When a cat disappears, wild animals are the usual suspects. This week Rosemary reflects on the loss of her cat Louie and why she thinks that weasels, fishers and coyotes get a bad rap.
Welcome to this week's edition of Something Wild. I'm Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
Well, it finally happened. Our cat Louie, who we nicknamed "Loudini" for his escape-artist tendencies, has disappeared.
Many people think Louie was taken by a wild animal - everything from a weasel to a fisher to a coyote. While I suppose that could be true, here's why I think it isn't.
For one, Louie weighed about 10 pounds. That means he would outweigh your average weasel by more than nine and a half pounds and be a fairly even match for a fox. Why would either one of these predators take such a risk? Especially at this time of year when there is such an abundance of wild foods ? why would you gamble on something as feisty as a healthy housecat?
Wild animals, I believe, survive because they don?t do dumb things.
The fisher has a reputation for being ferocious, but as biologist Eric Orff has said more than once, ?A fisher is only vicious if you are a mouse or an apple.? And again, they are rarely much bigger than my former feline.
Plus, several studies have shown that few fishers have ever been found to have housecat in their bellies.
Then there?s the coyote. Yes, one probably could have nabbed Louie, but again, they are more inclined to tackle four pound rabbits and 1 pound squirrels.
There is one other likely culprit that most people overlook, however. What type of animal does New Hampshire have more of than all its four-legged predators combined? Humans, of course!
In particular, humans driving cars. And on my road, anyway, humans driving cars at excessive speeds. Cats and cars just don?t mix.
Whether it was a four-footed or four-wheeled predator ? I?m down one cat. So learn from me: keep your pets alive by keeping them inside. Especially at night!
Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and NH Audubon.
For Something Wild, I?m Rosemary Conroy.
