Confirmed by DNA: mountain lion took dog from bed in Pescadero

That makes me sad. My critters are family, I’d be super upset if they became prey. :(

Many years ago, I stayed a while in an almost deserted ashram in India, and at night would walk down the long entry path to lock the gate for the night. The Swami warned me to carry a long spear, in case I needed to fend off the occasional leopard. They had apparently developed a taste for local dogs, and he had two.

“My critters are family, I’d be super upset if they became prey.”

Maybe better to look at them as links in the food chain, like every living thing on planet earth including ourselves.  Our technology has enabled us to create an environment where most of us, and our critters, live in a bubble starkly different from the reality of life in what remains of the natural world.  Every once in a while that reality intrudes on the fringes.  Not meaning to be cold hearted, but that is the reality.  Recognize it, take what measures you can to protect your own, and realize that occasionally there will be casualties to be grieved over and fondly remembered.

Katharina, are you doing anything different now to protect your pets from the big cat that roams within your camera area?

No. I have two cats that are indoor/outdoor. The bathroom window is open and they jump in and out. There are cats in the barn ( not mine) to help with rodents . I have footage of one of them getting  eaten in front of the camera. The dogs stay in at night or I take them out to pee. It’s not like I am attracting the mountain lions; we live between two creeks and the place is filled with turkeys and deer and everything else you can think of. We have all lost pets around here and we don’t make that big a deal out of it other than personal sadness . One thing has changed in the years though: I used to send Libby to feed the horses at 5:30 am starting at age 8. I would not do that now and all the neighbors have also changed as far as letting the kids roam the hills alone. There are a lot more mountain lions now around here than there were ten years ago. I am fine with adjusting how we live but I am not going to turn the cats into indoor creatures. They have had a great life so far and hopefully they will continue to do so.