I saw a baby mountain lion on the road this morning.

It was trotting along the westbound lane about a mile and half down the hill from where we live. I was in the car on the way to work. I thought that looked like an exceptionally large house cat as I got closer. Then I got closer and noticed the spots on its body, the very large paws, the long tail. It looked right at me before it fled up the hillside. Housecats don’t have faces like that.

I got to work and looked up mountain lion cub pictures on the Web. I wasn’t sure it was a mountain lion till I saw the pictures. Yep, a positive identification.

The slightly unnerving thing about this sighting is that I walk right past that area pretty much every morning. Fortunately, mountain lions prefer to feed on deer. Unfortunately, our neighborhood is run rampant with deer. So there’s a fair chance I’ve been strolling through this cub’s mama’s range for months now.

Babies are cute, mamas are another matter. And daddies.

I’m definitely getting a walking stick and a whistle to scare off any more kitties that might be hanging around.