Besides dogs, cats rule their neighborhoods. They eat birds, mice and other small creatures. Even a single dog is wary of a cat’s painful scratch. This is all true unless a 12-foot python just happens to be part of the neighborhood wildlife.

Port St. Lucie Police say that a 12-foot python that may have been eating neighborhood cats has been caught, The Palm Beach Post reports.

According to a statement from the Port St. Lucie Police Department, officers arrived at the 600 block of SE Faith Terrace at approximately 7:20 a.m. to search for a humongous snake who neighbors said had been snacking on neighborhood cats.

A dead cat was found in an empty lot on the street and after journeying into waist-high brush, Sgt. John Holman discovered a 120-pound Burmese Python. After backup was called, officers removed the monstrous snake from the brush and relocated it with a third party who is authorized to keep the snake.

According to the New York Daily News, these snakes are typically abandoned by their owners once they grow too large for them to handle.

Photo credit: Port St. Lucie Police Department