A Floyd County ordinance in Kentucky could strip an Appalachian family of its pet lion by Friday.

The Collins family owns a more than 400 pound lion which the family considers "kitty." To some neighbors of this family, the animal is a source of menace.

Pauline Hall, a neighbor to the Collins admits, "I think it needs to be in a different environment." Hall confessed most of the neighbors have their guns loaded in case the "wild" pet breaks its bars.

Barry Collins has kept the pet for three years. He says he bought the cub animal when it was just 5 pounds. He obtained a state permit to transfer it to Kentucky, before getting a license to keep it in Floyd County.

The family says it was amazed by the newly passed ordinance. It plans to appeal the decision in case the ordinance if approved after Friday.

The Collins accept they have heard a few complaints after they took the animal home, but nothing serious has happened. Although he admitted any pet could behave strangely at times, he claimed the lion posed no danger to his three kids aged between one and 5, or to the neighborhood.