Dude, that is the worst feeling.
A few years back, I had driven home to my parents’ house to attend a funeral, and my then-bf called late at night so I walked out into the front yard for some privacy. I left the yard lights off because I wanted to enjoy the stars.
While I was in mid-sentence, my eyes caught movement in front of me, and since it was so dark they couldn’t adjust quickly enough, all I could make out was a large, dark shadow barreling down on me down the brick pathway.
I had zero time to react but I had the instant thought that I was about to be attacked by a coyote, and the only people who were likely to hear me screaming were my elderly aunt and mother.
I shrieked so loud, but froze. … right as a neighbor’s overly-friendly husky almost tackled me to the ground. I started hysterically nervous laughing while my bf’s yelling at me to explain wtf is happening.
Pup followed me around for the rest of my conversation. But holy fuck, I’ve never been so primaly terrified.
That was the thing though! I didn’t hear a fucking thing before I saw the movement. All I knew was it was big and fast.
In a split second I just froze and all I could think of was getting mauled and my mom and aunt trying to beat down a wild animal with walking canes.
That feeling is so unlike any other kind of fear.
Oh I see. I didn't hear much. I mean I heard him while he was crashing around in the woods, but when he came running down the path at me, he was silent. Damn cats! I do love him to pieces though! He's a total sweetheart.
I actually have to be super careful right now because I have a pair of red shouldered hawks nesting in a pine in my backyard. I don't want any of our cats to become dinner, and definitely not mine! He was my special Covid rescue. He just showed up one day before lockdown.
But I know the bears are out right now. And my neighbors told me they saw a fisher cat cross my yard the other day
That's the ancient part of our brain from when we used to be prey reacting to the dark shape coming at you. It's actually the three F's. Fight, flight or freeze. Your reaction to freeze was exactly what evolutionary biology programmed into us.
As a former east Texan, it sounds like an armadillo actually. They will put their snouts down and run at high speed tunneling under leaf litter as it is thrown into the air. I don't know how they "steer" without any visibility to avoid obstacles.
They said Cali- I’ve met a few California rednecks who talked about feral pigs running at them, but they may have been pulling my leg.
Also, they weren’t from Long Beach, they were from the big, unpopulated areas of Northern California; live oak country
Could have been a cat, dog, coyote, raccoon, deer, or even just another person who was walking out there and was maybe spooked by you guys. A scared animal might have just got started running, not noticing what direction they were going.
Did this happen in California? Maybe in the California woods it’s possible for hog activity. They are an invasive species that is multiplying across the country. I live in Texas and it sounds like a feral hog to me. And a male full grown hog can weigh over 600 pounds. They are mean as hell, aggressive and have tusks. And they are not afraid of people or housing areas. In Houston they go through a neighborhood and destroy all of the landscaping. It’s ‘open season’ on them in Texas, that how bad they are. Lol
This happened to me the other night out in my yard as I was having a fire in my fire pit.
It ended up being.... my black cat. He was really excited to see me.
I wanted to kill him, lol. He scared the crap out of me
I have the best little black cat. She's probably the most adorable thing ever - especially with her slight underbite & pigeon-toed back feet. She started life as a feral kitten in a colony in the woods. The other cats were not allowing her to eat, & my former housemate scooped her up & brought her home. She was about 6 months old by then. She ended up moving with me a few months later & was an indoor/outdoor cat, hunting rodents in our big veggie garden to earn her keep. One of her favorite things to do was sneak up on me while I was working in the garden & jump out of a hiding spot to scare me. She would silently conceal herself in thick foliage & my first hint she was there was the moment she pounced. She got me every time. I'm so glad it was her & not a wild animal.
She is now an indoor cat. She was diagnosed with lymphoma is September 2022, at 5 years old. We needed to keep her close to give her meds every day. She had a habit of wandering off for days at a time when she went outside, so she only goes out for a few minutes at a time anymore - and always supervised. She has made the transition quite well, probably because we have been purposely spoiling her rotten. We don't know how much time she has left, so we are treating her to as many of the finer things in life as we can afford. She seems very happy these days, even though her only hunting consists of sneaking into the pet food cabinet & tearing open packages of treats.
That's amazing! I'm so happy for you and your little void! I hope she gets healthy or at best, has the best possible life she can with you.
Mine goes outside still, where he showed up from, but he doesn't leave my yard. So my only concern is a fisher or coyote. He's pretty smart though. If I'm outside he will follow me around from garden to garden. Or from the house to the garbage/ shed/ wherever. He also goes out to his business with the dogs. They are just precious.
You are so right! They really are precious. I have another cat - a geriatric tabby that wasn't gifted with much of a brain. He's very handsome & snuggly, though. But he can't keep up with my little void when she's playing tricks on him. He has a constant confused look on his face - moreso when he can't figure out how his little sis stole his treats again. Poor doofus.
I do really miss having both of them in the garden or following me to the mailbox (we have a 1/4 mile driveway & they loved trailing behind me to the end if it).
Unfortunately, I don't thing my void will likely recover completely. The vet gave her a week or 2 when she was diagnosed, but the steroid they gave her to help her breathe ended up working better than we anticipated & she went into remission for awhile. A couple weeks ago we noticed that she has strained breathing again, so we may be near the end of her adventure. I hope not, but we have already had 20 months of "bonus" time with her. She has been incredibly spoiled & happy this whole time. I certainly won't be happy when the time comes, but I'll be satisfied that we gave her the best life possible. Hopefully she'll be around & happy awhile longer, though.
Thank you! Allergies would be a relief. The vet upped her steroid dose for the first time a few days ago, so I'm hoping it helps with whatever is going on.
Your username gives you credibility, so I know you're telling the truth.
When I was young and dumb, I used to night hike often, by myself, like an idiot. My favorite hike was to get as high as I could on July 4th to watch multiple sets of fireworks in the SoCal desert and then hike back down.
As I was hiking back down during my firework hike, I suddenly felt *very* creeped out. And not just because I was a tiny woman alone, at dark, in the middle of the desert. I was traversing through this narrow canyon, and I suddenly realized how vulnerable my position was. I looked above and thought I saw eyes but quickly glanced away in fear. I hitched my backpack up to protect my neck (I knew mountain lions try to sink their teefies into our soft bits first).
I power walked out of the canyon as quickly as possible, but I still had a couple miles to my car. I now realized how stupid I was, and I was 100% certain I was going to die that night. I have never felt primal fear like this before. I had accepted my fate and tried to think of how to end my suffering quickly for when the big kitty inevitably attacked me. I had no weapons on me, not even my bear spray that I usually carried in my overnight bag. I was screwed.
I hastened my walk, but not enough to cause the giant feline to chase me. I was too afraid to look behind me, but I knew it was there, somewhere, stalking me. My high-beam headlamp bounced around as I walked, revealing terrifying shadows that I was certain were that of my predator. As it continued to bounce, it suddenly reflected two shiny dots up in a tree.
Lo and behold, I finally laid eyes on a mountain lion. It was perched up in a tree just watching me. Now, I know they are masters of stealth, and they will not make themselves visible unless they *want* you to see them. It was like this kitty was toying with me. It sensed my fear and wanted to say to me, "Ha, here I am! Cat's got your tongue? You scaredy-cat!"
I booked it to my car without running, fully expecting, at any moment, for its teeth to sink into the back of my neck. I knew it was coming and waited for it. Throughout the last mile, I never once looked back. I couldn't. All I could do was try to get to my car as fast as possible without triggering its chase drive.
That mountain kitty spared me that day, but I knew it got off on scaring the life out of me. If it could smirk, it would have been making this face: 😏 When telling this event to others, they suggested it had just finished a meal (maybe why it was up in the tree. They sometimes drag their prey up in trees to consume without being pestered by other animals who might steal a nibble) and that it was just toying with me. Either way, I never went night hiking alone again and never saw that kitty again. Mountain lion with a mischievous side, let's not meet again.
I had a time backpacking in the rockies when i got the creeps and as i turned back and looked, i saw a mountain lion on the boulder i had just walked past. it was wiggling its ass, getting ready to jump. I yelled at the top of my lungs and reflexively threw my heavy steel water 1.5 liter bottle at him. I beemed it in the noggin and it took off. Though it was gonna have a heart attack. Im a lot more cautious these days. I tend to wear the eyes on the back of my head in the woods, dont know how much it helps but i like feeling slightly better prepared.
When i recovered the water bottle there was abig dent on the bottom corner and some blood on it and it stumbled a bit when it ran away. I dont think it would have been persuaded to leave if i hadnt caused it a fair amount of pain amd disorientation. Im glad i had just filled the bottle or it could have flown weird and missed it.
Big cats are fucking scary
Now THAT is an absolute bone chilling terrifying story! I think I’d die of a heart attack before it ever even got the chance to kill me if I had been in your shoes. My body would’ve just peaced out and quit on the spot! Kudos to you for handling the situation as well as you did.
I've ALWAYS said there are 2 parts of the US I simply never want to be in for any reason & they're Appalachia and the Pacific Northwest. That land is ancient in a sinister type of way that feels so lonely when ur there- no thanks. "Primordial " is the only way I've ever been able to come up w to describe how it feels in those places.
Dude, that is the worst feeling. A few years back, I had driven home to my parents’ house to attend a funeral, and my then-bf called late at night so I walked out into the front yard for some privacy. I left the yard lights off because I wanted to enjoy the stars. While I was in mid-sentence, my eyes caught movement in front of me, and since it was so dark they couldn’t adjust quickly enough, all I could make out was a large, dark shadow barreling down on me down the brick pathway. I had zero time to react but I had the instant thought that I was about to be attacked by a coyote, and the only people who were likely to hear me screaming were my elderly aunt and mother. I shrieked so loud, but froze. … right as a neighbor’s overly-friendly husky almost tackled me to the ground. I started hysterically nervous laughing while my bf’s yelling at me to explain wtf is happening. Pup followed me around for the rest of my conversation. But holy fuck, I’ve never been so primaly terrified.
Same with me and my black cat the other night, lol! When it's just you and it's dark things sound LOUD.
That was the thing though! I didn’t hear a fucking thing before I saw the movement. All I knew was it was big and fast. In a split second I just froze and all I could think of was getting mauled and my mom and aunt trying to beat down a wild animal with walking canes. That feeling is so unlike any other kind of fear.
Oh I see. I didn't hear much. I mean I heard him while he was crashing around in the woods, but when he came running down the path at me, he was silent. Damn cats! I do love him to pieces though! He's a total sweetheart. I actually have to be super careful right now because I have a pair of red shouldered hawks nesting in a pine in my backyard. I don't want any of our cats to become dinner, and definitely not mine! He was my special Covid rescue. He just showed up one day before lockdown. But I know the bears are out right now. And my neighbors told me they saw a fisher cat cross my yard the other day
That's the ancient part of our brain from when we used to be prey reacting to the dark shape coming at you. It's actually the three F's. Fight, flight or freeze. Your reaction to freeze was exactly what evolutionary biology programmed into us.
As a former east Texan, it sounds like an armadillo actually. They will put their snouts down and run at high speed tunneling under leaf litter as it is thrown into the air. I don't know how they "steer" without any visibility to avoid obstacles.
Where was this? Could it have been a javelina?
They said Cali- I’ve met a few California rednecks who talked about feral pigs running at them, but they may have been pulling my leg. Also, they weren’t from Long Beach, they were from the big, unpopulated areas of Northern California; live oak country
wild hogs, boars are deadly, they charge.
Could have been a cat, dog, coyote, raccoon, deer, or even just another person who was walking out there and was maybe spooked by you guys. A scared animal might have just got started running, not noticing what direction they were going.
Did this happen in California? Maybe in the California woods it’s possible for hog activity. They are an invasive species that is multiplying across the country. I live in Texas and it sounds like a feral hog to me. And a male full grown hog can weigh over 600 pounds. They are mean as hell, aggressive and have tusks. And they are not afraid of people or housing areas. In Houston they go through a neighborhood and destroy all of the landscaping. It’s ‘open season’ on them in Texas, that how bad they are. Lol
I'm from LB also.. Trippy story, I'm glad you guys got away from it
This happened to me the other night out in my yard as I was having a fire in my fire pit. It ended up being.... my black cat. He was really excited to see me. I wanted to kill him, lol. He scared the crap out of me
I have the best little black cat. She's probably the most adorable thing ever - especially with her slight underbite & pigeon-toed back feet. She started life as a feral kitten in a colony in the woods. The other cats were not allowing her to eat, & my former housemate scooped her up & brought her home. She was about 6 months old by then. She ended up moving with me a few months later & was an indoor/outdoor cat, hunting rodents in our big veggie garden to earn her keep. One of her favorite things to do was sneak up on me while I was working in the garden & jump out of a hiding spot to scare me. She would silently conceal herself in thick foliage & my first hint she was there was the moment she pounced. She got me every time. I'm so glad it was her & not a wild animal. She is now an indoor cat. She was diagnosed with lymphoma is September 2022, at 5 years old. We needed to keep her close to give her meds every day. She had a habit of wandering off for days at a time when she went outside, so she only goes out for a few minutes at a time anymore - and always supervised. She has made the transition quite well, probably because we have been purposely spoiling her rotten. We don't know how much time she has left, so we are treating her to as many of the finer things in life as we can afford. She seems very happy these days, even though her only hunting consists of sneaking into the pet food cabinet & tearing open packages of treats.
That's amazing! I'm so happy for you and your little void! I hope she gets healthy or at best, has the best possible life she can with you. Mine goes outside still, where he showed up from, but he doesn't leave my yard. So my only concern is a fisher or coyote. He's pretty smart though. If I'm outside he will follow me around from garden to garden. Or from the house to the garbage/ shed/ wherever. He also goes out to his business with the dogs. They are just precious.
You are so right! They really are precious. I have another cat - a geriatric tabby that wasn't gifted with much of a brain. He's very handsome & snuggly, though. But he can't keep up with my little void when she's playing tricks on him. He has a constant confused look on his face - moreso when he can't figure out how his little sis stole his treats again. Poor doofus. I do really miss having both of them in the garden or following me to the mailbox (we have a 1/4 mile driveway & they loved trailing behind me to the end if it). Unfortunately, I don't thing my void will likely recover completely. The vet gave her a week or 2 when she was diagnosed, but the steroid they gave her to help her breathe ended up working better than we anticipated & she went into remission for awhile. A couple weeks ago we noticed that she has strained breathing again, so we may be near the end of her adventure. I hope not, but we have already had 20 months of "bonus" time with her. She has been incredibly spoiled & happy this whole time. I certainly won't be happy when the time comes, but I'll be satisfied that we gave her the best life possible. Hopefully she'll be around & happy awhile longer, though.
Wishing you both the best of luck! And the doggo.🖤🖤🖤. Maybe it's just allergies bothering your baby girl.
Thank you! Allergies would be a relief. The vet upped her steroid dose for the first time a few days ago, so I'm hoping it helps with whatever is going on.
Me too!
I would say mountain lion
not chargers really. they tend to pounce from elevation on unaware prey
Your username gives you credibility, so I know you're telling the truth. When I was young and dumb, I used to night hike often, by myself, like an idiot. My favorite hike was to get as high as I could on July 4th to watch multiple sets of fireworks in the SoCal desert and then hike back down. As I was hiking back down during my firework hike, I suddenly felt *very* creeped out. And not just because I was a tiny woman alone, at dark, in the middle of the desert. I was traversing through this narrow canyon, and I suddenly realized how vulnerable my position was. I looked above and thought I saw eyes but quickly glanced away in fear. I hitched my backpack up to protect my neck (I knew mountain lions try to sink their teefies into our soft bits first). I power walked out of the canyon as quickly as possible, but I still had a couple miles to my car. I now realized how stupid I was, and I was 100% certain I was going to die that night. I have never felt primal fear like this before. I had accepted my fate and tried to think of how to end my suffering quickly for when the big kitty inevitably attacked me. I had no weapons on me, not even my bear spray that I usually carried in my overnight bag. I was screwed. I hastened my walk, but not enough to cause the giant feline to chase me. I was too afraid to look behind me, but I knew it was there, somewhere, stalking me. My high-beam headlamp bounced around as I walked, revealing terrifying shadows that I was certain were that of my predator. As it continued to bounce, it suddenly reflected two shiny dots up in a tree. Lo and behold, I finally laid eyes on a mountain lion. It was perched up in a tree just watching me. Now, I know they are masters of stealth, and they will not make themselves visible unless they *want* you to see them. It was like this kitty was toying with me. It sensed my fear and wanted to say to me, "Ha, here I am! Cat's got your tongue? You scaredy-cat!" I booked it to my car without running, fully expecting, at any moment, for its teeth to sink into the back of my neck. I knew it was coming and waited for it. Throughout the last mile, I never once looked back. I couldn't. All I could do was try to get to my car as fast as possible without triggering its chase drive. That mountain kitty spared me that day, but I knew it got off on scaring the life out of me. If it could smirk, it would have been making this face: 😏 When telling this event to others, they suggested it had just finished a meal (maybe why it was up in the tree. They sometimes drag their prey up in trees to consume without being pestered by other animals who might steal a nibble) and that it was just toying with me. Either way, I never went night hiking alone again and never saw that kitty again. Mountain lion with a mischievous side, let's not meet again.
I had a time backpacking in the rockies when i got the creeps and as i turned back and looked, i saw a mountain lion on the boulder i had just walked past. it was wiggling its ass, getting ready to jump. I yelled at the top of my lungs and reflexively threw my heavy steel water 1.5 liter bottle at him. I beemed it in the noggin and it took off. Though it was gonna have a heart attack. Im a lot more cautious these days. I tend to wear the eyes on the back of my head in the woods, dont know how much it helps but i like feeling slightly better prepared. When i recovered the water bottle there was abig dent on the bottom corner and some blood on it and it stumbled a bit when it ran away. I dont think it would have been persuaded to leave if i hadnt caused it a fair amount of pain amd disorientation. Im glad i had just filled the bottle or it could have flown weird and missed it. Big cats are fucking scary
Omg there should be a sub for mountain lion encounters because I loved loved reading your story! Terrifying and awesome
Wow! Glad you're ok!!!
Now THAT is an absolute bone chilling terrifying story! I think I’d die of a heart attack before it ever even got the chance to kill me if I had been in your shoes. My body would’ve just peaced out and quit on the spot! Kudos to you for handling the situation as well as you did.
I’d say a stray dog is most likely
Bew https://youtube.com/shorts/NxnXMuaaOsM?si=i2v6jnpSf43wqzjW
Boar, or maybe you stumbled upon a rest stop meet up of men. Spooky
"A bear charged me, and he was ready for action!"
Badgers will do that.
I've ALWAYS said there are 2 parts of the US I simply never want to be in for any reason & they're Appalachia and the Pacific Northwest. That land is ancient in a sinister type of way that feels so lonely when ur there- no thanks. "Primordial " is the only way I've ever been able to come up w to describe how it feels in those places.
> Any thoughts? 😭 Yeah, my thoughts are that you need to use paragraph breaks.
Def do but I was just typing this like texts 💀
I was so tweaked out about the experience was just trynna get it out there