DNR searching for large exotic cat after it jumped on woman’s bed while she was sleeping

The search is on for an exotic wild cat after a woman said it came into her house and jumped on her bed while she was sleeping.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said it is searching for a serval, which is a large exotic cat that is native to Africa.

DNR officials believe the cat is in the area of the Capital City Country Club, between Buckhead and Brookhaven.

Fulton County Animal Services got a call from a woman Wednesday night saying that the large cat was in her bedroom. She was not injured, but her husband was able to snap a photo of the cat as it ran away.

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It’s illegal to have servals, which are often mistaken as cheetahs or leopards, as pets in Georgia.

DNR said it received two other calls from the area about sightings of the large cat, which was last seen near the country club’s golf course.

DNR said game wardens placed a trap Thursday in one of the yards where the animal was seen. Once captured, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has offered to place it in an animal sanctuary in North Carolina.

Anyone who spots the cat is asked to call DNR at 1-800-241-4113.

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