Wild cats kill dozens of people worldwide every year, which probably doesn’t shock you.Here’s the part that might. House cats, the ones sleeping on your sofa right now, send around 66,000 people to emergency rooms in the U.S. annually.So we’re going through six of the deadliest felines on the planet, and what you’d actually do if you met one.Number 6. House CatsAnyone with a cat already knows the drill. They look adorable, and pet one the wrong way and those long thin teeth go straight through your skin.Worth taking seriously, too. Cat scratch fever spreads through cat saliva, and the symptoms include a blister or swelling at the wound, fever, and body aches.The CDC reports around 500 hospitalizations a year in the U.S. from it.There’s also Pasteurella multocida, a bacteria that infects soft tissue and can lead to sepsis if untreated. Nearly 90 percent of cats carry it in their mouths, which is worth remembering next time you decide to annoy one.Number 5. BobcatsAlso called wildcats, bobcats don’t look like much next to the animals further down this list.Do not underestimate them anyway. At no more than 15 kg, they’re capable hunters that regularly kill animals considerably larger than themselves, and they can launch an attack from 3 meters away.They’re native to North America and live almost everywhere, including forests, swamps, and suburban neighborhoods.Kristy and Happy Wade of North Carolina found that out in April 2021. The couple were unloading groceries in their own driveway when a bobcat attacked Kristy. Happy grabbed the animal and threw it across the yard, and it kept coming until he shot it.Tests later confirmed the animal had rabies, and both of them needed the vaccine.Number 4. CougarsMountain lion, panther, cougar, all the same animal, and the most widely distributed large mammal in North America.They’re generalist predators, meaning they’ll eat essentially anything they can catch, from insects to elk to the occasional hiker.Meet one face to face and the rules are specific. Never turn your back and never run. Put your arms above your head to look bigger than you are, and shout whatever comes into your head to keep it distracted.If that fails, you fight, with everything you have.Number 3. LeopardsLeopards reach around 90 kg and 2.1 meters in length, not counting the tail. They’re nocturnal and solitary, spending daylight hours resting in tree branches and hunting after dark.Run into a hungry one and there’s no guarantee you’re walking away, so the details matter here.Avoid direct eye contact. Stay calm and back away slowly, which signals you aren’t a threat.And know this: leopards don’t bluff. They don’t do mock charges. If it starts coming toward you, that’s the real thing, so fight back, protect your neck, and go for the eyes, nose, or ears.Number 2. LionsThe second biggest cat in the world. Males reach up to 190 kg and around 3 meters long including the tail, living mostly in savanna, grassland, and open woodland.A hungry lion will attack you, and honestly, why wouldn’t it? We’re slow, we have no fangs, no horns, and nothing that looks like a defense.Every instinct will tell you to run. Don’t. Lions hit 80 km/h, roughly twice the top speed ever recorded by a human being, and you are almost certainly not Usain Bolt.Stand your ground instead. Make yourself as big as possible and make as much noise as you can.Number 1. TigersAdult tigers are 70 percent muscle and weigh up to 360 kg, making them the largest cats alive. Their claws are long and sharp enough to take your head off in a single swipe.Some of them have specifically developed a taste for people. They’re known as man eaters, and in the Sundarban region of southeastern India and southwestern Bangladesh, tigers kill up to 250 people a year.They’re also relentless about it. Tigers have pulled sleeping people out of their homes, and being strong swimmers, they’ve dragged people off boats.There is one place they can’t reach you, though. Unlike other jungle cats, tigers cannot climb trees, so getting up one and staying there until it loses interest is a genuine survival option.That’s the six. Most of them you can avoid entirely by staying indoors, with one obvious exception already asleep on your couch.