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Large house cat caused wild animal scare in New York

By Daniel Uria
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Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A New York neighborhood was on alert after a large house cat accidentally prompted a wild animal scare.

An off-duty Albany police officer captured a photo of the large orange cat that was seen wandering the area of Buckingham Pond at about 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.

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"Upon arrival, the animal was unable to be located and has not been seen in the area since the original call," police said. "As a precaution, the Albany Police Department is asking that if anyone sees the animal in the attached photo, please do not approach the animal and immediately notify the Albany Police."

Some residents speculated the animal was a bobcat, while others correctly identified it as a house cat.

"This time of year, he really loves to be outside," Lisa VanRyn, the owner of Chester the 5-year-old Maine Coon, told News 10.

VanRyn said although Chester spooked a few people, most of her neighbors instantly recognized his "lion" style haircut despite the blurry photo.

"I think they just caught the back end of him. At least that's what the picture is," she said.

Thomas Evers, brother-in-law of the officer who shared the photo on Albany Police's social media said he was subject to some teasing but was simply trying to help a concerned citizen.

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"His phone was blowing up at dinner and he got a lot of cat pictures on his locker," Evers said. "They were all razzing him over a cat. He just said, 'Someone asks you to do something, you're a police officer, you do it.'"

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