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Omaha Steve

(108,092 posts)
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 08:13 AM Nov 22

Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: 'I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield'

Source: AP

By COREY WILLIAMS
Updated 7:18 PM CST, November 21, 2025

A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. Bryson City is about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Asheville.

It’s not clear if the feline slipped from the eagle’s talons Wednesday morning or was discarded simply because the big bird didn’t have a taste for it.

“You may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,” the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call. “It absolutely shattered my windshield.”



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bald-eagle-cat-windshield-north-carolina-c3fdb9978ffe5ca347f2008d660adc07

40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: 'I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield' (Original Post) Omaha Steve Nov 22 OP
Insurance guy I knew had a claim for a fish through the windshield. twodogsbarking Nov 22 #1
I had an adult pheasant brakester Nov 22 #33
Poor cat. mdbl Nov 22 #2
Yes! niyad Nov 22 #14
Geeze. First deer collisions, now...cats? Stay safe out there. FailureToCommunicate Nov 22 #3
The car was catapulted. Baitball Blogger Nov 22 #4
You are really bad, Baitball, but you know that, right? LOL! Trueblue Texan Nov 22 #6
. Baitball Blogger Nov 22 #9
'Twas a catastrophe... GJGCA Nov 22 #18
Bird must have had the tailwinds in his favor. Baitball Blogger Nov 22 #21
ohh . ahhh. AllaN01Bear Nov 22 #19
Thanks for the laugh! HariSeldon Nov 22 #25
Meee....ow. NT mwooldri Nov 22 #20
In a catatonic state when it hit BWdem4life Nov 22 #32
Saw this on local news yesterday. The poor kitty was dead when it landed ms liberty Nov 22 #5
Was he certain? tavernier Nov 22 #34
I hope you're joking. ms liberty Nov 22 #36
Ummm... tavernier Nov 22 #37
Yea, I missed it. ms liberty Nov 22 #38
Surprising that person didn't have a heart attack rurallib Nov 22 #7
At the very least, I'm sure I would have wrecked my car. ratchiweenie Sunday #40
It seems personal. What did they do to offend that eagle? IronLionZion Nov 22 #8
Appeared the cat distribution system malfunctioned. :( NT mwooldri Nov 22 #22
A few years ago I saw a red tailed hawk fly across the freeway about 10 to 20 feet up with a cat in its talons Botany Nov 22 #10
Definitely news of the weird. area51 Nov 22 #11
So it's the eagles eating the cats and dogs. Deport all eagles! travelingthrulife Nov 22 #12
Same event nearly happened to me a few years ago. Was traveling at sunrise on I-75, when I allegorical oracle Nov 22 #13
It might have been too heavy as... S/V Loner Nov 22 #15
Another reason cats should be indoors only NickB79 Nov 22 #16
We built a large catio for my son's cats Lifeafter70 Nov 22 #31
When we adopted our cats, the shelter authorizing our adoption made us sign a document that our cats would be "indoors." NNadir Nov 22 #17
When we moved to rural Virginia we has an outdoor cat, and he left a path of destruction in his wake, killing birds, Martin68 Nov 22 #24
Our semi-feral fearless resident badass Manx once did a number on a great horned owl Zambero Nov 22 #26
That's amazing! Great horned owls are awesome predators. I'm amazed a cat could win a fight like that. Martin68 Nov 22 #27
I used to feed squirrels on the roof of my garage which is accessible outside my bedroom window. Not long after generalbetrayus Nov 22 #23
Dang--that must have woke her up Bayard Nov 22 #28
Did he have wrinkly skin and a raspy voice? not fooled Nov 22 #29
The turkey or the man? Bayard Nov 22 #30
Bald Eagle preservationists vs cat lovers. Sneederbunk Nov 22 #35
This message was self-deleted by its author sheshe2 Nov 22 #39

brakester

(510 posts)
33. I had an adult pheasant
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 01:53 PM
Nov 22

fly into my windshield and shatter it while I was driving at highway speed. It was quite a shock. Lucky it wasn't raining. I had a windy ride home that day, though!

ms liberty

(10,848 posts)
5. Saw this on local news yesterday. The poor kitty was dead when it landed
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 09:08 AM
Nov 22

The driver checked, he said he would have saved it if he could.

Botany

(76,021 posts)
10. A few years ago I saw a red tailed hawk fly across the freeway about 10 to 20 feet up with a cat in its talons
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 09:18 AM
Nov 22

I assume the cat was out hunting and became the hunted one. I don’t think it worked out well for the
cat.

allegorical oracle

(6,063 posts)
13. Same event nearly happened to me a few years ago. Was traveling at sunrise on I-75, when I
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 09:42 AM
Nov 22

saw that a struggling young eagle was on a collision course with my car. Traffic was light enough that I could stop. The eagle was carrying the biggest red hen I've ever seen.

The chicken was dragged across my hood and the eagle's left wing-tip brushed my windshield. No traffic was to my left, and the eagle fortunately gained altitude.

As perfect as they are, our raptor friends sometimes overestimate their skill level.

NickB79

(20,194 posts)
16. Another reason cats should be indoors only
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 10:12 AM
Nov 22

My cats get to chatter at the patio door while the chickadees and cardinals feast in the feeders.

There's also a certain irony in the fact that the most destructive bird killing species introduced to North America was itself killed by a bird.

NNadir

(37,012 posts)
17. When we adopted our cats, the shelter authorizing our adoption made us sign a document that our cats would be "indoors."
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 10:13 AM
Nov 22

Attacks by predatory birds was listed as a reason, along with being killed by cars, for doing so.

In this case, both seem to have been involved.

We adopted a mother cat and her son. The mother, who apparently came from a shelter after having been abandoned or run outside in heat in an urban area, has no interest in going outside ever again

Her son, by contrast, is interested in doing so and we have to actively restrain him from it.

Martin68

(26,746 posts)
24. When we moved to rural Virginia we has an outdoor cat, and he left a path of destruction in his wake, killing birds,
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 10:58 AM
Nov 22

chipmunks, flying squirrels, shrews, and lizards. Twice we came home to a live bird flying around the house that he brought in through the cat door (probably a gift for us to play with). Since then, all our cats have been indoor only. Besides cars and large bird attacks, outdoor cats are exposed to diseases and parasites from other cats and animals, as well as coyotes.

Zambero

(9,905 posts)
26. Our semi-feral fearless resident badass Manx once did a number on a great horned owl
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 11:23 AM
Nov 22

The cat had a characteristic hop that might have passed him off as a rabbit to the owl. He was attacked at dust and despite talon wounds he dispatched the owl and made a meal out of him. By morning there wasn't much left of it.

Martin68

(26,746 posts)
27. That's amazing! Great horned owls are awesome predators. I'm amazed a cat could win a fight like that.
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 11:57 AM
Nov 22

generalbetrayus

(1,426 posts)
23. I used to feed squirrels on the roof of my garage which is accessible outside my bedroom window. Not long after
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 10:54 AM
Nov 22

I started doing that, I saw something swoop down out of the sky at a squirrel just outside my window. The squirrel did not react, but the raptor must have seen me at the window because it swooped up again just as it reached the squirrel without grabbing the squirrel.

Bayard

(28,037 posts)
28. Dang--that must have woke her up
Sat Nov 22, 2025, 12:17 PM
Nov 22

I had a turkey fly into my windshield in Calif. I was coming down the mountain, and it just burst up out of the brush. The guy behind me pulled over behind me. He had 4 or 5 kids in his truck. He asked--Are you going to keep that? I said, hell no! He threw it in the back of his truck and drove off.

Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

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