Neighbors Are A Little Wary Of Cougar Living Next Door

Most days Charlie, a Spokane Valley family’s pet cougar, prances adorably around his pen.

He stretches in the sun and plays with an 11-year-old girl.

But neighbors warned not to be captivated by the cat’s beauty. If the cougar, owned by Randy and Lavina McGlenn, ever gets angry, watch out, neighbors said.

“When we found out that it was there, my (14-year-old) daughter was strictly forbidden to go over there,” Gayle Gutto said.

Charlie escaped from his 35-by-12-foot pen on Wednesday afternoon. He roamed freely for about an hour before Lavina McGlenn was able to collar and drag the 150-pound cat back to his pen. The curious cat remained placid throughout his hour-long escape and no one was injured.

The 3-year-old cougar is declawed, but neighbors say that does little to squelch their concerns.

“It still has teeth,” said Gutto, who lives three houses north of the McGlenns.

The McGlenns have raised Charlie since he was a cub and frequently allow him into their house. They say Charlie is harmless.

“But we have to watch out for our cats because he likes to play with them,” Elisa McGlenn, 11, said.

Next-door neighbor Dave Chandler, who reported Charlie’s Wednesday escape, said the cougar has been well behaved, but admitted to being a little leery.

“It’s so unpredictable. You never know what’s going to happen,” Chandler said.

Another neighbor said although the cat appears docile, he worries about Charlie’s wild instincts.

“They say it’s a domesticated cat. They say it’s just a pussy cat,” Desmond Thompson said. “You get that cat excited and you’ll find out how big a pussy cat it is.”

Spokane County does not have an exotic animal ordinance, leaving animal control officials with little ability to regulate such pets, said Nancy Sattin, county animal control director. Although a cougar is native to Spokane, county officials consider it exotic because it is not a traditional household pet.

To keep a native cat, state law requires that owners prove they purchased the cat from a legal, out-of-state owner or received it as a gift. Owners are forbidden from selling the cats or using them for commercial purposes.

Neighbors of the McGlenns say they hope to see regulations tighten because of the number of children in their neighborhood.

St. John Vianney, Arthur B. Ness and Broadway elementary schools all held children in school until Charlie was captured about 4 p.m. Wednesday.

“I think it’s a beautiful animal,” Thompson said. “But I think it’s in the wrong place.”

, DataTimes