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I live in Suffolk, Virginia, in a suburban area. We have a a mixture of average density housing with horse farms and large expanses of land, some wooded, and some open.
Every residence is on at least one acre of land. There's a large patch of woods (10-20 acres) about a 150 yards away in two different directions. There's at least 50 acres of woods about 1/4 mile away.
Look at the tail on this creature. And judging by the size, if this is a cat, it's a big 'un.
When I watched it full-screen I could see the possible shape of the thing with "eyes." It would have helped if it had moved.
Rosemary, come back and tell us if we're supposed to be looking at the thing in the upper right corner or at the kitty-cat. Do you have video of the next few minutes?
When I watched it full-screen I could see the possible shape of the thing with "eyes." It would have helped if it had moved.
Rosemary, come back and tell us if we're supposed to be looking at the thing in the upper right corner or at the kitty-cat. Do you have video of the next few minutes?
The thing(s) in the upper right hand corner is the reflector leading into my driveway. I hadn't even noticed that before!
Tonight, I'm going to put my dog ("Teddy") under that same camera just in the name of true scientific comparison. She's a 45-pound Sheltie (okay, maybe 47 pounds, but she made me say 45).
It's a "Blink" security camera and it does have a fish-eye lens, but based on the other things I've seen on that camera, that's a much bigger than average cat. Teddy will prove it once and for all tonight.
I don't think its a cougar - but it could be a lynx-domestic cat hybrid. Try to get a shot of the length of the rear legs, they would most likely be longer than the front legs. Not always with hybrids, but often. They usually tame well if you have them from kittenhood but tame more poorly than feral domestic cats if you get them as adults. It does look pretty big but without something better to compare size, hard to tell from what you've got.
Of course it could be a Maine Coon Cat. They are ENORMOUS.
I live in Montana. That was not a wild cat of the West.
Mountain lions roll off their powerful shoulders when they walk & take deliberate steps. Plus their tails are huge powerful muscular things in their own right & their heads even have smooth muscle.
Lynx are built differently with longer back legs & also exhibit power when they move, but have a quiet aspect to their motions. And bobcats while smaller like a domestic have a bob tail & I doubt would mince steps like the cat in the video.
It might be a feral domestic cat because it looks like it could use an extra meal.
Looks to me like a really scrawny, starving, young, domestic tomcat with a limp, probably a feral runt going by the poor physical condition of it. Comparing its size with the size of the reflectors, and the height and size of the bricks and mortar on the corner of the wall, and the cracks in the pavement, I think it is not a big cat, just average size or a bit smaller.
RosemaryT, since you might end up viewing other wildlife hanging around you may find it useful to put some kind of permanent measuring marker out there (maybe up against the wall) that is within view of the camera. Then you have something to compare the heights and sizes of all things that walk by it, from birds to whatever, including humans.
Cougar's tail is about the same length as the body. If not held up the cougar's tail would drag about 1 foot on the ground. This is a house cat. The tail barely reaches the ground.
Walks like a domestic cat. But it must be fun to see what is out and about at night.
We have a large male semi-stray who comes by for feeding from time to time. He has a husky build and a long tail but mainly he slinks like a big cat, so I named him Panther. He moves like a panther or cougar, but in real life he's as sweet as he can be.
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Originally Posted by ClaraC
I agree with the others. Standard house cat.
For clarification, you could go put an object in the same place the cat walked through, so you have some scale on size.
My guess is, that's even a relatively small house cat.
Yup.
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