Fisher Cat video shows a fisher (animal) caught in a trap. The video was provided as a courtesy from one of our followers, Ken F, from NH. Here is the comment from Ken:

This video is of a fisher that I caught on 5/21/15 in my Have-A-Heart trap baited with cat food.

Some critter had been digging up my newly planted vegetable and I thought it might be a skunk or opossum so I was quite surprised to see this fisher in the trap. I had heard it’s distinctive cry previously but, like most people, had never seen it so it was pretty cool to see it up close.

Based on its’ size, coloring and lack of visible genitalia, I “think” it was a female though I can’t be certain. I’d say it was approximately 20″ in length (not including tail) and weighed approximately 10lbs. Also, when I initially approached it in the cage, “she” rolled over on her back in a submission posture and so my guess is that a male would probably be much more aggressive and not do that.

In doing more research on this elusive creature, I found that fishers are really good to have around in that they primarily eat mice, voles, chipmunks and squirrels (which my yard has plenty of) with the occasional porcupine and carrion thrown in when available. According to various naturalists and the NH Fish & Game, they don’t go after cats, dogs or people unless their normal food supply is very low and they are threatened so…I released her back into my yard after thanking her for getting rid of my pests and asking her nicely to please stop digging up my veggies!

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Every day of top-notch care counts toward a happy and healthy life.

Read on for some tips to get you started with proper horse care.

Basic Horse Care

Did you know that there are more than 400 different types of horses thriving around the world?

Though these equines vary in size and physical characteristics, they all need access to basic necessities including:

• A large, gated paddock and pasture
• A quality plant-based diet
• Socialization with other horses
• Lots of water
• And consistent exercise.

Horses should eat a diet of fresh grains and grass. Keep in mind, though, that ruffage (grass) is more important to a horse’s health than grains are. A horse should feed on fresh grass equal to 2 percent of his body weight, and he should graze on small amounts of grains daily.

Your horse needs about 5 to 10 gallons of freshwater daily. A dam or stream in your paddock is an ideal drinking source.

However, if you have to fill a container with water for your horse, make sure it can’t tip easily. A large basin or bathtub works well for this purpose.

A Horse’s Dental Care

Your equine friend should be seen by a vet for regular dental examinations about once a year when he reaches adulthood. From birth to age five, your horse should have a biannual dental exam.

During normal grazing, horses grind down their teeth. This ensures that their mouths aren’t aching or punctured by their long, pointy teeth.

However, sometimes their teeth have to be floated by an equine vet. During this process, the vet files and smoothes the teeth.

Keeping Your Horse Clean and Happy

Whether you ride your horse or it’s an outdoor family pet, he needs regular grooming and comfortable conditions. If a horse is too hot or dirty, his performance and health will suffer.

Groom your horse daily. This helps you develop a bond with him, and it gives you a chance to check for any skin irritation or matting of the coat.

You should also do your best to keep bugs away from your equine companion. Not only do bugs irritate horses, but they can cause them to become ill.

Take a look at the best fly control spray for horses, and use it in conjunction with deworming medicine. Both tactics will help

you reduce the need for vet visits due to bug-related bacterial infections

Are You Ready to Care for Your Horse?

Horses are magnificent and intelligent animals who can bring years of joy and companionship to your farm family. Take good care of your horse and you’ll be rewarded for a lifetime.

To learn more about horse care or the nature of other animals in general, come back to our blog frequently for the latest content. We aim to fascinate and educate the nature lover in you.

The post Caring for Your Horses: The Top Horse Care Tips You Need to Know appeared first on Fisher Cat Screech.

Although much smaller in stature than most “big cats,” domestic cats have a lot in common with their bigger, stronger, and wilder cousins.

Read on for five fascinating facts about the many similarities between these different types of felines.

1. Rubbing

When kitty rubs against you or the furniture, you may think he’s showing you affection. Cats have pheromones that they excrete through sebaceous glands in their faces.

When your kitty rubs his face on objects and people, he’s marking his territory and claiming ownership. The same goes for wild cats. These large cats do the same thing to let other animals know it’s their kingdom.

Scent marking is a common trait among all cat species to mark their territory. It’s their special way of saying, “back off, this one is mine.”

When cats rub their head against you, it’s a process called bunting. Head rubs are a sign of trust and you commonly see this behavior among lions who rub heads with members of their pride.

2. Snoozing

You might think your cat sleeps a lot longer than most normal cats, but it’s quite common for cats to snooze anywhere from 12 to 16 hours every day. Don’t blame fluffy for being lazy, though.

Even in the wild, big cats sleep for long periods of time in order to conserve energy. This gives them the strength and stamina they need to hunt for prey.

Wild cats actually sleep longer than domestic cats on average at a whopping 20 hours per day in some cases. So, when your little ball of fur is snoozing, he’s likely saving energy for playtime later.

Aside from sleeping, cats love to perch so they can see what’s going on around them. It’s also why you’ll see a lot of wild cats hang out and sleep in trees. You can give your cat his very own perch, like the ones reviewed on this site, so they can observe the world from up high. 

3. Wild Cats and Scratching

Most cat owners know that their feline friends love to scratch everything from the leather couch to the carpet. So, do big cats do the same thing? All felines have retractable claws except for the cheetah, who has semi-retractable claws.

These massive, long, and sharp claws are needed for hunting. They’re also important to allow wild cats to climb trees and maintain their balance.

When you see your cat scratching, he’s just doing what he is instinctually inclined to do. The same applies to larger cats who love to scratch trees to keep their claws conditioned.

For some species, scratching trees and other objects is another way they mark their territory as well. It lets other animals know they’ve been there and that they have claimed the boundaries as their own.

If your cat is scratching a bit too much, you can clip his claws. De-clawing is never recommended since it’s the equivalent of performing an amputation that cuts the cat’s last bone in their toe.  

4. Catnip Crazy

It can be quite entertaining to watch your cat go nuts over a pinch of catnip. This plant creates a hormonal response in cats that causes them to roll around, lick, and generally act a bit “high.”

There is an active compound in catnip that triggers a response in about 30 to 40 percent of all domestic cats. So, what about wild cats? Do they love the nip, too?

Studies have shown that lions and jaguars love catnip. Some big cat rescue facilities have also documented their cats falling in love with this feline-friendly plant. 

Scientists think that the response to catnip is genetic, which is why it may vary from cat to cat. Catnip is considered a stimulant that causes cats to roll on their backs, run around, meow, and exhibit a happy, blissful demeanor. 

5. Stalking and Pouncing

Your cat loves to stalk and he’s probably even stalked you at one time or another. This slinky, sneaky behavior is completely normal and definitely part of a wild cat’s routine.

The process if stalking allows cats to sneak up on their prey unexpectedly. And of course, once the prey is in their sights, they complete the process with a pounce.

For cat owners, this behavior is just part of normal play and interaction. For big cats, it’s essential to their survival.

When a cat stalks, they can get incredibly close to their prey without it even noticing. For a domestic cat, they may stalk you, another cat, or even a toy. For wild cats, they’re likely stalking their next meal.

The behavior of stalking and pouncing is almost identical between most domestic and wild cats. It’s a genetic and instinctual behavior that has been passed down through generations in order for cats to survive. 

Fascinating Feline Similarities

Whether it’s rolling in catnip, rubbing, or scratching, there are plenty of similarities between wild cats and domestic cats. Even though our favorite pets are a lot smaller, they’re clearly closely related to their larger cousins.

Take a look at your cat’s behavior and see how many similarities you can find between their behavior and larger species. It truly is amazing just how much the two relate.

For more information about cat behavior, Fisher Cats, and more, be sure to explore our website. 

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According to WPRI,

Police and firefighters were notified shortly after 9 p.m. Monday that a 12-year-old boy who lives on Route 44 was bitten by an animal. Animal control officers in Rehoboth believe that the wild animal may have been a fisher cat or a fox.

“The animal had bitten him and he had tried to get into the house. The boy slammed the door on it,” said Animal Control Officer Jane Foster.  “The animal just wouldn’t let him go. Finally the animal let him go and the mother threw something I think she threw a hammer or something at him to get him away and we didn’t find the animal.”

The boy was left with bite marks on his left leg and right hand.  Animal control officers left a large trap near the home to see if they could trap the animal in the event that it was rabid.

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Tracey Chartier was attacked Wednesday by the animal, which is related to a weasel.

The animals, which are typically found in the northern parts of the U.S. and Canada, are commonly referred to as fisher cats.

Chartier said she was bare foot and kicked it, and said the animal bit, scratched and mangled her feet.

“The claws were very, very long,” she said.

She said the claws of the fisher impaled the skin in her foot and went so deep, she’s being treated for an infection at Rhode Island Hospital. She’s also being treated for rabies as a precaution.

“Everybody said you know, ‘You should have done this, you should have done that. You know, you should have ran.’ But no matter what I did, I would have got attacked or my dog would have got attacked,” Chartier said.

Chartier said the family remains a little afraid to step outside into the back yard.

“I’m a nervous wreck to go in the back yard. My husband’s a nervous wreck to go in the back yard. The kids, you know, I don’t know what’s there or what’s going to come out,” she said.

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When you’re done listening to the clip below, please let everyone know your opinion of what animal this is.  I’m pretty sure it’s a Coyote, but could it also be a Fox?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Coyote Sounds

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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

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Difference between a FisherCat Scream and Red Fox Sound

The user who submitted this video thinks it may be a fisher cat but after listening to it, it almost sounds like a dog or a fox bark.  Some of our readers say the Red Fox Scream is often mistaken for a fisher at scream.  What do you think? Is this video below a fisher or Red Fox Sounds?

The post Red Fox Sounds or Fisher Cat? appeared first on Fisher Cat Screech.

Fisher Cat Attack – Department of Environmental Management Officials are searching for a fisher cat that attacked a 6-year-old boy on Karen Drive in Hopkinton, Rhode Island on Monday June 22, 2009.

Police say the boy was waiting for the bus with his mother and other kids, when the 20-to-25 pound animal appeared. The mother told the animal attacked when the group started walking away.

The mother kicked the animal off her son, and another child threw a backpack at the fisher cat. A neighbor eventually chased the fisher cat away.

The boy was taken to Westerly Hospital, and treated for bites on his leg.  Fisher cats are relatives of the weasel. They tend to be nocturnal, and often prey on smaller animals like chipmunks and squirrels.

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The fisher cat second in size only to the river otter, and ranks amongst the largest members of the weasel family ever, to dwell in Massachusetts. These animals were displaced and their numbers dwindled many years ago, when the farmers cleared the forests and surrounding areas for agriculture. Fishers who are susceptible to trapping and logging were badly affected during this time and were forced to move out into other neighboring areas such as scattered locations in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Virginia. However due to their departure from the aforementioned area, the porcupine population started swelling; and in order to control this menace, the people of New England re-introduced the fishers to curb the porcupine numbers. Nowadays, fishers can be found in virtually all areas or communities in Massachusetts, with the exception of Cape Cod and the Islands.

Until very recently, only rare reports of fisher sightings have been reported by the Massachusetts Audubon Society; however, since 2000, these sightings have increased substantially in number especially in areas of eastern Massachusetts. Reasons for this increase in number have been attributed to reforestation of land, which was previously reserved for farming.

There have been many wildlife laws in place which dictate the manner in which these fishers are to be captured in required to control their numbers and humanely destroyed. These laws have helped keep a check on their habitat and numbers.

Fishers are reserved by nature and are solitary in their mannerisms. They are not known to hunt in groups and are only seen in groups during the mating season. These animals will never den near human dwellings and normally keep their distance from humans.

Even thought their numbers have increased in New England area in US, fishers are hardly a threat to humans even thought they are known carnivores. Fishers prefer snowshoe hares, mice shrews, carrion, etc, and have been known to eat fruit and berries too. It is one of the few animals, which can attack, kill and eat a porcupine!

The population density is known to be one per 2.6 – 7.5 sq. km, but can be as low as 1 per 200 sq. km. The daily movement is observed to be 1.5 to 3 km in a day, but this distance is known to vary given the weather conditions. Fishers walk on the soles of their feet and can climb and swim very well. The fisher paws, have, on its soles large surfaces to help it run on snow without sinking in easily. If its disturbed by any creature or anything, fisher cats tend to arch its back like a cat and is known to hiss, growl, snarl or spit as well as give off an offensive odor!

The fishers are known for their thick fur coats, which provide good insulation against the cold and inclement weather.

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