Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’
Nov 21, 2025, 9:34 AM | Updated: 12:02 pm
BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) — 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.”
Any reservations about calling in such a story were put to rest when the dispatcher calmly responded, “OK. I do believe you, honestly,” then laughed.
The driver relayed that another person also saw the cat drop, remarking, “He’s like, ‘That is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’”
The dispatcher offered some assurance, saying, “Oh my goodness. Let’s see. I’ve heard crazier.”
“Well, that’s terrifying,” the caller said, to which the dispatcher replied with more nervous laughter, “Yeah.”
After getting the driver’s location, the dispatcher said she would send the Highway Patrol to do a report. “Another question,” the dispatcher asked. “Is the cat still alive?”
The caller said it wasn’t, but noted that the cat was on the side of the road and not in her car.
“Ok, I have to ask just to make sure,” the dispatcher said.
