Mountain Lion Caught After Roaming Natomas Neighborhood
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Neighbors in Natomas got quite the shock Sunday morning after a mountain lion was spotted on Bessemer Way.
"Oh, I was freaking out," said Dan O'Shea. "It was pretty cool and scary and terrifying at the same time."
His Ring surveillance camera captured the curious cat walking up to the front door.
"Well, it was a giant cat!" O'Shea told CBS13. "It was a bit of a shock. You don't see that in this neighborhood!"
He called the police as the cat continued to roam the streets and said officers told him they weren't sure if Fish and Wildlife would come to take a look. But seeing the video was enough to get them into the neighborhood quickly. Officers arrived around 10am and urged the neighbors to stay inside.
Cynthia Hextell told CBS13 just hearing about the huge cat outside made her terrified for her family.
"And then I asked my husband if he thought the mountain lion could fit in our dog door and I was kind of worried about that too!" she said.
Authorities blocked off Bessemer Way as animal control hunted down the cat. Even City councilmember Angelique Ashby got briefed on the situation.
"It's a pretty unusual event!" she said. "That hasn't happened since I've been the councilmember, which is a little over 8 years!"
As animal control moved in, the cat didn't sit still and eventually made his way into Bill Garvey's backyard.
"It was just lying behind an oversized juniper bush," he said.
He snapped several pictures of the mountain lion in a standoff with Fish and Wildlife experts. Eventually, they shot the animal with a tranquilizer.
"It just sort of slumped down behind our pomegranate tree," Garvey explained. "It took about 10 minutes for it to lie down."
It all came to a peaceful conclusion as the cat was carried out in slumber.
"Our cats sit out here all day long and wait for other cats to come by," O'Shea said.
And it seems Sunday O'Shea's furry friends got just what they were hoping for.
"I'm glad the cat's fine," he said. "I'm a cat lover!"
According to animal control, once the cat is awake he'll likely be released into a wild area far, far away from any residential neighborhood.
