Mountain lion ruins hot tub session

DEADWOOD, S.D., Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A South Dakota woman eased into her outdoor hot tub and cornered a mountain lion crouching less than a foot from her head.

Marlene Todd told the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal that as she settled into the warm swirling water she heard a rustling noise and saw the big cat looking at her from outside the tub.

The animal was apparently as startled as she was, the newspaper reported Sunday.

Todd said she had the encounter with the mountain lion Thursday. She said the cat was trapped between the tub and the stairs to her deck and had to jump up onto the edge of the tub to escape.

"We locked eyes, and it kicked off of the hot tub and ran away."

Todd called police, who said the cat was likely either stalking deer or had sought out the radiating warmth of the hot tub on a cold morning.

"It could have been way bad if it would have slipped and fell in the tub with me," Todd said. "I now know what a goldfish feels like in a bowl when the cat is looking at it."