Bless you Lynn!!!

Elisabeth

What's a Fisher?

Did you try to spay her between litters? I know feral cats can be hard to catch. It's too bad she had so many litters. That last part broke my heart. That's very nice of you to take all those babies in.

Well the rest of my post was......

Have any of you ever worked to socialize feral or semi feral kittens? (They are probably 10-12 weeks old.) If so, what worked best for you?

Have any of you faced a fisher? They must be eating machines, the game people said that there is only one way to get rid of them and that is that they deplete the food supply.

Lynn how tragic to find the kitties in uch trouble and what a good heart you have.
I'm glad DH is a softie give him a big HUG !!!!

She was not tame, chi83 and would not come near us. I bought a live trap but she would not go in it. But that was the thought, I wanted to spay her. She wanted to trust us, I could see it in her eyes but she was absolutely terrified.

Chloe, a fisher is a member of the weasel family. Their diet is mainly cats and porcupines.

Such adorable pictures. Kittens at play!

Ohhh, the poor little darlings have to be saved/protected before more tragedy happens. How are fishers controlled? Can you set a live trap? (supposing you can't shoot it)

Sad this happened but by feeding the cats that might have brought in racoons and the fisher you have. When we lived up in the mountains, we never fed outside cats or dogs as this attracted both coyotes, lynx, mountain lions, and other preditors. We did not have fishers, but did have an occasional weasel. Your game officials are right--eliminate the food, eliminate the problem--for awhile, but just having them in the house, the fisher and racoons will try to get inside even by ripping the screen doors, or open windows. I don't know what the answer is, but good luck with your new family.

The fisher, if that is the culprit, is probably new to the area, they are just now making a come back in our area. The raccoons I am not worried about, we have fed them, the possums and skunks for the 16 years we have lived here.

They seem to be bonding just fine....sounds like a herd of critters running up and down the hallway upstairs!

I adore cats and appreciate what you have done to help those cats. I have never heard of a fisher.

This site shows pictures and tells all about the Fisher:

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/fisher.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Fisher

Lynn, so sorry that you are having such heart ache for the kitties. I have no answers, but I think that the Fisher suspicion is probably right.

I've got fishers in my area, but only saw one once. It moved very much like a ferret. Sort of humpy-bumpy as it moved across the street, if you know what I mean.

You are so good to take them all in and to try to catch the others. I would keep trying- if you don't catch the cats, maybe you'll catch the fisher.

I have a book called "The Winter of the Fisher", by Cameron Langford. It's an interesting read, but I for sure wouldn't like them much if they were killing and eating my cats. I'm really sorry for your losses, Lynn.

First I've ever heard of a Fisher. So sorry about the cats and other animals that didn't survive, but what a big heart you have to open your home to these cats. Wishing you good luck for the ones you need to find homes for.

Let us know when/if you catch the Fisher.

I just emailed my vet to make an appt for the kittens that we brought in, I'm confident that they are okay (they better be since they are already in here with our boys!) but they need a healthy kitten check and we wills start their vaccinations. She called me to tell me that it is probably a fisher, she has another patient that is going thru it.

When Nita was here she got to watch the little Himmie playing outside....she loved her too!

Lynn - We had exactly the same thing happen. A mother cat had her kittens under DH's shop. Then, 6 months later, another litter. We had to borrow a trap cage from Animal Control and trap her, then took her to be spayed. All the babies that we didn't find homes for were neutered/spayed as well. All are happy and well-adjusted despite starting life out the hard way.

A couple of years ago I posted pics of the mama cat and the damage she did to my utility room floor. We were trying to make her an indoor cat but she would have nothing to do with that. She actually pulled the dryer vent off and made her way out the hole. We gave up and she's happy to be an indoor outdoor cat.

*whispers* Don't tell anyone but we have 8 cats.

You do not want to try to befriend a Fisher. As beautiful as they can be with their thick, dark fur...the are not good neighbors and have very nasty, aggressive personalities. They will chase and attempt to attack any human that infringes on "their" territory as well as small animals. Porcupine is usually their meal of choice. Pickins' must be slim in your area, Lynn, if they're consuming kittens. The other thought is that the Fisher may be rabid.

Bless you and your hubby for being so caring. Did your Game Warden have any suggestions regarding protecting your furry friends? Would he consider trapping the Fisher and removing him/her from your immediate area? Take him to a nice river area where he can fish to his/her heart's delight. That's where I usually find our resident population.

Anne

Dang. That is just heartbreaking. I've never heard of a fisher. Good Luck to you and the puddy cats Lynn!!

You have a big heart to take in all the kitties.

It was interesting..but sad, to read about the fisher. I had never heard of them. Hope your able to get rid of it.

I knew what a fisher was but never saw one in action. Sad story, but I'm glad you have rescued the rest. They are adorable, and you have a great husband. I'm down to four now but at one time had eight.

I had never heard of a fisher. Bless you and your DH for taking the kitties in. Please give your DH a hug from me for being a teddy bear. I have 3 kitties who are all indoors.

Thanks all. We had a rather noisy night as the kittens played themselves out with Missy, I think she is just thrilled to have someone her age to hang with! There were a few crashes but nothing major! LOL!

Anne, you are so right. They were re-introduced to our area about 7 years ago, the state started it 13 years ago in other areas. I don't know why. He did not have any idea how to rid ourselves of the fisher other than once the food source is gone he will move on. So we brought the cats in, the food source is gone, the dry food is gone by dark every night. We are surrounded by woods and fields so the animals can forage for a bit.

Moonie, we may need to start a chapter of Cats Anonymous! Hello, my name is Lynn and I live with 7 cats......

We are heartbroken about Mama, I really did want to love her.