Never been to the Smoky Mountains personally but big black cats in that region get reported way more than people realise. Theres that whole debate about whether its escaped exotic pets vs something genuinely unknown, and I lean toward thinking both could be true at the same time.
Was it definitely a cat and not just a large dog or bear cub? Like how big are we talking, roughly the size of a labrador or bigger? That detail matters a lot with these sightings.
We get similar reports over here in the UK, big black cats spotted in places like Wales and the Peak District. Always gets dismissed but the sheer number of witnesses over the years is hard to ignore. Would love to hear more detail about what you saw.
