Mountain lion runs into La Verne home, gets spooked and splashes through pool

A La Verne man got quite the surprise on Saturday when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, and soon realized it was a mountain lion wandering around inside his mother’s house.

It was 1 p.m. exactly, Jeff Tenney said, when home security footage captured the moment the big cat trotted straight through the open front door of the home.

Jeff said he was standing in the kitchen when he noticed something in the dining room.

“Right away, I knew it was a mountain lion,” Jeff told KTLA. He said his immediate concern went to the safety of his dog, which was napping in the front yard at the time.

“As I headed toward the front door, the cat spotted me, panicked and bolted out the back screen and splashed right into the pool,” Jeff said. “Thankfully, no one was injured, but sadly, the pool floaty didn’t make it.” He then shared a photo of a deflated pool floaty, presumably punctured by the spooked mountain lion during its frantic escape.

“Just another Saturday in La Verne!” Jeff joked.

Jeff’s mother, Cindi Tenney, shared her home footage of what she described to be a “friendly cat” with KTLA in hopes of letting the community know to stay alert. She said La Verne Police referred her to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, but when she called, they were closed.

Cindi’s main concern is that she lives in a neighborhood heavily populated with children. Just last weekend, an 11-year-old in Malibu was bitten on the arm by a mountain lion. “Please notify the community,” Cindi told KTLA.

The National Park Service website states that if you see a mountain lion, stay calm, do not approach it, run from it, or crouch down — instead, do all you can to appear intimidating. For more information, click here. Once it is safe to do so, NPS says to immediately report all sightings to local authorities and wildlife experts.

Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.