DH and I were finishing up some winterizing last evening and I sat down on the back steps to give some snuggles to the kitties. All of the sudden I heard an owl hooting. We have never heard owls here before. I called DH to come back outside to listen. We stood out in the driveway to listen. We could hear two calling back and forth. We were a little concerned because we didn't know if the owls would attack our cats. Plus we have one geriatric "puppy" that doesn't move too fast. Does anyone know if the owls would go after our pets? DH was so concerned he barricaded the kitties in the barn last nite, the puppy stays inside the house. It was neat hearing the owls though.Hope they find dinner elsewhere.

-- Kim in Indiana (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), November 21, 2001

Answers

they can, but usually, only take the stupid ones., MOst cats will recongize the predetor,, and will know when not to get in the open

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 21, 2001.

too be sure they will.... one tried to get our grown cat, while she was asleep on our porch swing one nite...and then there is the hawk, the silly thing knocked itself out cold. tried to fly thru a window and get Spikey the cat...yep the same cat. She has become very bird "aware" We have the owls, BIG ones and then 3 hawks that make our place their home and spend lots of time on the fence post in front of the house eyeballing kitty. We bring her inside at nite and if she has the choice in the daytime, sometimes she just won't go out... lol

-- Lynnda (venus@zeelink.net), November 21, 2001.

In our experience, owls take cats easily. My hubby turned on the outside light one night just in time to see one picking up a cat in the driveway. It was startled and dropped the cat. I've thought of going out in the evening and shooting into the trees to perhaps make our yard less pleasant for owls. Not to kill them, just scare them off.

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), November 21, 2001.

Crows are the natural enemy of owls. Put up some crow decoys, change there position often, and it will help to keep them at bay. We too have many owls (one kept me company on my deer stand the other day, just before first light), hawks and we are happy to say, eagles. I watched one of our cats as a hawk circled overhead. She sunk low to the ground and kept her eye on it until it was gone.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), November 21, 2001.

We have owls also, and they are always taking the cats, they get the little cats when they are outside playing. I had about 5 kittens get taken this fall from owls. Hawks will go right in our chicken coop and take chickens and so will owls.

-- Barb (vozarbi@sensible-net.com), November 21, 2001.

Lucky you for having owls in your area! They are a solid Number One ally in the never ending war between homesteaders and rodents of all kinds. They eat countless numbers of mice, rats, moles, voles and such. Best of all, you aren't out a dime in the care or feeding of such valuable friends. If there are owls in your area, rural or urban, and they stay there, you can be sure that the rodent population in the same area is large enough to keep them there.

Owls, and hawks for that matter, will take a very small kitten or chick if they get a chance at them. BUT the largest owl I'm familiar with, and I worked at rehabbing owls for many years, has a top weight of ONLY 4 pounds. It's flat impossible for a 4 pound owl to take an adult cat and fly off with it. The cat, even a skinny one, will greatly outweigh the owl and the bird just doesn't have the strength to get off the ground with something that's more than twice it's own weight. And owls, depending on their own needs and the weather, will eat anywhere from two to eight rodents a night. Count your owls as a blessing!

Very rarely, an owl will be seen to make a try at an adult cat. If this happens, you can be sure that it's a very young owl still learning hunting skills. Once it "learns" about how heavy the cat is, it leaves them alone from then on. Experienced adult owls are not stupid or they wouldn't still be alive. A cat can easily turn in it's loose skin and counterattack the much smaller bird. Owls that keep trying for even half grown cats are stupid and as such are quickly taken out of the wild gene pool.

I've had cats all my long life and while I was rehabbing the wild birds, I released them on my land. The owls never bothered my cats. I kept kittens inside at night, with their mother, until they were big enough to be out alone.

Please don't fear your owls. Treasure them instead.

-- Carol - in Virginia (carollm@rockbridge.net), November 23, 2001.

I`VE ALSO HEARD TWO NEIGHBOURS TELL ME SEPERATELY ABOUT AN OWL IN THE AREA THEY BOTH CALL AND MIMIC IT.GUESS WHAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO RESPONDANTS SO THAT LETS ME CONCLUDE THEY ARE ANSWERING EACH OTHER. THEY LIVE FAR ENOUGH AWAY NOT TO DISCOVER THIS FOR THEMSELVES. THEY ARE CITY FOLK AND ITS ONE OF THE THINGS THEY FIND SO ENDEARING ABOUT COUNTRY LIFE.I DON`T WANT TO BREAK THEIR HEARTS.BUT I SIT ON MY PORCH AND GET THE GREATEST KICK OUT OF THESE GROWN MEN.BRAGGING TO THEIR FRIENDS AND VISITORS AND VOCALIZING EVERY NIGHT."WHO" "WHO" I`VE CONSIDERED CHIRPING IN AND MAKE IT A THREESUM BUT I`M AFRAID I`D BREAK OUT LAUGHING.BUT I SIT ON MY PORCH AND GIGGLE. SOMETIMES I SPICE IT UP AND SAY I SAW ONE THE OTHER NIGHT SWOOP DOWN AND GRAB A MOUSE.HEY ITS MY GIG AND I`M GETTING A HOOT OUT OF IT.LOL! CITY FOLKS YOU HAVE TO LOVE THEM. IF I KNOW ONE OF THE NEIGHBOURS IS AWAY I MIGHT FILL IN AS A SEROGATE OWL.THEN IF THEY START A CONVERSATION THEY MIGHT NOT CATCH ON.IF ONE WAS HOOTING THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THE OTHER ONE WAS AWAY.THAT WILL GIVE SOME CREDABILITY AT LEAST IN THEIR MINDS THAT THERE IS INDEED ONE IN THE AREA.I`M WAITING FOR THEM TO SAY THEY SAW ONE ALSO.SEEING AS I DON`T THINK WE HAVE ONE.I`M WAITING FOR BOTH NEIGHBOURS TO BE AWAY SO I CAN LISTEN AGAIN.BUT I NEVER HEARD ONE BEFORE THEIR DISCOVERY OF EACH OTHER.

CORDWOODGUY

-- CORDWOODGUY (cordwoodguy@n2teaching.com), November 23, 2001.

That is funny, cordwoodguy; however, if there is no owl then one of your neighbors called "whoo" first, and that doesn't seem very likely. I mean, I can see a grown man calling to *answer* an owl's call, but to just go outside and hoot?! I don't mean any offense to you; I just thought it was funny to imagine that happening.

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), November 23, 2001.

Thanks all for the informations, and Carol, a big thanks to you for the "behind the scenes" insight. :-D Kim

-- Kim in Indiana (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), November 23, 2001.