Large Black Cats

[Kenn]

Saw a few posts on another thread and wanted to start one about this subject
How many have actually saw a large black cat and knew that it was no house cat ?
I can accept the science that says there is no melanism in the puma family
However I have seen 3 very large black cats in my lifetime
1 I was in my front yard and kept hearing a cooing sound like a baby would make when I spot this LBC under the light walking towards me but quartering some. What I saw was 6’-7’ nose to tail tip and it was maybe 20 yds from me
2 had just started hunt a new area when I hear something coming up the trail toward my stand
It was a LBC and it walked about 10’ from the tree I was in and looked up at me and casually turned and walked away.
It was maybe 4’-5’ nose to tail tip
3 was driving to work one morning going by some hay fields that had just been cut when I see what I think is a big black lab playing just off the road ahead of me
When I get to the place I see it’s a LBC and it has its front feet stretched out in front of itself and it’s pushing itself under the cut bay like it was after a rabbit or field rat
This cat was maybe 5’-6’ nose to tail tip and was less than 50 yds from me
Many in my family and neighbors have seen these cats
Let’s hear the stories

Having seen 3 black cats, have you seen like 24,000 non black cats? ( Seems like that would be a fair estimate of imaginary vs real sightings.)

 

[49ereric]

in the NE I would say people are probably seeing fisher cats. surprising how many people don't know what they are. my neighbor shot at a fisher one night, good thing he is a bad shot cause it was actually a cat lol.

Fisher is in the weasel family and no where near the size of a big cat.
Otter? Fisher? House cat? What else?

 

[TxxAgg]

Fisher is in the weasel family and no where near the size of a big cat.
Otter? Fisher? House cat? What else?

Well plenty of people cant tell the difference between a cat track and a dog track or estimate a 100# pig at 250#. It's obscene in TX the number of hunters who can't properly identify a snake. I can easily believe people would mistake a fisher or otter for a medium sized black cat....especially at a fleeting glance.

 

[stanginthe11s]

im guessing youve never seen an adult fisher cat. yes they are in the weasel family however they are one of the largest of the weasels. I'd say that's as big as a large cat

 

[Kenn]

im guessing youve never seen an adult fisher cat. yes they are in the weasel family however they are one of the largest of the weasels.View attachment 490134View attachment 490135 I'd say that's as big as a large cat

Now that I might mistake for a big cat!

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Fishers are demon death weasels straight from hell. Turkey serial killers.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Here's an interesting one from a Coues hunt last year.

This is why you always pay attention; still am irked on missing this opportunity.

 

[49ereric]

im guessing youve never seen an adult fisher cat. yes they are in the weasel family however they are one of the largest of the weasels.View attachment 490134View attachment 490135 I'd say that's as big as a large cat

Nope… it might be bigger than the ones I have seen in the woods or crossing the road though. Fisher are mostly fur and extra large female adult might go over 12 lbs.
I have trapped otter bigger—heavier than those fisher.

 

[Yarak]

How is it even possible to come up with mistaken ID thinking its an LBC but its actually an otter, fisher or any other small critter that doesnt even look remotely close to a LBC
I will say that anyone who has a vivid imagination like that does not need to be in the woods with a firearm of any kind
You guys can do better than this
If you want to say that they just dont exist or you need pics to believe Then thats ok but dont come up with something silly like the above described

 

[OdinIII]

How is it even possible to come up with mistaken ID thinking its an LBC but its actually an otter, fisher or any other small critter that doesnt even look remotely close to a LBC
I will say that anyone who has a vivid imagination like that does not need to be in the woods with a firearm of any kind
You guys can do better than this
If you want to say that they just dont exist or you need pics to believe Then thats ok but dont come up with something silly like the above described

You would know what this is with poor lighting?

 

[stanginthe11s]

I am not discounting what you saw, but there are more people who know nothing about nature than there are people like us. 100% most of us/we would know the difference between a cat and an otter, that's quite a difference. your sightings go against most of a big cats natural actions and lean more toward semi domesticated, much like a savannah cat which is the size of a mountain lion and it's a house cat. anything is possible, half of new mexico sees aliens so why not a black panther?
pic I found of a savannah cat. yes, they come in black.

 

[Yarak]

You would know what this is with poor lighting?

Only 1 of my sightings was in low light and even with what you have in the pic doesn’t come close

 

[Yarak]

I am not discounting what you saw, but there are more people who know nothing about nature than there are people like us. 100% most of us/we would know the difference between a cat and an otter, that's quite a difference. your sightings go against most of a big cats natural actions and lean more toward semi domesticated, much like a savannah cat which is the size of a mountain lion and it's a house cat. anything is possible, half of new mexico sees aliens so why not a black panther?
pic I found of a savannah cat. yes, they come in black.
View attachment 490266

If you knew where I had these sightings and how long ago it was you’d laugh at the thought of anybody having an exotic pet

 

[WhatToHunt]

I am not discounting what you saw, but there are more people who know nothing about nature than there are people like us. 100% most of us/we would know the difference between a cat and an otter, that's quite a difference. your sightings go against most of a big cats natural actions and lean more toward semi domesticated, much like a savannah cat which is the size of a mountain lion and it's a house cat. anything is possible, half of new mexico sees aliens so why not a black panther?
pic I found of a savannah cat. yes, they come in black.
View attachment 490266

Enough about the cat, tell me about that blonde. Meow.

 

[49ereric]

You would know what this is with poor lighting?

They don’t move like a LBC or any cat.
i understand most won’t know this.

 

[stanginthe11s]

If you knew where I had these sightings and how long ago it was you’d laugh at the thought of anybody having an exotic pet

was it at the zoo? when was it? in Alabama? was moonshine involved? I thought you asked for stories about sightings? many people have seen LBC's that were proven to be something else. like I said, my neighbor thought a cat was a fisher cat, I'm sure in his mind it was an LBC. maybe what you saw was actually an LBC but how can you argue that it was a cat and not a cat? I know LBC's exist, however I also know it's highly unlikely for 1 person let alone hundreds to have seen them, it's even more unlikely to be seeing them randomly during the day in the open and to have seen 3? well, I don't even know the odds of that. I do know you better play the lotto cause you may be the luckiest person alive. Again, I would say the average person can and does mistake other animals for LBC's, especially when there is a suggestion made. people love to imagine crazy things.

 

[stanginthe11s]

I’ve never said these were a Panther or mountain lion because I do not know what species these are and as I stated earlier I do believe the science that says there is no melanism in the puma family

you stated that you didn't know what kind of cat it was, so why are you so against the possibility of any other cat besides a black panther?

 

[Yarak]

was it at the zoo? when was it? in Alabama? was moonshine involved? I thought you asked for stories about sightings? many people have seen LBC's that were proven to be something else. like I said, my neighbor thought a cat was a fisher cat, I'm sure in his mind it was an LBC. maybe what you saw was actually an LBC but how can you argue that it was a cat and not a cat? I know LBC's exist, however I also know it's highly unlikely for 1 person let alone hundreds to have seen them, it's even more unlikely to be seeing them randomly during the day in the open and to have seen 3? well, I don't even know the odds of that. I do know you better play the lotto cause you may be the luckiest person alive. Again, I would say the average person can and does mistake other animals for LBC's, especially when there is a suggestion made. people love to imagine crazy things.

So far all youve hinted at is mistaken ID’s and I’m not mistaken about what I’ve seen
This was in Alabama, no it wasn’t at a zoo, no moonshine wasn’t involved
It was in very rural parts of the state in the early 80’s and last was in mid 90’s
Maybe I should play the lottery but then I’d have to drive to a neighboring state because Alabama doesn’t do lotto’s

 

[Btaylor]

I was in HS and college in the early-mid 80's. You didnt happen to have aluminum foil over the TV screen did ya?

 

[stanginthe11s]

OK, I've been on your side the whole time. I've given you multiple species of large cats other than panthers that can be black. you stated you did not know what specie it was, but it was a cat. now you're saying that my suggestion of cats are mistaken identity and what you saw was a cat that wasn't a cat? and somehow there's no possibility of other people mistaking things for a cat? maybe it was a saber tooth tiger?