Search launched for exotic cat that appeared in Georgia woman's bedroom
July 3, 2021, 1:18 PM
Officials in Georgia are searching for a serval, an exotic wild cat native to Africa, after a woman claimed it appeared in her house and jumped onto her bed while she was sleeping.
The search is concentrated in the Brookhaven area near Atlanta's Buckhead community.
On Wednesday evening, a resident called Fulton County Animal Services reporting that a large wild cat entered her bedroom. No one was hurt and her husband snapped a photo of the serval and shared it with state authorities, according to local Georgia ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
It's illegal to have servals, which physically appear similar to cheetahs and leopards, as pets in Georgia, the state's Department of Natural Resources told ABC News.
Lieutenant Wayne Hubbard, the Special Permit Unit Program Manager of DNR, told ABC News the cat was sighted on Tuesday, June 29, again on Wednesday, June 30, when officials were first notified, and once more on Thursday.
When officials arrived to the area of the Thursday spotting, the cat had disappeared and a trap was set up at that location.
"We are currently plotting the serval's movements through reports of sightings from the public. In total we have had six sightings which are all the same general area. The location of our trap is still centrally located within the cat's movement area so it will remain there until it drastically changes location," Hubbard said.
He said so far an owner of the cat has not been positively identified but "we do have some information that we are following up on."
If an owner can be identified they face the possibility of being charged with the illegal possession of the cat as well as for allowing it to escape captivity.
Officials say that they believe the serval has been raised as a pet and doesn't pose any danger to the public as long as a person does not try to physically capture it. They're warning the public to keep their distance.
Atlanta woman wakes up to find serval cat in bed after husband leaves door open
July 6, 2021, 9:34 PM UTC
Kristine Frank's husband got up early that morning to let their dog out, but she stayed in bed and continued to rest, according to WXIA.
But then Frank felt movement on the bed, which couldn't have been her husband or dog, since she doesn't allow the dog to sleep in the bed. Startled, she woke up and found an unfamiliar, large cat laying in the bed, Frank told the outlet.
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Frank said the cat jumped out of the bed almost immediately, but it retreated to a different part of the room as she called out to her husband, "Dave, that is not a cat!"
When her husband entered to find his wife scared and panicking, he locked eyes with the cat, which was cornered across the room, as Frank tip-toed out the other way to escape. Moments later, her husband was finally able to get the wild cat out of the house, according to WXIA.
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Wildlife officials have not found the cat but say it was likely in the Atlanta area because someone is illegally keeping it as a house pet.