I have had a couple experiences with them, first one was just a paw print on my driveway of my hunting land in NW Wisconsin. The next time I was out coon hunting in southern MN, and I had 2 dogs with, one was a pup in training, the other was a older dog ready for retirement. The older dog was out doing his thing, and treeing a coon about a half mile away, the pup I kept on a leash, and as we were walking to the dog treeing, my pup sensed something, and I had to drag him along, he didnt want to go any further, and while we were trying to convince the pup to go, he was wining, and the cat came out about 20 yards in front of us, and stood watching us, then gave out a deep, loud growl, the pup backed out of his colar and took off, and the cat watched the pup take off, and I though the cat was going to go after it, and then the cat left. It was a little nerving at the time. It was myself, and my 10 year old son with me, and all we had was a bolt action .22. The pup we found back at the truck, but the old dog had stopped treeing, and we called for him for several hours after, he never came to us, and we ended up going home, which was about 5 miles away. I left my jacket out for him where we parked, in hopes I would go there in the morning and find him laying next to the jacket. Always heard of people doing that. I went out before dawn and checked for him, he wasnt there. I got back home, and he was sitting in his dog house. I dont want more of them around, to dangerous for pets, hunters, and kids. They also have a tendency to drive deer away from an area, I have heard.
I think they roam around most of the states, in small numbers.