Watch your pets: Baby mountain lion stalks California neighborhood
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LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A young mountain lion roaming a California neighborhood has residents on alert, especially after it was captured on home surveillance cameras chasing a family’s house cat.
While the baby cougar may look cute, area residents quickly realized the small mountain lion is hungry and looking for food.
“I saw it and I looked again because we do have house cats go across the front door,” Thousand Oaks resident Kelly McGee told NewsNation local affiliate KTLA. “I looked again, and I was like, ‘No, the ears are round. That’s not a cat.’”
Kelly and Mark McGee spotted the cougar on their home’s motion-activated cameras earlier this month when it was on their front porch.
“It wasn’t full size, so we had to re-look at it and zoom into it and stuff and then we realized, ‘Oh my God, it’s a baby mountain lion,’” Mark explained.
Home surveillance cameras capture a young mountain lion prowling the streets of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood. (viewer photo) 
Home surveillance cameras capture a young mountain lion prowling the streets of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood. (viewer photo) 
Home surveillance cameras capture a young mountain lion prowling the streets of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood. (viewer photo) 
Home surveillance cameras capture a young mountain lion prowling the streets of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood. (viewer photo)
Cameras at their neighbor’s home across the street also captured the young mountain lion as it chased after a cat. It’s unclear what happened to the wild cat’s prey.
“We hope it’s okay,” Kelly said. “We haven’t heard of any neighbors missing a cat yet, so hopefully he made it home.”
The McGees and their neighbors live near Los Padres trail, a wildlife preserve. Residents in these foothills are used to seeing all sorts of animals, including coyotes that routinely visit homes in the area.
“We’ve been here since 1987,” Esther O’Connor told KTLA. “Basically, the only wildlife we’ve ever seen, up until I would say a couple of years ago, were birds and squirrels and raccoons, but never a mountain lion.”
The recent cougar sightings have residents on edge, particularly those with small pets.
“They can jump the fence pretty easy and get in the backyard,” Mark explained. “We let our dogs out late. I always worry about that.”
It’s also unclear if this young mountain lion has siblings that are also out on the hunt.
“Just a little baby, but we haven’t seen mom yet on the prowl,” Kelly said. “It would be cool to see mom, but at the same time, it’d be a little scary.”
Experts say these sightings are a good reminder to secure your pets and stay vigilant.
