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Fishers are having their habitat gobbled up and are coming into populated areas.They are related to the wolverine.Cats and small dogs are just like their normal prey.They have been witnessed taking sleeping cats from windowsills.They will eat anything.I had one on my property while it was hunting.I was baffled as to what had ate a skunk and left only a little of the pelt.They are the only animal that i know that eats porcupines.If you see scat that looks full of pine needles there is a fisher around.They like to get a porcupine climbing up a tree.They can come down a tree head first because their rear paws swivel 180 degrees,and they have great climbing claws.Thats how they grab the porcupines head where it is vulnerable.They eat the whole thing even the barbs and pass them.I nearly had an attack when i heard it screaming.Sounded like my young son was being killed.After my lab re-established his territory it/they moved on.They like to live in hollowed out downed trees,or it may have taken up residence in a pileated wood pecker nest.I had both and the 100 ft. pine had to come down before it chose to hit the house.The dead one they found in the area couldn't be identified by any one.A wildlife guy finally pegged what it was and was not supposed to be living up this far in the northeast.Looked like a mutant dog and was estimated as 20+lbs when alive.The claws are scary.They are a tough mini wolverine.I would be very concerned if i had one around after all i learned.
The fisher,Martes Pennanti,is not remotely related to felines,it is a Mustelid,a weasel.In size,it is the third largest North American mustelid,behind the wolverine and the badger.Males average 10-12 pounds and a large one may go 15 pounds.Females are only half the size of males.For some reason,the fisher has become the bogeyman of New England in recent years,with tales of bloodthirsty killers stalking pet cats and dogs.Most of the tales are bunk.Like any predator,they will prey on the young,or on a small adult if there is a large size difference,but adult cats and dogs are not on the usual menu.In a one on one fight your big mean tomcat would give a fisher all it wanted.Predators have a high sense of risk/reward,and do not attack other predators unless there is a large size difference or there are several against one.The usual pattern of equal or near equal sized predators of different species is mutual avoidence.Very likely most of those lost pets were taken by a coyote,bobcat,or feral dog,and not by a fisher.This big weasel has gotten a bad rap that it does not deserve.
that may be, but if Buck Naked says he has personally seen a fisher come through the pet flap in his door and attack one of his pets in the kitchen... who are we to tell him his full of bunk?! Ok, so it's not the norm, that's good to know. But sometimes the very unusual happens. (Mind you my cats are 14-16lbs... I don't think a fisher is likely to go after something it's own size!)
that may be, but if Buck Naked says he has personally seen a fisher come through the pet flap in his door and attack one of his pets in the kitchen... who are we to tell him his full of bunk?! Ok, so it's not the norm, that's good to know. But sometimes the very unusual happens. (Mind you my cats are 14-16lbs... I don't think a fisher is likely to go after something it's own size!)
I have a feeling its kind of like the occassional (incredibly rare) bear who breaks in through someones door to their home and ravages their kitchen for food. No doubt they are true and it definitely happens. It's also scary and those stories definitely make the rounds due to how exciting/out of the ordinary they are... The "I saw a bear and it ran away" stories aren't as much fun to tell; likewise with Fisher Cats.
A friend of mine (state police) once investigated a "break in" that ended up being a black bear; kind of neat.
(Mind you my cats are 14-16lbs... I don't think a fisher is likely to go after something it's own size!)
Your cats are quite safe,a fisher would avoid a cat that size.An earlier poster mentioned their 18 pound aggressive terrier,again,a fisher would stay away from this dog.On the other other hand,these animals would be at great risk from coyotes.Eastern coyotes have interbred with wolves and have gotten larger than their Western brothers.A 40 pound coyote that has lost much of its fear of humans can be a real pet killer.On occasion,bobcats will take pets.They detest domestic cats and will kill them,and also will take a small dog.A 30 pound tom bobcat is a very efficient killer that can down a small deer,so small pets are easy targets.Both coyotes and bobcats will kill adult female fishers or young ones on occassion as rival competitors,but adult males are usually pretty safe from rival predators and are rarely taken.The exception is in the West,where wolves and cougars would be a real danger.
Our pet cat is only let out when one of us is there and never at night. Fishers or coyotes may be mean but they never met me with a club or a pistol in my hand.
Your cats are quite safe,a fisher would avoid a cat that size.An earlier poster mentioned their 18 pound aggressive terrier,again,a fisher would stay away from this dog.
Luckily all my cats are indoor only! Unless we take one out for a few minutes of supervised grass nibbling.
About 1 month ago, around 8 p.m. I heard some noise on my deck. I went outside and was met by a large fisher cat. He looked about at least twice the size of a large house cat. At first I thought it was a small bear cub, but the pointed snout and long tail made me think fisher cat. He wasn't really afraid of me, and he took his time leaving the deck, then bounded off into the night. I immediately went in and googled fisher cat, and that was exactly what I saw. We have 4 cats that go outside during the day, so I was concerned. We also have a small dog.
About 2 weeks later, one of my cats was outside, and it was around 7:30 pm. I was in the family room, just inside of a sliding glass door that leads out to our enclosed porch. When the cats are out, we usually leave one of the doors opened slightly so they can come in. I heard some thumping, but didn't think much of it because my daughter had a friend over and I thought it was them making the noise. After about 5 minutes, I heard more thumping noises coming from the porch, and then a bloodcurdling scream from a cat. I went into the porch, and a fisher cat had my cat cornered and was going in for the kill. It wasn't the same as the first one I saw a few weeks earlier. This one was quite a bit smaller, about 50% larger than my cat, all brown, and had a very musky odor. I yelled at him, and he slowly, begrudgingly walked out the door and down the steps. Again, not really afraid of me, and he knew he only needed another couple of minutes and he would have had fresh kitty for dinner.
My cat was stilled slumped in the corner, too exhausted to get up. His mouth was open, in an exhausted pant. I picked him up, and brought him into the house. His entire head was slimed over with the fisher cat saliva, which was very hard to wash out. He had bit away several clumps of fur from his head and back, but there was no blood. After about 1/2 an hour, the cat amazingly started coming back to life, and luckily was o.k. All of his front claws were broken off except for the ones that go up by the wrist portion of his paws. He put up a tremendous fight, but if I wasn't home, he was dinner.
Now we only let our cats and dog out for a few minutes with supervision.
These fisher cats are vicious and I think look at our house as a "Hometown Buffet" for cats. We've live here for over 12 years, and our cats have always gone outside during the day. The oldest are 8 years old and we've never had a problem before. Years ago we lived in New Ipswich, and we lost 2 cats and neighbors told me it was probably fisher cats. They were always a "mythical" creature to me before, but now they are here, hopefully not to stay. I know they are doing what they do to survive, but if I had a gun, I would shoot them if given the chance. I'm hoping they will move on after awhile, but until then, we have to be extremely careful with our pets. Don't
believe that they won't go after your pets, I've seen them up close, and they will. Also, they don't seem very intimidated by humans, and I would be very worried about small children around them.
and I would be very worried about small children around them.
I think you're being a little over the top with that one.
Fishers aren't vicious...they need to eat. You provided them lunch. You're on their turf, not the other way around. If you're now supervising your cats and dogs when you let them out you shouldn't have any problems....no need to shoot or hate them.
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Not "Fisher Cats"
