Big cat ‘the size of an Alsatian’ spotted in Cornwall

‘It’s like seeing the Loch Ness monster,’ woman says

A big cat, “at least the size of an Alsatian” has been spotted roaming the countryside in Cornwall, residents have claimed.

Becky Abrey said she spotted the animal in a field near Praa Sands, a coastal village in the area.

“It’s crazy. I still can’t quite believe it. Honestly, it was huge, far bigger than any domestic cat,” she told Cornwall Live.

“It’s like seeing the Loch Ness Monster.”

Ms Abrey filmed a video of the animal, which she saw after having lunch with her family on Sunday.

Her clip emerged just days after a man in the village of Harrowbarrow, in eastern Cornwall, said his dog had been attacked by a large black cat.

James Stephenson said his labrador, Marley, had been left injured and bleeding after being attacked by the animal.

He also claimed to have sighted the big cat after the attack.

“For the past few nights we’ve noticed large footprints down the end of the garden,” he said.

“The animals don’t want to go out. I went out to the garden with the dogs. I have a big torch and we have had to resort to putting big floodlights up to scare it off.”

“I saw two large green eyes reflecting in the torch light at the bottom of the garden.

“You’re told to make yourself appear big and aggressive and scare it off. I shouted to it and was waving my arms around and it actually started to run towards me.”

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police attended the scene and took plaster casts of the animal’s paw prints, which were almost 5in wide.

The casts have been sent off for analysis. The RSPCA also attended the scene.

“Our officer attended after reports that a labrador had been scratched by a large, black cat,” a spokesperson for the animal charity said.

“Thankfully, the dog is fine although he has scratch marks, and the owner is taking precautions to keep an eye on the dog in case of further sightings.”

Ms Abrey said she had read about reports of a large black cat in the area but had dismissed them.

“When I read about them I always think, ‘it’s just a decent-sized farm cat’ but this certainly wasn’t,” she said.

“It was at least Alsatian sized or bigger.”