Spruce Meadows family concerned after cougar encounter leaves cat dead

A close encounter with a cougar has left one cat dead and another missing, and a family in Spruce Meadows, south of Calgary, concerned about their safety.

“It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” resident Jessica Low told CityNews. “It left me shaken up for a very long time after.”

On Tuesday morning, Low who lives on an acreage with her family, heard a loud cry from her younger daughter who at the time, was sitting in front of the window. They were alarmed and horrified as they watched their cat being killed by a cougar.

“[She] cried out that her Rosie was dead, and I was like ‘What are you talking about?’ I jumped up and ran over,” she said. “The cougar was right there at the window staring at my daughter with our cat in it’s mouth it kind of dropped and kept like pawing at the window bearing its teeth at us, hissing and wasn’t wanting to go away. I was kind of standing between [my daughter] and the cat.”

Low says she immediately contacted her neighbours to warn them about the presence of the wildcat in the area and called Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

She says after Fish and Wildlife combed the area, they couldn’t find it but recommended her to be extra cautious, especially when children are outside, and to carry bear spray.

But, later that night, just when she thought it was all over, at about 9pm, the cougar showed up again..

“The cat is back at our window and it’s hitting its head against our window,” Low recalled. “I think I was just in shock

“It’s very concerning that it had made a second appearance and specially that close together.”

She says other residents have reported seeing cougars in the distance before, but this recent encounter was much closer.

The family’s other cat has been missing since that night, and Low hopes it is simply hiding and will return soon.

She says Alberta Fish and Wildlife told her that they plan to set a trap in case the cougar returns, but as of now, the trap has not been set up.