Iowa officials who initially reported a mountain lion sighting in Des Moines have since backed their paws off the claim, according to local media outlets.

The Des Moines Police Department had alerted community members Thursday of a cougar spotted in surveillance footage from the citys east side, reported NBC affiliate WHO 13 and CBS affiliate KCCI .

The department shared a clip of the supposed mountain lion on Facebook , which depicted an animal swaying its tail from left to right as it roamed through grass.

DMPD confirmed that it was investigating the report with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, warning residents to not approach the animal and to call 911 if they spotted it.

DNR confirmed to DMPD that this is a mountain lion. It does appear to be young/small. Sharing for awareness, the police department wrote in a Facebook comment Thursday.

Des Moines police and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, however, corrected themselves later that same day when they said the animal in question was a house cat.

Vince Evelsizer, a wetland biologist with the Iowa DNR, apologized on his departments behalf, telling KCCI that the confusion occurred because the video footage was grainy.

Initially, we did think it may be a mountain lion, at least enough so that it would be good to notify the public, Evelsizer said.

The Des Moines Police Department also updated its original post on Facebook to state that the debate is over.

Thank you to Iowa DNR for always moving in the direction of community awareness and safety, the police department wrote.

Some Facebook users poked fun at the post, with one sharing a picture of a teddy bear and joking that a bear was spotted in a yard.

You can watch the video of the cat below.