Chay Feuser, Cason’s mom, says her kids went camping with their neighbor and her kids over the weekend in the Rocky Mountain House area. The six kids were playing by the river when Chay says out of nowhere, a cougar started attacking Cason. “The kids turned around and just started screaming and running [our neighbour]shouting, “Cougar, cougar, cougar!” he told CBC News. Chay said the neighbor grabbed a rock and threw it at the cougar. He hit the cougar on the head and freed “Cason from his death grip,” he said. Cason was taken by STARS Ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital in stable condition. There, he underwent surgery for three and a half hours, according to Chay. “He has about 200 plus staples and staples right above his skull and many more fine stitches in his face, neck and throat. He just had the drainage tube removed from his throat. He is on morphine. Tylenol and Advil are not it’s enough to stop the pain,” Chay said. The cougar missed Cason’s jugular vein by millimeters, Chey said. Because the animal was smaller, it was unable to pierce the boy’s skull. Cason shows up at the hospital after the attack. (Chay Feuser/Facebook) Later that day, Alberta Fish and Wildlife found and euthanized the cougar just 150 meters from where the attack took place. Rob Kohut, with the Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services, said that while cougar attacks are rare, it’s important to be careful when outdoors. “If you see a cougar in the distance, do not run or turn your back,” he said in an emailed statement. “If a cougar hisses and growls or stares and watches your movements, don’t run or play dead. Make yourself look big and talk loudly. If the cougar makes contact, resist and don’t give up. Use it all the means at your disposal”. Despite his serious injuries, Chay says Cason was more concerned about whether the other children were attacked and whether they were safe. “He cried a lot and made sure all the other people that were with him were okay. He kept asking about his sister and if the cougar got him and if she was okay.”
