(unless u are talking about certain hybreds that cost 1000 dollars or more in which case they would probably have a collar on and im pretty sure the owner would freak out if it got outside, and melanism being bred into these hybreds is even more rare)

large house cat hmm, im not sure about that

The feral cats seen in Aussie newspapers recently have all been similar to the poor puss that Craig Woolheater has linked back to – held very close to the camera to make them look more impressive.

Which is not to say we don’t have some quite big ferals in the outback. A friend on a driving holiday came across a dead black feral cat estimated at about 40 lbs, which seems to be the realistic limit for these cats here in Oz. I’ve had a rescued feral kitten that grew to a good 20 lbs, but in reality most feral cats seem to be smaller and more wiry than better-fed domestics.

As for our mystery cat in the photo – definitely a lovely domestic; possibly half-Siamese or Burmese tom (hence the ‘jowly’ face) as these tend towards glossy jet black coats when crossed. Pity we don’t have a better look at the colour of the eye reflection – Siamese eyes reflect red instead of the usual green in most other breeds, the Himalayan coat pattern being a form of albinism. The domestic’s paw neat paw shape and pointed ears give it away.

Funny this even made a ripple; even the photo’s proportions do not make the cat look any larger than it should.

I too have heard many tales of credible people seeing “black panthers” in the Appalachian mountains and the midwest. The odd thing is that there are no confirmed records of black or melanistic pumas. I do believe that they exist; howerver I think that most reports of “black panthers” in the US are misidentifications.

A house cat, when it is hunting out in a field or at the edge of a forest, can seem larger than it really is, especially if someone comes upon it unexpectedly and it bounds away & disappears from sight.

That photo of the black cat from Australia looked like it had been deliberatley manipulated to make the cat appear larger that it really was. I have seen similar photos of bears lately, that were obviously manipulated. Some people get their kicks from initiating hoaxes, just to stir things up.

I do believe that big cats exist in the wild in the Eastern US, and that there is a viable breeding population of the Eastern puma. I am open to the possibility that there may be a black color phase, or at least a very dark form that looks black to the casual observer. But the cat in this photo is not any kind of big cat. It is a house cat.