Watch a House Cat Defend Her Humans From a Big Black Bear

Written by Sharon Parry
Updated: October 20, 2023
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The Pet Collective YouTube channel share some fabulous content with their nearly three million subscribers and we love this short clip of a courageous cat essentially telling a huge black bear to back off! The proud cat owners have annotated the vid and announce “She was protecting us from the bear.” It seems an impossible task for a domestic cat to fend off an enormous bear but that is exactly what this brave puss does! Eventually, the bear gives up and walks away.

Check Out The Entire Video Below!

Cats are very popular pets in the US with just over a quarter of all homes having a pet cat. There are also an estimated 30-100 million feral cats roaming the streets! But we’re willing to bet that very few people got a cat to protect them from bears, right?

Cat Body Language

We can only speculate about what is going through this cat’s mind. We join the scene as the bear creeps cautiously towards the black cat but they are clearly picking up on the confrontational vibes. The bear tries to approach but then leaps back as the cat stands her ground.

This cat is adopting the classic aggressive pose for felines. Our domestic cats descend from wildcats so it is not surprising that they have retained a lot of characteristics. In the wild, cats would need to be aggressive to fend off rivals and predators.

Cats show aggression by arching their backs and puffing out their fur to make themselves look bigger. They also stand with their sides facing whatever is threatening them.

Fierce Brown Bear

Bears may look soft and cuddly but they are far from harmless. They are very strong and powerful creatures who live in a wide variety of habitats in many parts of the world. There are eight species of bear with the black bear being one of the larger. They are also the fastest bear and can travel at speeds of up to 40 mph. Black bears are omnivores and will eat both plants (including berries) as well as meat and fish. There seem to be very few reports of bears attacking and eating a cat but they have the power to do so. It is likely that most cats could escape from a bear if they needed to.

Bears are also very smart and have complex brains so this individual had figured out that it is best not to take on a cat that’s in a bad mood!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Anastasia Tveretinova/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Dr Sharon Parry is a writer at A-Z animals where her primary focus is on dogs, animal behavior, and research. Sharon holds a PhD from Leeds University, UK which she earned in 1998 and has been working as a science writer for the last 15 years. A resident of Wales, UK, Sharon loves taking care of her spaniel named Dexter and hiking around coastlines and mountains.

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