Yikes ... I have never encountered a cougar in the wild and hope to keep it that way. Although, they are not far off in our mountains and I may have been spied a time or two without my knowledge. One of the reasons I don't take my son out to the hills is that if they are going to be a problem they go for the little folks and pets.
We also have a lot of bears about. I saw one of them from a classroom window back in my teaching days. That was exciting. The whole school was put on lock down until the all clear of bears signal was given.
I have to tell you though, Kat ... in you against a cougar, my money would be on you:):):)
You are so right to be concerned about you little one and pets. When my kids were little I was a bit more nervous for them, even though we had an army of animal protection, lol. One time our local cougar stole one of my precious little doelings. It jumped two five foot fences to do so. My dog brought back her remains, it was sad and a reminder of how things are regarding Nature.
I refuse to go into the woods without at least a rather sharp knife. It's funny that you mentioned the bears, that is an animal that I have had a ton of experience with, and have written about pretty extensively in my earlier blog posts. I'd rather tangle with a bear than a cat any day, of course with your karate skills and my lack of self-preservation we might be rather intimidating!
Did you teach in a rural school out in the remote corner of one of your provinces? I bet that bear lockdown was something!
No ... I was in a suburban neighbourhood ... North Vancouver, but it is cut right into the mountains and so bears are a frequent part of life. Generally they mean no harm but can do amazing harm if hungry or threatened. I think sticks are probably better than a knife when it comes to cougars and bear spray when it comes to bears. You want to keep them both at a distance and so bells or a horn are probably even better. A knife fight with a bear is not one I think I could win but maybe a staff fight with a cougar ... maybe ... I likes my chances better anyways. I think the only thing that might be able to stand up to a grizzly is a rhinoceros. That's it ... I need a pet rhino:):):)