What do you do when you think a mountain lion has eaten your dog(s)?

Question

I just found one of our fox terriors remains on our 25 acre parsel in the Santa Cruz mountains. It appears to have been eaten by a larger animal an having spotting a mountain lion weeks earlier I must asume that my dog was eaten by this mountain lion.

Answer 1

The California Department of Fish and Game> Large Mammal Program
---Black Bear, Wild Pig, Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Lion - Doug Updike [phone]

will make an effort to remove the cougar from private property and take to a protected area..
They do compenstate for livestock loss, but I don't know about pet loss..You do need to report it though..

Answer 2

There is nothing you can do, except take measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. This actually happened to us in the state of Tennessee. We had a feral cat who had some kittens. We fed them but there was no way to catch them. They were so wild. We had just bought a toy poodle. She would play with the kittens when we were outside and they started to nurse on her. She had never a any pups, never been pregnant, but her milk came down. The kittens had been weaned for a couple of weeks and the mama cat had disappeared. The dog's milk came down and she enjoyed nursing the kittens so we let them nurse. We still could not catch the kittens and they would have gone nuts in the house, so we left her outside at night to nurse them and be with them because it made her happy. The always slept on the front steps. One morning, all we found was a large pool of blood. Something had come up and attacked them all and there were no survivors. The reason we think it was a mountain lion is because one had been spotted on our prperty a couple of weeks early. We had 140 acres and the mountain lion was on a place far away from the house. I read that next to deer, a mountain lion's favorite food was dog. I guess they like small cats too. We have no proof that is what killed them but it had to be a large animal that could have taken dog and all the kittens with no survivors.

Sorry for the book.

Answer 3

I don't think there is much you can do, I mean you live on 25 acres in the mountains, you should have expected that a predatory animal would wander on there someday. I feel bad you lost your pet, but either keep them inside or build a fence if you don't want that to happen again. I don't think calling the police or wildlife agency is going to accomplish anything, the mountain lion doesn't deserve to be punished because that is his natural territory.

PS, your lucky , I wish I lived on 25 acres in the mountains lol.

Answer 4

Look around the area and see if you see BIG cat tracks mountain lions will indeed prey on smaller animals for food, this is a natural instinct and the way of life. BUT, large birds will also pick them up and carry them away for food. Hawks, owls, and eagles, This is the act of nature also. Any form of carnivores will kill for the food it is just their nature, so i suggest call the area conservation to confirm it was a mountain lion.

Answer 5

Mountain lion can eat a horse, let alone a dog.

Answer 6

sorry to hear about your dogs. That happens more and more as human sprawl pushes wild cats into smaller and smaller terrain.

While I feel for your loss, in my opinion, you should just carry on, and leave the poor cat be. Calling wildlife enforcement to move the cat will simply give you a false sense of safety, since animals are being pushed into smaller and smaller areas, with fewer and fewer resources, and no matter what you do, something else will come hunting eventually. Live cat smart. Perhaps make people around you aware. But please, leave it be. If you don't have pets loose, or garbage around for it to get at, it will probably stop coming around regularly.

Best of luck.

Answer 7

I would let the authorities know. Depending on what activity they have seen or had reported in the area, they can deal with it accordingly. If the animal has killed before, they can move it to a less populated area. If it's been spotted coming closer to more densely populated areas, they can advise citizens, and move the cat if need be. I would advise, especially since you said you saw it earlier, that you keep your dogs in or with you until you talk to the police, sheriff or animal control. Best of luck with that. It is unfortunate that you lost a pet, but hopefully you can help prevent others from that same fate.

Answer 8

Cats are more superior. I would'nt do anything for each animal is just following their instincts, dogs like to roam and lions like to kill, calling people might get the mountain lion killed and you don't want that, they are beautiful creatures. I would not let your children or dogs stray to far off without adult supervision and if you are walking around the woods have a weapon or some type of repellent. Personally I don't think Cougars are that big a threat to man and would not fear them.

Answer 9

Take better care of your pets. It's funny how mountain lions end up on your property when you live in the mountains.

Answer 10

sorry about your loss.

there is nothing you really can do but tell others who live around your area to be careful because there is a mountain lion/big cat roaming around. no offense but it is pretty obvious to keep your pets safe and secured while living up in the mountains.