Exact thing happened to me around 2002. After attempting to talk to neighbor about their cat killing songbirds off my feeders I knew it was a lost cause. The conversation on their end went so bad I wanted to just SSS on them. I trapped their cat, dropped it off at the animal shelter. I left it's collar on so the shelter got in touch with the neighbors and they went to retrieve their cat. Gave me no end of grief and wanted me to pay the fee they had to pay the shelter. I had the police explain the facts of life to them, no domestic animals are allowed to run free in city limits, keep your cat indoors or on a leash at all times. Wasn't a couple days later the cat disappeared, permanently..... They had their chance to keep the damn thing, apparently they just didn't give a flip. I smiled a lot at a good shot, drive to my deer lease, disposal, and some target shooting while there. The cat would get in position and freeze not ever moving until a bird was in range for the lunge, just like a paper target, RWS 48 .22 brain shot, instant death.
I thought it was a rattlesnake, a snake that size should have had 8 rattles at least, didn't see them. We're suppose to have a bumper crop of them in CA.
I'd put money on 36", really close to 48". It's a big one. Just proportions on the surrounding rocks show it's a big one.
This was a full sized adult snake, conservatively 4 to 5 feet...something got his rattles...Diamondbacks get bigger but this one was the biggest one I ever saw on the hoof! Er....scales...lol.
