The following story and fisher cat pictures are from one of our website visitors in Andover, MA.
Our dog (Annie – Golden Retriever) was going crazy this morning (April 6, 2009) to get out into our (Andover, MA) backyard. My wife noticed something brown walking along the top rail of our chain link fence and recognized it as a Fisher Cat. When Annie ran out, the Fisher ran up a small pine tree. Not realizing it was on the other side of the fence, it nervously chattered at us while we took pictures of it. It eventually realized it was protected, climbed down the tree (only a few feet in front of me), leapt into the neighbor’s yard and ran off. Annie cornered one up a tree a couple years ago as well.
In the second photo, you can notice the blurred horizontal line toward the bottom. That’s the top rail of the chain link fence.
Video of the Fisher Cat
Great pictures. We live in Andover too and have seen fishers often, but they rarely hold still long enough to get a good look.
THESE PICS ARE GREAT! I LIVE BASICLY IN THE WOODS SO I SEE ALOT OF FISHER CATS. I HAD A CAT NAMED SPLAT AND A FISHERCAT ATE HER. SHE WAS MY BFF. EVER SINCE THAT HAPPEND I VE BEEN SEARCHING THEM.
Hate fisher cats , eating my free range chickens. Afraid for my cats. Trapping didn’t work. Shot gun next.
I hate to say it, but if you are all so worried about your cats, my sympathy to Harley for your loss of Splat, why do you let them out? We have four cats and we live in a rural area, we would never think of letting or cats out.
The Humane society tells people not to let their cats be outdoor cats, they are just as happy frolicking in the house.
They live much longer lives also, not to mention they do not become a wild animal’s dinner.
You cannot blame the Fisher Cat for doing what it does naturally, hunt and kill small animals to live. It may be a sad thing to some or a bothersome thing to others, but is what they do to survive. Oh, and as tasty as chickens are to us, they are just as tasty to Fisher cats. You can’t hate a species for doing what nature intended it to do.
Goodness, to think that we are supposedly the most evolved species, maybe if we were less evolved we would understand the ways of nature better.
I feel bad for my friend’s mother cat killing by fisher, she left 6 3 weeks old kittens…..SAD!!!!!
I think one of my three cats was eaten by a fox or a fisher (the sound is similar). I don’t blame wild animals for doing what they have to do to feed themselves, especially since humans also kill to eat. Just wish it wasn’t my cat. My cat was 10 yrs old and started out a bit feral and enjoyed the outdoors so much there was no way I would take that away from him. I would be safer too if I locked myself in the house, but its not what I choose, and I don’t think it is what my cat would choose either. I think the quality of my cats life was made better by the outdoors. Years ago, I had two cats I tried to raise as indoor cats. They would pace from window to window like zooed animals. They were a bit neurotic and overweight (yes, my fault). When I caved into their meowing requests and escape attempts and let them go outside, they became healthier happier cats. I try to minimize the risk by having a cat door and I try to get them all in at night and shut the door till morning…. but sometimes they hold out and win that battle.
Do fishers typically come on people’s porches to attack house cats? My cat didn’t come home for about 6 days last week, which was very unlike her. Once she finally came home, we were certain something scared her up a tree and she was stuck for a few days (she was very weak, slept and ate for 3 days). Now today something big was fighting with her on our deck. By the time we got out there to see what it was it had scared her up a tree (and she’s quite the hunter). It was still daylight, and there was a loud family outside across the street during all this. My father-in-law saw a fisher across the street last week, and someone a few streets down claims a fisher ate three cats this month. What does anyone suggest? Could it be rabid?
i was missing one of my cats for three weeks and today i sent my wife to the local pound to check and see if perhapps they had found him. When she returned she informed me the pound had Half of our cat. They found him in a cemetary ripped in half the back half missing, and they suspected a Fisher cat in the area that has also been suspected of killing several cats in the neighbor hood that i was also unaware of.
i did some research and found fisher cats are not suseptable to rabies.
I’ve read these articles and I understand your arguement of how nature works, So me being the better predator next time i see a dam fisher cat / weasel. i might find out if it taste like chicken… your invited to my BBQ….. Mother Nature at it’s finest….
We live in Eliot, Maine and just this month we have been hearing all these screams late at night. The first time I heard one was right outside my bedroom window and I was just falling asleep, let me tell you, my blood ran cold and didn’t know what was going on. It just kept on going. Then one of our friends said we have Fishercat’s around, my cat come’s in at night now. Everytime I hear the scream’s, I still get the chill’s!
I would not be saying “hello baby” to that thing. They are really evil creatures. Our neighbors cat got disembowled by one of those things and almost went after their dog my neighbor shot at it with the gun and it went back into the woods.
I would not let my dog near one of those and I wouldn’t go near one. They’re incredibly dangerous. Stay away and I know what the scream sounds like. It’s horrible.
I saw a fisher cat run out of my back yard and across the street last week. It was still daylight but late afternoon. I had never seen one before. I had a cat here for 16 years and she was never bothered. But she was very outdoor smart.
I now have a miniature dachsund who is not aggressive at all. he weighs about 11 pounds. Should I be scared for him.? I have a fenced in yard and woods in the back. My dog doesn’t really stay outside unless i go with him, but I do have a doggie door so he can go out alone and go to the bathroom. Maybe this fisher is a first or something. Should i assume there will be more??
Just lost our cat of 10 years and the neighbours has been gone for a month now. We north of the 401 highway in Ontario in a small town called Newburgh. We do have forest around and live by a river as well. Other than a clump of fir we have found nothing. Going to try a live trap and see what results we have. I think my wife is angry enough to care of the rest!
cool video but it was feeling threatened.not some you want to do with any animal especially a vicious one.i’ve see one kill a raccoon that out weighed it.a coyote won’t even go after a raccoon.be careful.
i live in seekonk ma, and i have a fisher cat living under my shed. at first i thought my 132 lb lab was chasing a skunk but i looked under with a flash light and this was no skunk. i shot at it with a pellet gun and hit it twice thats when it ran my way, but it went into a hole in my fence and went into my neighbors yard. can they kill a dog?? and if so what should i do use my shotgun or try and trap it. i also have a cat and she stays around now were as she use to go into the woods all the time. this is a well populated neighborhood the houses are not that far apart, but, it has a den in the ground. and now i know what that screaming noise is. any suggestions
My black lab was attacked by a fisher cat two days ago. I can tell by the deep gouging teeth marks left on the bottom left side of her belly. It looks like an oversized hampster bit her. The Fisher also gnarled up my Lab’s rear leg pretty good as she still can’t walk on it. We are off to the veterinarian on Monday to get some antibiotics as the cuts that I sutured with butterfly band-aids are looking pretty swollen. The puncture wounds on her belly were deep and unable to suture them, finally I had to put cornstarch on the wound to stop the bleeding.
I have never seen a fisher cat yet, but we recently got chickens on our property, so don’t know if that is what they were after and our dog, Roxy an 80 lb. Lab, startled the Fisher. Prompting it to attack.
Hopefully this is the last encounter we have with a Fischer, but living in the rural woods, I will always be aware now. The damage they can do is unreal! This site has given me some good information.
We saw our first fisher cat here in Duxbury, MA. It looked like a dog climbing a tree it was so big! Called animal control who came and witnessed this bad boy. He estimated it at between 25 and 30 pounds! Biggest he’s ever seen. He didn’t like all of the commotion so he evacuated the nest right next to our porch…we hope! Just a few things I learned I want to share. These animals can take down a deer and will, if motivated, charge a 190 pound man! The animal control officer said he’d prefer going one on one with a full grown wolf rather than a 30 pound fisher cat! Their territory is around 8 miles with multiple nests, usually 20 to 50 feet up in a tree. The females are pregnant most of the time (11 months out of the year) and are particularly vicious if they have off spring in the area. They are smart and not easily trapped. We tried and no luck. If there is one, there are many and they have no one hunting them so they are not fearful of anything or anyone. Play a radio for 15 minutes outside before you play with your kids or your dogs, even in the day. It gives them a warning and will ward off some. Others will not care. Be careful and always be cautious. Good luck.
I hate to break it to all of the people who hate Fishers for hunting and killing their cats, but. What exactly do you think your cats are doing in the woods all night? Hunting and killing birds, squirrels and other small animals. Along with urinating on other peoples shrubs and property.
It’s called karma. Keep your filthy cats in your own house and the Fishers won’t eat them.
too funny………………”Anonymous”.
You can type your name, be brave. Or is that your name because you couldn’t narrow down the possible “donors”.
Your just hilarious jim, which of your two brain cells came up with that one…..
so i have to cats. i try to keep my baby in the house and yet she still gets out sometimes. well three cats in the area have already gone missing in only a week. i hurd from across the street that people have seen fisher cats around the area. if they try to kill my cat im taking out my gun too. those creatures are so ugle. i havnt seen one yet or hurd it but if i do that fisher cat will be the first one i go after. i live near a dam and water so maybe thats why there here, it snows here and i thought that they would be gone by winter but apparently they hunt in winter too damn. i wish they hibernated.
cccccccccoooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllll
Personaly, I think fishers are awsome. They can actually kill porcupines. COOL.
I hate cats. But I am also VERY sorry for your loss.
I don’t think it was the fishers fault though. Maybe your cat started it.
I don’t find it very funny.
I recently heard a fisher cat attacking and killing a cat, we own 1 cat and two dogs. Regardless of whether or not these two animals are your favorites is okay, but to say so what that someones house pet was killed, shame on you. If you could have heard how vicious this attack was and to hear a domesticated or wild animal screaming for its life was not pleasant and I hope I am lucky enough never to hear it again.
what eats a fisher cat?
bobcats
dont be hatin on the fisher cat cuz he be snatchin up yo pets
I believe this is what ive been seeing at lake mayer in savannah georgia,3 years ive seen them 4 to 5 times but only on land once rest of the time in the water wich is throwing me to not believe that is whaT IM SEEING,NOTHING ON THE COMP SAYS THEY SWIM BUT WHAT IM SEEING SWIMS STEALTH,A FRIEND SAID HE SEEN ONE WITH A DUCK,IF there is somthing ele out there help me out.grew up around beavers and otters no comparison.
by the way the comp says there not suposse to be any where nere here ?????
Dont pick on these poor animals!
These cats are cute and wild
Fisher cats are not cats. They are weasels. If you saw one in the water, it could have been an otter, which are also in the weasel family. Like all members of the weasel family, they are excellent hunters and killers. Weasels and ferrets (which are smaller than weasels) can easily kill rabbits. One of my ferrets came upon one of my cats fast asleep and tried to drag it away by the ear! (Of course, the cat awoke and objected!) The way weasels kill prey is by biting the neck. They go for the jugular vein.
Of course, they kill in order to survive, just like any other carnivore. Raccoons, esp. mothers, are considered extremely vicious and dangerous – and they are not obligate carnivores; they are omnivores (they can eat anything). Weasels ARE obligate carnivores: they MUST eat meat. They do not have the part of the digestive tract for digesting vegetables.
Any of these animals, of course, in the wild can be dangerous to humans. I got bitten so badly by one of my ferrets when I first took him in that I spent 8 hours in the ER. He was not wild, though, just had been mistreated by others. It took me well over a year or more of working with him to get him to trust me and now he is the sweetest, gentlest guy in the world. That’s because his basic needs are met – for food, companionship, love, freedom to explore. (I don’t cage any of my animals and they have constant access to a large enclosed yard.)
I also have 5 indoor/outdoor cats and there are raccoons and opossums here, as well as hawks and owls (and gray foxes and coyotes, altho I live in a city – it’s a pretty wild, green city). It’s obviously safer for cats to be kept indoors, but they are happier going outside and they have learned to avoid the wild animals, as well as the wild humans. (One of my cats got hit by a car last year and I live on a double dead-end street. He was saved by surgery.)
I could swear that I and my husband have seen Fisher on two occasions. We live 20 miles south of Des Moines, Iowa! I don’t think they are suppose to be this far south?????
Ive seen tracks past my house in Shrewsbury MA for the past 4 years and last winter I saw tracks just 20 feet from the house. We lost 7 cats over the last 24 years. My current cat has a fused front paw after all the bones were broken 2 yrs ago. He survived but I thought it was a racoon. Now I think it was a Fisher Cat as I confronted one Saturday 3apr10 at 10:10 am. I heard a horrible scream…. my cat was elswhere….I ran out and into the area and find the biggest fisher cat Ive seen (seen only one in my campsite in ME in 1992) then it ran left and right and watched me. I chased it and it never ran up a tree. I chased it again and stopped and growelled like a bear. It passed left and right 20 feet in front of me 40 feet out and snarled. Then I raised my arms and growelled at it again and again and it beelined away to the NE to the neighbors house. I live on 7 acre surrounded by 200 acre of hardwoods and a swamp 1/2 mile south where they usually range.
Steve
i saw a fisher cat go down my stairs my dog shasedit into the woods
Saw my first fisher cat this morning, hunting turkey (spring gobbler) in central PA mtns.
Had heard they were introduced along west branch of susquehanna river (north of me) but wasn’t expecting to see one in the woods I was in.
I noticed a very musky odor where it had been.
Anyone else make that observation?
I have noticed an animal in the last couple of months I have never seen before. It is roughly the size of a small cat and swims very well. It dives into my pond and surfaces about 20 seconds later. It swims in a doggy paddle fashion. I do not know if this is a Fisher Cat or some kind of otter or weasel. I live in a rural part of Massachusetts with a lot of land. Any suggestions to what this animal may be?
you people are losers, get a life and find something better to talk about than weasels
To all you that are affraid of the wild animals around your home…I suggest that you move into a city or nice rural comunity with a night watchmen that prowels the streets at night to make sure you are safe. Lock your doors and windows. Any animal will attack if it feels threatened! the trick is to know how to temper your fears and face a situation. Most animals big or small relate not only to size of an apponent but also agression. Fox’s are addorable little animals much like a dog in the fact that they will follow you around, come with in close proximity to you just to run away as soon as you move towards them. Do not in any situation show an animal fear!!! hell even a house cat will attack you if it thinks you’re affraid of it! on the other hand…if there is more than one at a time…RUN LIKE THE WIND!
If you speak firmly to an animal (even a bear) they will usually run off, if not, well you chalanged them so prepare for the fight or flight of a life time. I have lost cats to fisher cats too and know how bad it feels. When I was a kid I lost my cat Bandit, she just disappeared. One day I whent out to my tree house and there she was (Half of her anyways) I dont hate fisher cats for doing what they need to and only would shoot one if it threatened me.
Sorry if this offends anyone but I’m just tired of people moving to the country and then complaining about the animals. Here in Vermont if someone complains about a wild animal the game wardens just shoot it. Please stop complaining, some of us have lived several years with these animals and enjoy seeing them!
We have been hearing this creature in our area for the last week between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. I also have many cats from various rescue efforts . Most are either in our house or in the barn at night. The cries sound frustrated to a calling type of bark, as though looking for its cubs. The frustrated screech I surmised was because she can’t get at our barn cats.
Does anyone know why they screech? Mating calls?
Thank you for the recordings. I had no idea what it was until I heard the video tape. We live in s.w. Connecticut.
I THINK ONE IS IN M FROUNT YARD AT NIGTH,LIVE ON
CAPE COD .DO NOT KNOW IF IT IS .MY DOGS DO NOT HEAR THEM?DO NOT KNOW IF THERE IN A DEEP SLEEP OR SOMETHING…. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU KNOW ,IF THEY ARE ON MED CAPE COD .THANK YOU
MARGARET
I live in the Catskills in NY and saw my first Fisher yesterday at about 6.30 in the morning. It is one of the most beautiful and graceful animals I have seen. This fisher was black and about 40 inches long and the fur was so spectacular to look at. Of course I had no idea what I was looking at, I am a city girl and had never heard about Fishers before so I went on the internet to confirm what I had seen as I thought it was some type of a weasel.
This is one of the reasons I moved to the country being able to discover new animals.
HEARD ONE NEAR JASPER,IN WHILE GINSENG HUNTING,VERY NEAR,VERY UNNERVING,VERY AWESOME
these varmits make might good eating ! sons-a-bitches taste like chicken !
saw a fisher cat in Shrewsbury near the vetern’s inc property at midnight last night, couldn’t figure out what was making this crow like sound. so I googled it and sure enought a fisher cat. I also have a cat that goes outside only with me and is always on a cat leash attached to a clothes line. She never is off in anyones yard, now I need to realy watch out as I never knew we had fisher cats in the area.
On April 8th at 1:11 AM, I heard this awful cry, like an animal broke its’ leg or a child screaming in pain… woke me out of a sound sleep and it came from the field and trees across the street. We live in a rural area with lots of wild and domestically wild animals.
The next morning at 10:15 AM I spotted an animal (thought initially it was a raccoon) walking the tree line of our yard heading to the woods and marsh area (lots of wood ducks there). It was about 3-4 feet in length, with a brown or reddish – brown body and a black and brown bushy tail somewhat like a raccoon. It had a weasel like body (tall rear hips to smaller sloping shaped front shoulders) and its face was not that of a weasel, but more like a cat face (longer snout than a cat).
I have not heard or seen this animal since, but the ducks disappeared and the squirrels and rabbits have only recently reappeared. We had two wild domestic cats that I would see from time to time but they have disappeared too.
Could this be a Fisher cat?
heard the cry about a month ago at 1 in the morning. fisher was back the next night. Heard it again 3days ago at 4 in the morning but this time put the flashlight out the window and saw the glowing eyes. Its a creepy sight at that time. Also have noticed both the squirrel and rabbit population has gone away. Has anyone noticed if the fisher stays around the same spot for a few weeks and then moves on or is it like a month cycle that it returns?
fisher cats are easy to catch with the right method. A trapper from my place caught 37 one winter . fishers come around my place cuz i live by a farm and ppl getting rid of their cats thinking they will be ok living here are mistaking . the fisher comes around every 2 weeks. i hear him crying almost every time he attacks an animal. OH by the way they make this sound just before attacking a prey ( ive seen it happen). The best thing to do for your pet is to get him in the house before dark. OR hire a professional trapper.
A fisher establish a territory usualy 2 fishers (male &female)10 square miles. They usualy stay around until food is getting scarce. they patrol their territory and usualy comes back to their nest every 4_5 days except when they have a litter . the female stays around the nest while the male patrols the territory on a regular basis.
this audio is the sound of a fisher attacking an animal no doubt about it.