An Oregon woman recently came home to an unusual surprise: a mountain lion, which continued taking a nap for six more hours behind her sofa. The odd encounter took place on July 8 in the Ashland, Ore., home of Lauren Taylor.
After drinking from a pond in Taylor’s backyard, the cat likely entered her home through an open back door, she explained in Facebook. The post had garnered more than 17,000 reactions and shares as of Tuesday morning.
“This is wild,” she wrote. “The door was open and the room has huge plants and stairs built around real tree branches, so she likely didn’t even realize she was walking indoors until she was inside.”
After entering the home, the cat was startled by Taylor’s roommate, who screamed upon seeing the mountain lion. This prompted the wild animal to hide behind the sofa, where it snoozed for several hours.
Taylor made a noise to wake the feline, but then “gazed lovingly into her eyes, and communicated using feline-speak eye blinking to calm her,” she wrote.
“It was amazing to realize that this worked. I gazed lovingly then blinked hard and then she did it back,” Taylor continued, adding that the cat then went back to sleep. “She clearly felt safe and she showed no inclination to leave.”
When the cat awoke a second time, Taylor said she “again connected in a loving gaze and communicated trust through blinking.”
With just “a couple hours to dawn,” Taylor decided it was time to “prompt her to leave without alarming her so much that she panicked.”
The Oregon woman then used a drum to encourage the lion to exit the home.
Danny G
That’s adorable…. and terrifying.
Wes
That’s a small cat for the area, I have seen many much larger
Kristina Easterday
Small!!?? Omg that’s NOT Wes to us Michiganders! That’s bigger than my 200+ great dane!
Glen K
(New Jersey) Now that is one remarkable occurrence! I don’t know Anything about ‘feline speak, energy levels, etc.” However, it is most fortunate that lion chose a house where someone lived who knew about these things! I imagine many people have firearms in their homes, who don’t have this knowledge. The results could have been tragic for the people and/or the lion! If you think about it, having a person who has such knowledge is almost as rare as a lion walking into someone’s home and taking a nap!! Oh well, all’s well that ends well!!
Carol Germer
good story
m99
Ummmm…reminds me of a joke:
So a man was hiking in a national forest when suddenly he came upon a hungry Grizzly Bear. As the bear came toward him the man knelled and prayed out loud saying ‘Dear Lord, please make this bear a Christian!’ when shortly after the bear knelled and said, ‘Thank you for the food I’m about to receive’ … amen. Just saying. 🙂
Wes
lol
Steven B
Yours reminds me of a joke:
From opposite ends of a forest entered a hunter looking for a fur coat to keep him warm for the winter and a grizzly in search of a good meal for hibernation. By the time the grizzly had left forest both were satisfied. The grizzly was filled for his winter hibernation and the hunter now had a fur coat. 🙂
m99
…ewwwww…Steven B., now, not very funny but the point’s about the same. 🙂
Kristina Easterday
Lol!! That was AWESOME!!! Lord!! I’m catholic so I’m here laughing so hard!
Renee S
I noticed the lady also kept a safe distance from the cat as she awoke it! Happy story, happy ending
Karen C
Pretty scary, but turned out safe for all…I was confused myself I thought I was outdoors too! Nice Putty Cat…
Debbie C
I am so glad the Cougar found a loving home to sneak into and nap for awhile.
It could of gone wrong!
Animals do communicate with eyes not just voice and body movements.
The woman of the house did well.
Cynthia S
What a beautiful animal! But it would be quite the scary
surprise to find her in your living room! I’m glad everything turned out fine for the lady and the cat.
Imagine that cat jumping up on your kitchen counter. ?
Stephanie G
If you wrote this scene into a book or movie, the reader or audience would totally reject it. Truth IS stranger than fiction.
Wolf
I suspect this animal was someone’s pet… possibly set free when it got too big.
Those reactions are not of a wild animal.
m99
Hey Wolf, you read my mind! Has to be, huh?