Will Great Horned owl eat cats?

[rkruz]

Our 2nd cat disappeared mysteriously this evening. She was just hanging around outside the open garage door about 6pm this evening and we were there too. Then a few minutes later we could not find her and she would not come with the sound of can opening.

I heard a owl a short time later. We have great Horned owls here and hear them frequently. Will a Great Horned owl take a cat? She is 5 years old and weighs about 13lbs.?

thank you

 

[sharky]

Anything is possible ... I know crows can pluck cats up

 

[taterbug]

They will take kittens, but I don't think they could manage a 13 lb cat. I'd think a 5 yr old could fight too hard...but they could certainly be frightened away by an owl! I hope she's ok and you find her soon!

 

[kittymonsters]

Most definitely yes! My brothers cat when we were growing up, got a really nasty infected ear. The vet pulled the tip of a talon out of it.

I have a friend that lives in Oregon and she saw an owl take her kitty right in front of her eyes. She was calling him in for the night, and as he was running towards her an owl swooped down and took him. It was really sad.

Here I have seen the red tailed hawks go for cats. The jackrabbits are just as big, if not bigger than the cats. Any larger bird of prey is a danger to outdoor cats.

Please do look around the area. If she struggled enough the owl may have dropped her and she could be injured somewhere nearby.

I am very sorry for her having gone missing and really hope you find her.

 

[kalikat]

I don't know anything about owls taking cats, but I hope you find her safe & well.

 

[mezlo]

I don't know anything about owls either but back where I grew up we had golden eagles and I heard stories of them carrying off full grown cats and smaller dogs.

Hopefully your cat is fine and is just out exploring.

Mez

 

[audiocat]

Definitely Yes! When I was young I lost my outside cat to one. I was only 9 years old and watched in horror as it swooped down and flew off with my cat.

This is yet another reason why my cats are indoor only. It was very traumatic for me.

I truly hope you find your cat.

 

[shad]

With all due respect to those of you who have posted guesses and second-hand tales, or described things other than owls, I have to comment.

If you cat was indeed 13lbs it is extremely unlikely that a 3lb Great Horned Owl could have made off with it without you noticing, or made off with it at all.

While owls are carnivorous birds, their standard foods are far different from those of say an eagle, osprey, or other large hawk.

Could a careless kitten be snatched by an opportunistic raptor? Absolutely.

Would an owl want to bother with trying to kill a 13lb adult cat? Absolutely not.

Provided your cat wasn't sick or maim, an owl would be knowingly putting itself in great danger by trying to take the cat. Owls collect prey by approaching silently & quickly and snatching up the mouse, small rabbit, etc in a quick pass. They do not strike with any sort of power, and thus it would be unable to outright kill or stun an adult cat and instead would find itself clutching 13lbs of claws and fangs - hardly worth the effort.

I hope your cat reappears soon. You never know, it may have been stalking the owl itself and headed out for a look. Please keep us posted.

 

[kittymonsters]

Shad, although only 3 lbs, Great Horned Owls are formidable predators. I used to volunteer at the the Wildlife Rehab Center for the University of MN. They are enormous birds.

They are not your typical smaller owl and they do hunt larger prey such as Jack rabbits, which are the size of a large cat. They will also take porcupines which are much larger than a cat and they regularly eat skunks which are also cat sized.

Depending on where the bird grabs a cat and if the cat struggles a great deal they will drop them. This has actually been caught on video. I suggested the OP search the immediate area for her cat because of this very reason. As I said my brother's cat, when I was a senior in high school had an owl talon removed from his ear. It was stuck in his skull and the tip had broken off.

Were the bird and cat going for the same prey? Or did the bird go for the cat? I can't say. What I do know is the cat was lucky to survive according to the vet.


Cats may not be the prey of choice for a large owl, but they can certainly be it by mistake. Just as humans are not the prey of choice for sharks, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time can get you killed.

Having a cat disappear with a known large owl in the area is suspicious.

However if the OP lives rural enough to have large owls nesting nearby, they probably also have coyotes too. A coyote will snatch a cat quicker than a blink of an eye. Unfortunately I have seen that with my own eyes as well.

 

[emmylou]

Originally Posted by rkruz

Our 2nd cat disappeared mysteriously this evening. She was just hanging around outside the open garage door about 6pm this evening and we were there too. Then a few minutes later we could not find her and she would not come with the sound of can opening.

The thing is, this is normal cat behavior. They can appear or disappear silently in the blink of an eye. And when they don't want to come, they're not going to. She may have taken off after prey herself.

I don't think hearing a bird call means much... it certainly isn't grounds to assume an owl was involved.

 

[saya]

I hope kitty shows up... so distressing...

It CAN happen though, My bestfriends small dog was swooped up before her eyes when we were kids, and that was in Redding, CA. Not exactly the sticks...
3 lbs is the average for GH Owls, but they get bigger in colder regions and the females tend to be a little bigger also...

 

[mom2raven]

I had a bunny that I watched get ALMOST swooped up by a hawk.

I hope you find your kitty. Keep us posted?

 

[chausiefan]

Many people forget domestic cats are CARNivores equipped with powerful jaws and strong claws, you cant EVER compare a rabbits predators to a cats a cat is much much more formitable

a red tailed hawk i know of ONE case where it attacked a kitten the mother cat ended up killing the hawk in the proccess I know this first hand from a farmer who is a close friend of mine

great horned owls sometimes go after cats that are either black or black and white they mistake them for skunks

what color is ur cat? if its a good sized cat and its not black and white it should be pretty safe but great horned owls are the most powerful of local raptors so i wouldnt be suprised if one did take on an adult cat

great horned owls eat and kill skunk foxes, red tailed hawks goshawks even been known to kill bobcats (and get killed while doing it) but that is rare ussually they dont take cats that often like a fisher or a coyote would

I have studied statistics of all kinds on animal predation on cats and spoken to many vets and animal control etc.. Ive even spoke with many animal experts and to be honest many of it is all hype, (other then fishers and coyotes of course which are the usual maner of death if its not car related)

LIke someone will see a red tail hawk in the area and have a cat go missing, the cat was killed by a car but it was blamed on the hawk, stuff like that does happen A LOT

Foxes are another thing that are constantly blamed when they usually leave adult cats alone, i have countless amounts of pictures and video footage of diff cats and wild foxes interacting with NO agression yet people constantly say they kill cats, NO fox would interact peacfully with a rabbit

Raptors and smaller predators are putting themselves at serious risk when going after an adult domestic cat

 

[shad]

I am in total agreement ChausieFan.

 

[shad]

No update in a week? Hasn't made another post on the site since?

I'm getting a strong feeling that this cat has returned home, and likely did so quite quickly.

 

[missingkitty]

I SO beg to differ!  I just got back from the NE games &  parks commision.   My favorite cat ( 2 yrs old) came up missing a couple days ago.  After searching all over my husband sadly found a part of him.  I took the evidence ( feathers, fecal matter & his remaining body part) to them.  The authority on predetors said as soon as he saw the feathers, that it was indeed a Great Horned Owl.  Moreover he said it was not at all uncommon.  If they ( the owls) find a place with easy food supply it would very likely stay around.  He also said they can and do on a regular bacis carry prey up to 3 times their own body weight.  I'm not sure at this point what we will do.  They are protected so our options are limited.  I now understand more about our other cats tendencies to hide under the vehicles now.  One place they can't be attached I guess.   So watch your pets closely.  If you hear owls in your area be warned!!  I miss my cat

 

[meuzettesmom]

Owls can take cats and small dogs. Sorry .

 

[revenwyn]

Way to bring up a 5 year old thread.

 

[otto]

I SO beg to differ!  I just got back from the NE games &  parks commision.   My favorite cat ( 2 yrs old) came up missing a couple days ago.  After searching all over my husband sadly found a part of him.  I took the evidence ( feathers, fecal matter & his remaining body part) to them.  The authority on predetors said as soon as he saw the feathers, that it was indeed a Great Horned Owl.  Moreover he said it was not at all uncommon.  If they ( the owls) find a place with easy food supply it would very likely stay around.  He also said they can and do on a regular bacis carry prey up to 3 times their own body weight.  I'm not sure at this point what we will do.  They are protected so our options are limited.  I now understand more about our other cats tendencies to hide under the vehicles now.  One place they can't be attached I guess.   So watch your pets closely.  If you hear owls in your area be warned!!  I miss my cat

I'm so sorry for your loss of your beloved little boy kitty. It was very caring of you to come and post a warning to others. You may have prevented a broken heart today.

 

[whollycat]

Way to bring up a 5 year old thread.

Well, people looking for information may find this, and if updated or additional info or experience is available then it's a good thing.