Colorado woman places wild bobcat in backseat 'just feet away' from son, 3: 'This could have been tragic'

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Wildlife officials in Colorado are warning residents not to pick up certain whiskered hitchhikers after a near cat-astrophe occurred when a woman placed an injured bobcat in the backseat of her car -- along with her 3-year-old child.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials had a strong message for anyone encountering the scene one woman did on Wednesday.

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“NEVER PICK UP WILD ANIMALS,” a tweet with a picture of an angry (or possibly smiling) bobcat read.

“See this bobcat? Notice its large teeth? Imagine the claws within its big paws. A #ColoradoSprings woman picked up this injured wild cat and put it in her car where her child was seated!”

Officer Sarah Watson responded to the call and found that the large cat was “unrestrained” under a blanket in the backseat of the woman’s SUV, with her child’s car seat just “feet away.”

The animal was described as alert and was hissing and growling when Watson approached. It was estimated to be around 25 pounds.

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Officials removed the large cat from the woman’s vehicle, adding that the animal likely didn’t attack the people inside the car because it was “mortally wounded” and “too injured to react.”

“No one should EVER try this. This could have been tragic,” another tweet read.

The bobcat was humanely euthanized after it was discovered that its rear legs were paralyzed.