A Washington state family came within a few feet of an aggressive cougar when it ventured into their backyard and chased their beloved pets, a nail-biting video showed.
On Saturday, the big cat darted out of the trees and into the Havener family’s Monroe backyard, where it immediately set its sights on their two cats, according to the security footage.
The cougar darted after one of the felines and zoomed right past the mom and young daughter – and even eyed up the pair for one heart-stopping second before they ran inside.
“While relaxing and washing cars, our two cats being chased by a cougar ran right into the middle of our patio,” dad Gregory Havener told Storyful of the incident.
“My wife (holding our new puppy) and daughter ran inside, while I chased it to make sure it didn’t have any pets in its mouth,” he said.
“Everyone escaped unharmed!”
The Haveners’ near-miss is one of a few recent cougar encounters over the past few months – including a group of Washington cyclists who battled one of the mountain cats for 45 minutes when it leaped onto one of their friends in March.
“I could feel the bones crushing, and I could feel [the cougar] tearing back,” biker Keri Bergere, 60, later told KUOW of the attack.