting out our farm, particularly the sheep, who are up the hill. We are making sure Moses is in the pasture with them 24/7 and have been carrying guns with us when we go up, (and making sure my sister does not wander away from the house alone) but I don't know what we can do beyond that.

 

[Mini Horses]

Wow. Never hunted one but sounds like it's hunting lamb! If both sightings were in same general area, I'd hang out with a gun and watch. Any hunters in the area looking for a day of excitement? I'd sure be concerned....and for whether one dog would be enough. It's been there 2x in 2days. It's hunting & focused.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

Wow. Never hunted one but sounds like it's hunting lamb! If both sightings were in same general area, I'd hang out with a gun and watch. Any hunters in the area looking for a day of excitement? I'd sure be concerned....and for whether one dog would be enough. It's been there 2x in 2days. It's hunting & focused.

It was in the same general area, up on the west pasture hills. My dad is planning on going up there a few times a day since he's not working this week. I'm more comfortable with a .22 not the .350 so he'd have a better chance of killing it. We also talked about tying a lamb out away from the rest of the sheep and seeing if that will attract the cat's attention. We have a couple hunter friends he could call who might at least give us some tips.
I could do without this type of excitement.

 

[Baymule]

I’d bring the sheep close in. 2 dogs aren’t enough for a big cat. Big cats even hunt dogs to eat them. If the cat makes a kill, it will be back. You don’t want it to make that first kill, you want to make it hard to make a kill. Bring the sheep as close to the house as possible, pen with the dogs. If you have small house dogs, you could cage them at night where the cat can’t get them, so they would bark and add to the noise. The idea is to give the cat the impression that it would have to fight for something to eat. If it gets hurt, it can’t hunt. So maybe it will go look for an easier kill.

Getting some hunter friends over there isn’t a bad idea.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

I’d bring the sheep close in. 2 dogs aren’t enough for a big cat. Big cats even hunt dogs to eat them. If the cat makes a kill, it will be back. You don’t want it to make that first kill, you want to make it hard to make a kill. Bring the sheep as close to the house as possible, pen with the dogs. If you have small house dogs, you could cage them at night where the cat can’t get them, so they would bark and add to the noise. The idea is to give the cat the impression that it would have to fight for something to eat. If it gets hurt, it can’t hunt. So maybe it will go look for an easier kill.

Getting some hunter friends over there isn’t a bad idea.

I was already thinking about moving them down here to the house, only problem is I'm pretty much out of hay and they eat pasture down crazy fast. I don't really have a lot of pasture near the house. If I pen them up by the house for awhile I'm going to need to make a hay run. But I may need to if we don't want to lose any animals. I can put them next to the barn where the goats are and have both Moses and Gracie nearby. We'll see what my dad thinks.

 

[CLSranch]

I’d bring the sheep close in. 2 dogs aren’t enough for a big cat. Big cats even hunt dogs to eat them. If the cat makes a kill, it will be back. You don’t want it to make that first kill, you want to make it hard to make a kill. Bring the sheep as close to the house as possible, pen with the dogs. If you have small house dogs, you could cage them at night where the cat can’t get them, so they would bark and add to the noise. The idea is to give the cat the impression that it would have to fight for something to eat. If it gets hurt, it can’t hunt. So maybe it will go look for an easier kill.

Getting some hunter friends over there isn’t a bad idea.

Ditto.


They've been seen here near me and by all other accounts no they don't exist here either. Same with a normal Mt. lion. They been seen here on cams and by people for decades. Have even seen pics of one stalking and taking a down a nice 10pt white tail. Just this year after having some public pics of a females with kits have they admitted we have more than just a couple that happen to travel through.

Also they are very strong animals. They can jump a fence, run and climb a tree with a sheep, your little sister or a 150lb whitetail in it's mouth. Carry whatever you can and always keep it chambered. But try not to get close enough to use that .22 If it's their fire but I would try to hunt with 100yd + capabilities and I'm a big fan of the not to big rifles that shoot an unrealistic mile. I like the 350, love a 30-30 and know in the hands of a proficient shot what a .22 can do.
Any gun in the house doesn't help unless everyone is in the house. You and dad carry, carry, carry

 

[CLSranch]

Not helpful but hopefully your dad has friends like this.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

Ditto.


They've been seen here near me and by all other accounts no they don't exist here either. Same with a normal Mt. lion. They been seen here on cams and by people for decades. Have even seen pics of one stalking and taking a down a nice 10pt white tail. Just this year after having some public pics of a females with kits have they admitted we have more than just a couple that happen to travel through.

Also they are very strong animals. They can jump a fence, run and climb a tree with a sheep, your little sister or a 150lb whitetail in it's mouth. Carry whatever you can and always keep it chambered. But try not to get close enough to use that .22 If it's their fire but I would try to hunt with 100yd + capabilities and I'm a big fan of the not to big rifles that shoot an unrealistic mile. I like the 350, love a 30-30 and know in the hands of a proficient shot what a .22 can do.
Any gun in the house doesn't help unless everyone is in the house. You and dad carry, carry, carry.

Thank you for your input. They are certainly scary animals. Coyotes and foxes don't worry me, but big cats are a different story. We will certainly be carrying and doing some target practice. That might hopefully discourage a predator lurking as well.
If this is a black panther and we kill it, it will be the first confirmed one in TX in 75 years.

 

[SageHill]

Definitely bring the sheep close in. Short on hay - make a hay run now -- hay is cheaper than the loss of sheep and the cat getting a kill and deciding that your ranch is a "drive-thru" for fast food.
And then all the other advice to carry.

 

[CLSranch]

Anything attacking your critters can be legally handled. Still on that note, on something they don't/won't admit exist "I can neither confirm or deny." Not sure why there is a fresh dirt pile. Just sayin