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
We are in the Catskill Mtns and have seen a fisher on our property. Yesterday afternoon we were out for an hour or so and returned to find our 3 week old kittens gone without a trace, all cat food gone and water knocked over. No prints. Is it possible that a fisher came in through an open window and did all of this???
Hi Liz,
I am in the Catskills also and I’ve seen these animals around.
Where was the mother cat when this happened, did she disappear also ?
From what I’ve read, the Fisher can prey on cats and small dogs,
I hope not, but unfortunately it seems that is what might have happened.
I have young 1/2 grown cats,
now that I know they can be dangerous for them, I will keep a closer eye out
and not encourage their presence!
Sorry that that happened to you
I live in east Mendocino county at 3500 feet and my very small dog chased a fisher cat up a dead pine tree. It was at noon and was realy neat!
I live in a wooded area near the mountains in NH. In the last week we have had two cats missing. One older cat and a 6 year old. The older one just never came home one night. Last Sunday, our 6 yr old cat was browsing the edge of our yard and went too far out. Next thing we hear is what sounded like a cat fight. My husband ran into the path to get our cat but nothing was there. Our cat was gone. We scoured the woods around our yard for over two hours. No trace of him. We think it was a fisher cat. Beware of your cats!
When you leave a domestic cat outside it becomes part of the food chain…….as far as I am concerned keep domestic aniamls indoors. Think about it this way…….When the Fisher cat eats a domestic cat it is no different then your domestic cat eating native wildlife……Just a thought
we live in a residential area in Rhode Island. Our 14 lb.English toy spaniel was side in a totally enclosed yard. as usual at 9:00in the evening. for less than 5 minutes. When she cam in she had a hole in her side which we thought was a tick or some insect bite. The vet cave us some pain meds and antibiotics The next morning.
the second morning she was paralyzed and died in my wife,s arms.
well, i have a outdoor cat and one night i heard a big scream.
i was really terrified because i thought that my cat was in a fight with another cat–we have cats in the woods– and my brother heard the same thing the next hour and it does sound like a screaming baby! the next mourning, i found my cat all scratched up and so on, soo i wonder maybe it was a fisher cat????
I saw one on Cape Cod, at the Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds golf course on June 19,2010. Had no idea what it was until hearing about fisher cats and looked online and sure in hell, I saw a fisher cat. I scared it as much as it scared me. It burrowed itself into the bushes and just stared at me as I BACKED away!
I live in Oro Medonte, Ontario, Canada. A month ago two of my cats vanished without a trace – two days apart, both at night. 3 nights ago another cat disappeared. I heard what I thought was a cat fight (rare but not impossible in this area). My cat hasn’t come back. I’m wondering if there are fishers in this part of central Ontario, Canada.
absolutely, and that is most likely what got your cat, I live in Bracebridge and a couple of years ago, one of them took 2 of my cats off my porch at dusk and one of the cats was a 20 pounder, bruiser of a guy . About 3 weeks later at 10 at night one came up out of the ditch while I was taking my sheppard cross dog for a last night pee, and came screaming running at us I just got back onto the porch and inside in time. Scared the hell out of us.They can be very viscous.
My husband and I were grouse hunting by Atlanta, Idaho this weekend and saw, what we believe to be, a Fisher. I thought it was a cat, at first, with real short legs. But, where we were was no place for a cat. It ran across the road in front of my 4 wheeler and disappeared into the brush. The next day we went for a drive and he saw another dark animal cross in front of us. He only saw the back end and thought it might be a wolverine, but they are no generally seen crossing a fairly busy dirt road in the middle of the day. Based on the pictures on-line, I think they were Fisher cats.
I am very disgusted with the couple who actually thought that allowing their dog to KILL a poor defenseless animal was enjoyable. Congratulations U morons !!!! U just trained ur dog 2 B a KILLER !!! That is outright CRUELTY 2 ANIMALS AND ANIMAL ABUSE. If I knew where 2 report ur ass I would, WITHOUT HESITATION. What’s 2 say that ur dog now believes killing ANYTHING that size is an okay thing 2 do (cats, puppies, etc.)…. OMG !!! Ur more animal than ur dog!!!!!
get a grip lady, you have never faced a fisher cat…I get your protecting animals bit. You would be much less dramatic if you met one and heard it scream while attacking your loved ones.
i was skateboarding this morning and i found a dead mouse but all that was left was its organs, his tail, and his head totally separated from each other. My mom called the police and they said that it must have been eaten bye a fisher cat. And the night before this morning my dog got attacked by something but now we think that it was a fisher cat.
Yikessssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Evelyn- go get some Prozac for God’s sake. Fisher Cats are highly destructive, aggressive predators; they’ve been known to come into people’s homes, not at all scared of the human scent; they’ve attacked small children many times, one little kid waiting for the school bus with his Mom recently here; and they’ve murdered thousands of domesticated pets who’ve lost their innate sense of aggression and have very little hope of surviving an attack. They kill livestock in barns and anywhere else they can find a small animal. Maybe if you find one hanging off your leg you’ll get over your rant about teaching dogs to kill them. I have a 115 lb Rott and believe me, she’ll get roast beef as a reward if she kills one anywhere on my six acres; I have two small rare breed purebred dogs and a champion bloodline Siamese to protect. My dogs/cat never go out without me, but Fishers don’t fear humans, they attack ferociously.They are a serious problem here. Only a kook would suggest they should be protected. You obviously don’t have any pets or you couldn’t say something so irresponsible and wacky. Try to consider the heartbreaking losses other people have suffered when Fishers kill their pets.
This comment says it all! THANK YOU!
Nicely stated.
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For those of you who claim to have lost a cat at night and think a fisher cat might have killed them, I can only say one thing and it is what I say to anyone who lets their cats outside whether in the day or night, you are looking for trouble and should never let your cats outdoors. It is entirely too dangerous. I have two house cats, they are never permitted outside. I also have two large dogs who are kept on a leash at all times when outside. We go to a dog park where they can be safely kept off leash. My pets are safe and happy and won’t be eaten by a wild animal.
For those of you who claim to have lost a cat at night and think a fisher cat might have killed them, I can only say one thing and it is what I say to anyone who lets their cats outside whether in the day or night, you are looking for trouble and should never let your cats outdoors. It is entirely too dangerous. I have two house cats, they are never permitted outside. I also have two large dogs who are kept on a leash at all times when outside. We go to a dog park where they can be safely kept off leash. My pets are safe and happy and won’t be eaten by a wild animal.
our cat dissapered friday night we saw her go into our neghibors yard and thats it see was gone and the next morning we heard a scream that sounded like a 12 yr old boy in the woods so we called the police then we think she either got eaten by it or shocked and wont come home and we had just got her like a year before it happened and know anything we say is yazzy or jazzy because her name is jasmine shes a siamese that does not shut up if u find her plez try and contact us thank u come home yazzy waaaah
We live in southern Maine and are surrounded by many acres. Our big persian went out one evening and never came back. This evening I was on my deck, lights on and on phone. My cat and dog were also on deck when I heard the loudest scream, one right after the other. It was a Fischer who spotted my cat! I am familar with many animal and bird sounds, but I NEVER heard anything like this very loud scream -one after the other. I get sick to my stomach thinking about my animal being torn to shreads by this ugly creature, but they hunt to live and survive.
We live in north-western Minnesota. The other day I was out taking bird/wildlife pictures (as I do every day) when what appeared to be a rather large, strange-looking squirrel waltzed in. After taking a few pictures, I realized it was a Fisher. This is the second one I’ve seen up here in 5-6 years. I put out tons of food for the wildlife I photograph and I think the Fisher was attracted by all the animal (chipmunk, squirrel, birds, etc…) smells. I had been sitting very still with my camera so it appeared to not notice me until I slowly stood up at which point it ran towards our beach, under some docking and from there, into the neighbor’s yard/s. The last time I saw it, it was heading into the back lots (mixed wood/marsh area). Five minutes later I heard a squirrel screaming like it was being eaten alive, as I’m sure it was having read a bit more about Fishers.
I do NOT agree with anyone letting their domestic cats or dogs run loose. We have leash laws here that only 2-3 of our neighbors adhere to. I agree with Jeff that wild animals will see them as fair game just as your dog or cat will go after birds, chipmunks and other small animals. Remember folks, we came into their habitat and have forced them into a corner. They have just as much right to be here as we do. Protect your pets and your children but try to remember that we are all (animals and humans) just trying to survive.
Janelle, you crack me up! you feel no sense of responsibility for your part in peoples pets being devoured? You admittedly have tipped the balance of nature by putting out TONS of food for the wildlife you photograph, there by drawing in the fishers with a banquet of rodents and the like who are dining on your offerings. You are no better than the people who let their cats out or their dogs off leash so save your moral high ground for church.
We were hunting elk in the flathead valley mountains behind north of Whitefish Montana on Martin Camp Road and we saw a fisher cat in a tree. It had killed a rodent and it was in its mouth when we saw it. We viewed it through our scope but didn’t recognize the species until we looked it up online. Even though the fisher cat we viewed seemed to be a bit more red color we are pretty postitive that it was a fisher cat.
My gosh to think of our poor cats and dogs being hurt just breaks my heart!
I’ve been training fisher cats for the last 30 years. They are actually quite affectionate and loving of their owners and can be house broken and litter box trained as well as guard pets watching over the house with keen eyesight razor teeth and claws. My wife and I have had Tabitha for 2 years now and she is full grown and lives on a diet of raw meat and loves her whipped cream. Trimming her toenails is sometimes a challenge but I know she doesn’t mean to break the skin while I groom her. We are looking for a Male to breed her with, so please post if you have a tamed Male. She loves her stick as well as her empty tin cans to hone the teeth. These creatures can be so docile and gentle as Tabitha sleeps in the bed with us every night and is truly a big teddy bear.
Ha!! What a great sense of humor!!
Been looking at doing some site optimization and improving the design on my site for a while, so this website has been very useful. Clear read as well, so thank you!
I recently saw a large fisher just outside Frenchtown, NJ. Thats about 25 miles north of Trenton.
Has anyone else seen one that for south?
I recently saw a large fisher just outside of Frenchtown, NJ. Thats about 25 miles north of Trenton.
Has anyone else seen one that far south?
Just heard of a fisher who had gotten into the walls of a man’s home in this town. The man had left his cat inside, went off for awhile, and when he arrived home found that his cat had been killed inside his home, having put up and obviously terrible fight for its life. Later the fisher was seen in a nearby tree, which prompted a call to the warden. Not sure if the warden arrived in time to make the animal ‘move on’ in any way.
Fishers are extremely fearless.I don`t think it is very wise to get that close to one.
Rehoboth, MA (next to Prov, RI and Attleboro, MA. hour south of boston)
Just 20 minutes ago saw by chance a beautiful critter scurry right by the side of our house and into the woods behind- the kind of deciferous woods with lots of fallen, dead trees. We’ve looked and searched the web – and it was a fisher cat. We know they have been sited in nearby towns. It was a glossy thick fur, handsome and rather large. A beautiful coat, but I know it is ferocious and our 2 cats will be indoors for now on.
In one picture on line, a fisher cat was raiding a suet bird feeder. We have several of those hanging from our trees near our house -Ooops…
A friend of mine who grew up in Massachusetts, said that his wife said she saw a fisher in old-suburban southern Westchester County, just north of New York City. He didn’t entirely believe her, but subsequently saw one in a tree while walking his dog (off-leash).
The New York Times has a blog (“Scientists at Work”, I think) for a scientist in Albany who has determined that fishers love to use culverts and pipes to move around in urban areas.
My daughter just came screaming into our bedroom after a what she claims is a large sized cat was on our porch right at the door and tried to come in after one of our cats! She won’t stop crying said it was screaming like a baby dieing. After reading these posts I have no dought that it was a fisher cat. our cats will be indoors now but still what can we do to keep this animal from coming onto our porch again? We are huge animal lovers but this was all a bit too much. Our daughter 15 and she was shaking like she had just seen someone die!
I live in meerimack Nh and while walking my dog this morning in the woods right behind the house he sniffed out a fisher cat that was sitting about 25 feet up in a tree. The cat was about 15 inches long with a tail almost as long. I didn’t know what it was until i looked up fisher cats and lo and behold the picture looking at me was the same animal i was looking at .
i live in fitchburg,ma.i was just watching one run along a fallen tree in back of my house.it was pretty large,beautiful redish brown coat,handsome animal.
At 9 am this morning I saw a fisher come out of the woods into our back yard, it stayed close to the forest as it traveled along up the hill. It was probably a male-appeared to be 15-20lbs. All animals are inside at my house!
Just walked my 10 yr old smoothcoat collie through Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield/Saugus Massachusetts, about 8 miles north of Boston. Saw a fisher cat scamper across an access road and up a trunk of a tree at dusk. It stayed there as I walked by with the dog. I got within 15 or so feet of it. It was making chipping kind of noises, and I heard similar noises in the woods nearby, so it was probably communicating to a mate or possibly its litter. Tried not to scare it as I had heard they can be vicious. It frantically climbed further up the tree as the dog (who was walking behind me) approached. We have had trouble with coyotes attacking domestic animals around here but not with fisher cats as far as I know. However, I can imagine this one could do some damage given the chance.
And Elizabeth, the only thing to die in these posts are pets. I believe the dog to which you refer chased a fisher cat up a dead TREE.
Would or could a fisher cat get under a car to kill a domestic cat? Not a trace of skin was on the face, a front shoulder was nearly torn off, and there was no blood, fur, etc. under the car. The remainder of the body was in perfect condition.
The car itself was entombed on all sides in a rockhard mountain of ice and snow. There was only a cat-sized “bolt” hole that had been shoveled out by my neighbor at the bottom of the driver’s door. The cat’s body was lying on its side under the front fender.
My neighbor’s house is one of two and is fenced in on all sides. Parts of the fence have small “bolt holes” big enough for a cat or squirrel to get thru. The houses are surrounded by a number of small industrial businesses, car dealerships, chain link fencing with a few patches of scrub and grass that is green in summer.
He had been away for a month and left his home in the care of relatives who insisted on putting their mealtime leftovers outside on the back porch for the “cats.”
He has lived in the area all his life, has had cats outside for many years and nothing like this has ever occurred. There have been no other cats or dogs killed in the area before or since. This happened in East Hartford, CT.
Would a fisher cat move into such an area and kill an animal in such a manner?
My husband just called and saw a fisher cat. He has no doubt. It resembled a cat but had a longer face and torso and a longer tail. We have several cats that are loose in the area and I’m thinking of posting a warning on the telephone poles in the neighborhood. We live in Marshfield, MA.
It’s not only Fisher cats that eat domestic cats and small dogs, My daughter lives in a development in Portsmouth NH there are woods behind her house, her beautiful white cat was completely torn apart by Coyote. I called the dog officer and was told that many areas in Portsmouth are infested with Coyote and you should not let your domestic cats out. She said domestic cats are a treat for coyotes. I called the News and they would not post the story to alert folks that are unaware of the coyote. it was so sad we picked up was left of him in the woods and buried him. If my daughter had known she would have never let her cat out
In the middle of winter around 7:00 AM I was walking thru the city park and something screeched or squalled that scared the hell out of me. It sent shivvers up my spine. It was close, sounded like it was in the trees but then I immediately thought it was a mountain lion. I heard one about 25 years ago and I can’t think of anything with that kind of scream with that much power.
About a month later I was on the same trail, we had a heavy ice storm and everything was completely covered with 2-6 inches of ice. I saw this dark animal running across the ice. It was running like a gallop and doing very well on the ice. It had a long bushy tail and appeared to be two or three times the size of a racoon. I dismissed it and thought it must have been a coon. It was too big and didn’t run like a coon. Plus it was too sure footed on the ice.
My son told me about a Fischer Cat in PA and said it may have been one. I remembered reading an article a few years ago where they were re-introduced in WV. I’m wondering if they were introduced to IN also??
I live in linden michigan and have a fisher cat living in my back yard. I have one neighbor who has lived in his home longr than we have in ours and they’ve been watching it for quite some time. I have looked them up and it seems they are almost non existant in my area.
I was putting gas in my chain saw on Mon the 18 th of April in Jewett NY when this what I though was a cat came out of the woods and went under my deck it was the first time I had ever seen one later to find out it was a Fisher it was about 10 ft from me have not seen it again.
Wild fisher cats are vicious and dangerous. They like to drop down on their prey and have very sharp teeth and claws. I consider it extremely dangerous for this woman to be standing under a tree – with her dog – taping and talking. I have seen one of these cats drop from a tree on an unexpecting cat and destroy it in a matter of seconds. Next time a cat appears, I suggest taping from inside your house… and take your dog! He would probably lose the fight.
I live in NE PA and recently discovered a momma and her kits living in a tree on my property. I’m a little concerned because I have cats and dogs. I live in the middle of the woods. Should I be concerned or maybe call someone? I hate to have them disturbed due to the babies. They sound so cute. By the way this dead tree is very close and I can see it from my house. The dogs keep running over there every time they hear one of the babies. They can’t get to them though!
I live in South Central Kentucky and last night I definitely heard a Fisher Cat screaming in behind our 30 acres. The dogs and horses were going crazy! Their scream is unmistakable. I’ve listened to both red fox and fisher screams and it was definitely a Fisher. Over the years we have had different poultry killed, but we have 5 very large guard dogs that roam free at night which I am sure keep most all predators at bay. Has anyone heard of them being this far south? Our local game warden didn’t even know what they were, let alone if any were in this area.
I saw a Fissure Cat playfully leaping through my back yard this morning. I wasn’t sure what it was ’til I checked on line. It climbed partway up a big oak and then off into a wooded area where there are some fallen trees.
I thought I saw one in the wintertime but it was so quick I could not be sure. Now I am.
It was just beautiful. We live in Ipswich, MA not far from marshland and we have some wetland area on and next to our property.
I also see a gorgeous fox from time yo time. More frequently we see deer and this year so far they have not eaten my tulips! (just the white azalea)
We also have some wild turkeys that were born here a few years ago and tier mother taught them to fly using our front deck which is only f couple of feet off th ground and then higher into a small tree and eventually up into the big oaks.
These three “babies” two females and one male, come back regularly and have no fear of me. (nor I of them) The female actually runs over toe when she sees me and stops just short of contact. I do feed all the birds and we do a a healthy squirrel population so that is probably attractive to the Fissure Cat, too.
When the turkeys were young I saw the adult fly up onto a big oak branch, followed by a youngster and the adult put his/her wing around the youngster and then another young one flew up on the other side and was enveloped under the other wing! The adult had an “arm” around both babies. It was the neatest thing I’d ever seen.
I will be keepin a sharp eye out for Fissre Cat family activity this spring!
I woke up this morning at my home in Boylston, MA to a fisher sitting on my front porch. I followed the cat while inside my home and it moved slowly to my back just and eventually sat down, casually staring at my house. I have two small dogs that I typically let out in the morning to my fenced in back yard. I watched the fisher until I went off into the woods and let my dogs out. Although I went outside with them and brought them back in after only minutes, what would I have done if the fisher climbed a tree and got into the fenced in yard? I rarely let my dogs out alone or out of my sight in the yard. Now I never will. I’ve read these predators are nocturnal but this was 9AM and seemed late for the fisher to be around. The way he walked and just sat around made me think he was still on the hunt and in no hurry to get back to his den. Truly a scary animal and I’ll never let my dogs out alone again in the fenced in yard.
These animals are coming into houses through dog and cat doors and killing pets and doing major damage knocking everything over and chewing things up. Lock your pet doors and keep your pets inside.
thats real nice! NOT!!! Why would u watch another animal get killed/hurt or torture another one?! That was just cruel! nice for my 10 yr old to watch when he was trying to LEARN about a fisher cat! You should be ashamed of yourselves. i feel bad for your animals!!!!!
me and my friend were walken in the woods at night (20 mins ago) and we here larg rustling (me having my bb gun being a man said lets check it out) i saw something that looked like a small bear/ HUGE weasle.my friend saw it yelled fisher i go “a what” while he was runing i then saw it was chasing me and hauld ass down the hill and in my house he said look 4 a pic and see if thats wat i saw we came here i saw the pic and now i know the “HUGE weasel” is a fisher.
im from norwich CT nd have heard of them but never seen them nd never want to they are veryyy mean animals..
Hi I’m katie Kane and I live in Springfield massachusetts and one day a brown large cat was climbing a tree in my backyard it seemed to be very thick coated it looked to me like a fishercat and also I here the fisher cats screech almost every night!