I saw a cougar behind my apartment complex in Mt. Vernon Wedsnday nite. I reported it, but had no photo so of course, nothing was done. There are a lot of children in the apartment complex on other side of these woods, and I was wondering if this could be a problem. Anyway, I get up early to try to spot it again to get a picture, but so far have not seen the cougar again. I did another smaller cat,,, I thought might be a bobcat, but its tail was very long, clear to the ground almost, and it was a totally different looking cat. How do I identify what I saw. It was almost all black on the back half, the front was lighter,,kinda grayish brown,, no spots,, long tail,, white face and feet

Cougars can travel hundreds of miles in a day.

Bobcats always have short tails. A cat with a long tail and a white face and feet is a domestic cat. We don't have any native cats in Illinois that would fit that description.

Lol, a domestic cat it was not. It stood at the very least 24 inches at shoulder,,above my knees anyway.