Did he want a cat scan? Mountain lion makes surprise visit to Arizona hospital

Patients at an Arizona hospital got an unexpected visitor on Friday: a mountain lion. 

The big cat walked on the grounds of the Tucson Medical Center, about 100 miles south of Phoenix, at around 10:30 a.m. before getting stuck in an enclosed courtyard, according to Arizona Game and Fish spokesperson Michael Colaianni.

It wasn’t long before the lion's presence drew a crowd, with people snapping pictures and videos of the creature as it looked for a way out. The mountain lion was seen pacing and peering into courtyard windows, according to reporting by The Arizona Daily Star.

The "subadult male mountain lion" even cut one of its paws after leaning over a window and breaking it, the Star reported. The male lion was darted, tranquilized and removed from the hospital courtyard a couple hours later. 

“No patients, staff or visitors were at risk, and no one was injured,” hospital spokesperson Carrie Santiago told USA TODAY.

Mountain lion puns, jokes made 

The Tucson Police Department was apparently roaring with laughter about the mountain lion call, taking the time to describe the incident in a social media post with a few purrfect puns. 

“TPD officers from the Midtown Division were called to a local hospital today for reports of a trapped “cat burglar,” the post says. “The ‘suspect’ had damaged a window, but thankfully, members from Arizona Game & Fish were able to safely remove the mountain lion without further damage and without injury.” 

The department continued to praise "a-lion-ces with our public safety partners."

A hyperlocal social, @WhatsUpTucson, shared details about the cat encounter in a post on X.

“Irony: I am still a patient at TMC and wasn’t eaten by Mountain Lion,” the post reads. One commenter couldn't resist a correction: “Only ironic if a) you wanted to get eaten and b) that was your way out."

A user wrote: “Just wanted a cat scan.”

“It would’ve been a HIPAA violation if we gave the mountain lion your room number,” Tim Bentley wrote, referring to the federal privacy haw.

Big cat set to make return back to the wild 

The “great news” to come from the situation, Arizona Game and Fish spokesperson Michael Colaianni told the Star, is that the mountain lion is “very healthy.” 

Because the mountain lion did not exhibit "aggression toward humans or other unacceptable behaviors," it was approved to be sent back to the wild, Colaianni said.

It will be fitted with a GPS radio collar and released at an undisclosed approved location in the wild away from the Tucson area, according to Colaianni.

"This just happened to be a mountain lion that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so we could determine it was suitable for release," Colaianni shared with the Star.