Mountain lion sighting in Thousand Oaks? Probably not, experts say

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (KABC) -- An animal that two Thousand Oaks homeowners spotted in their front yard and thought was a young mountain lion was actually a large domestic cat, wildlife officials said.

The feline was caught on camera in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood.

"We've never seen a mountain lion and when I first saw it I thought it was a cat because we get a lot of neighborhood cats," said Kelly McGee of Thousand Oaks.

McGees's camera caught what she thought was a baby mountain lion strolling casually through her front yard.

"When I zoomed in I was like I don't think that's a cat, and my husband looked at it and was like no it's not a cat," said McGee.

She said she has seen a fair share of wildlife pass by her home.

"We've had coyotes, we've had a bobcat, raccoons, but even in all the years my parents have been here we've never seen a mountain lion," said McGee.

However, a spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife's South Coast and Inland Desert regions later told the Los Angeles Times that the agency conducted an investigation and determined that the animal was actually a house cat.

After talking to neighbors, McGee said she and her husband realized that other residents' cameras have recorded a purported baby mountain lion on video.

A neighbor's Ring video apparently showed a mountain lion encountering a neighborhood house cat and then chasing it off camera.

The recent sightings put the neighborhood on high alert.

"You have to be reminded that you live somewhere where you share your space with wildlife," McGee said before wildlife officials refuted the mountain lion sighting. "Now that we have this baby mountain lion and knowing mom may be nearby we're going to be extra cautious at night when we let the dogs out, take the trash out, things like that."

The house cat seen running away in the Ring video did make it to safety. ABC7 spoke to a neighbor who tells us the cat made it home safe and sound.