Never been to Kentucky myself but we get similar reports over here in Wiltshire - big black cats spotted on the plain, near Stonehenge, out toward Amesbury. People write them off as oversized domestic moggies or trick of the light but some of the witness accounts are pretty hard to dismiss. One bloke I know saw something cross the road in front of his car a few years back and he was adamant it was no normal cat. Paw prints found in the area were enormous.
The thing is these sightings happen all over the world so theres clearly something to it. Whether its escaped exotic pets that have been breeding in the wild, or something genuinely unknown, I dont know. But I wouldnt rule it out just because the "experts" say large cats cant survive in those areas. They said the same thing about the Beast of Bodmin for years.
Anyone got photos or proper measurements of tracks from the Kentucky sighting? That kind of hard evidence is what moves these conversations forward.