I'm wondering if we have a fisher cat around O_O

[Ducklove334]

for the past two days, both dogs outback have been going CRAZY, barking non-stop around the same time every night.

Becca said a couple weeks ago she was outside, and our cocker spanial was staring at something in the trees above him, one of our cats was eying it too.
she said it was brown, too big to be a cat, or squirrel, and didn't have a bushy tail, but didn't see all of it.

and tonight when I went out to quiet the dogs, I heard something kind of make a "hiss/spit", sound like a cat does but deeper than a cat, and sounded like it jumped from one tree to the other, where our other dog Sidney starts looking up and barking.

we arn't going to worry, because I know Fishers eat mice and such, and the chickens are locked up at night, as are the babies, and the ducks pen is pretty much impenetrable.

but are Fishers that brasen?, to loom RIGHT over two dogs??

foxes and coons RARELY come up next to the house, and stay down by the bark, because the dogs send them running.

what does it sound like??

 

[kayab423]

Fisher cats sound like a baby wailing in the woods. VERY eerie. You would know if you had one.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Hi! I too am in VA and looked up Fisher Cats on the State Dept of Fish and Game and according to the site, there have only been Fisher Cats in 2 counties up near the WV line in the Apps.

I would lean more toward a Bobcat if you arent in those counties.
We are down in the Southwest corner of the state and see them 2 or 3 times a year.

Be careful!

 

[Ducklove334]

Quote:
our neighbor said about..3ish weeks ago that he heard something in the woods that sounded like a baby screaming, he said he thought bobcat..I heard something similar to that a few days ago, far off, dismissed it as a cat fight.

Becca said what she saw was too little to be a bobcat, and was darker color.

we're about 4ish hours from the VA border to WV.

if the dogs carry on tonight again, then I'll see what I can see.

 

[CMV]

Fisher cats are very brazen. They can be, they are vicious, fast, strong and not much will stand up to them, including a large dog. Be very careful and take precautions to make sure your animals are safe, especially any outdoor cats which are a favorite treat for them. Lock your animals up well before dark because they hunt early in the evening before the sun sets. Don't let your dogs run around alone at night, especially the cockerspaniel who is just about the right size for a meal. Bring your cats in or secure them at night.

A couple years ago my Newfoundland/timberwolf cross tangled with a fisher cat. It must have been an epic battle because my dog (who weighed in at over 100 pounds and was always slightly wild) came home with a big old hole in her side. She recovered, but we have always had a great deal of respect for an animal that could do that kind of damage to a dog of her size and temperament. We don't own cats because of the fisher cats population in our area.

Good luck and be safe.

 

[IggiMom]

I am from West Virginia and I don't even know what a Fisher Cat is. I will google them.

But we have do have Bobcats around here. I have not seen one but the neighbors have.

Bobcats and coyotes and coons, oh my...

Catherine

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Quote:
I agree with CMV, they are VERY brazen, fearless, etc. I also wanted to add to her story about my own. about 3 years ago my neighbor went to go have a smoke (he was visiting us and we don't allow smoking in the house) so he went to the woods line a few hundred feet away. The next thing I know I hear a scream and a few seconds later my door opened and closed very fast and my neighbor was breathing hard. My DH and I asked what happened and he proceeds to tell us that there was a fisher in the woods and it apparently didn't like him being there. The thing came at him and chased him til about 5 feet from my house... and my neighbor is not a small guy. Yes they are evil IMHO.