Big Black Cat in Texas
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on May 15th, 2014
Submitted by a Cryptomundian:
Believe it or don’t, it happened, and I have never been able to explain it away.
I was 10 years old and walking my german shepherd dog on my usual route through my elementary school on a Saturday, broad daylight. We rounded a corner and there was a gigantic black feline. I have owned cats all of my life and know a normal cat when I see one, and this was not. These days, I label it a cryptid.
It was crouched with its bottom in the air staring right into my eyes. It was enormously muscled with a short manx cat tail. It had gigantic hind quarters, and long, long back feet. Its short pitch black fur gleamed with health. Its eyes were the size of saucers, round, golden and calm. I, who know and love cats quite well, would call it an amused stare. Not a feline expression I had seen before or ever since. It did not show any aggression or menacing body language. Just crouched there and laughed(?) at us with its eyes.
It did not seem to be quite as long or tall as my dog Nikki (remember it was crouching), but I believe it weighed every bit as much as Nikki in sheer muscle (75-80 pounds).
After a few transfixed seconds, Nikki proved himself a sensible fellow this time (this was the dog who tried to attack a coiled and rattling rattlesnake) and quite silently and methodically turned around and walked away, and I followed him without thinking. We walked steadily back up the hill, out of the school, and up my block without ever looking back
When we were halfway up my block, (my street ended at the school so it was across a small street and 4 houses up), I turned around and saw that the giant cat had followed us to the end of the schoolyard and stood crouched in that same position (rear end up) on the rock wall, watching us with its great round golden eyes.
I never saw it move, but I know it must have been loping behind us the whole way home – and I know it could have easily caught us. Also, I know that Nikki must have heard and smelled it following, even if I did not, but he never gave a sign. I think maybe Nikki saved at least his life, if not mine, by remaining so calm and I just followed him. That cat could have taken both of us! In hindsight, the calmness of both Nikki and myself adds to the mysticism of the experience.
Finally, to in closing: NO, it was NOT an overgrown domestic, a mountain lion, a bobcat, a puma, a lynx or any other recognized wild felines. There are no pictures of that cat anywhere and never have been
Weird, but true.
Round Rock, Texas
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
There are reports of black panthers, pumas whatever you want to call them I guess, in remote sections of East Texas every year. Where I grew up landowners would swear up and down that they had seen these huge cats, and they were accepted as reality by local farmers and cattlemen in this area. In all the days of hunting in the deep backwoods and swamps of the Sulphur bottoms I never saw one, but I believe the people that say they’ve seen them, good honest country folks that aren’t the type to spin yarns or misidentify animals.
Where is the witness claiming this occurred? If this was supposed to be in Round Rock, TX I’m going to have to say it’s got to be a misidentification. That’s not suitable habitat for a shy species of cat.
In 1986 in southern Hopkins County my brother and I witnessed a large black cat crossing a rural county road.