Strange Cat in NE OK?

reply to post by hhott


You would be surprised at the size of animal a hawk can pick up. I'll have to do some searching in native animals to know for sure, but I still think that is a likely option. Especially if you don't find any tracks leading away from the attack sites. If it is during the day then you can mostly rule out owls.

If you keep the cams up I think you will eventually catch sight of whatever it is. I also agree it might be a good idea to get a guard dog only my suggestion would be a shepard or rottie. In my experience, pits tend to chase animals too much. But that's just my opinion.


ETA: I just found this link from the University of Oklahoma that may be useful. It gives a few ways of determining the type of culprit. Just thought you would be interested. Predators

reply to post by glitch88


A shephard would be great.

I am partial to pits, but you are right, if they aren't raised around the animals and strictly trained, they might be a bigger culprit than the predators. They can be terrific though. Personally, I don't care for Rottweilers. They are big and friendly, but I have never encountered an overly intelligent one. So my choice #1 Pit with a lot of care and training, or #2 Shephard.

NE Oklahoma does have many Hawks and Eagles. There is even a decent sized population of Bald Eagles becoming known in the area. Someone mentioned Branson, MO earlier, and Branson is getting a very nice population of Bald Eagles. There are plenty of raptors and predatory birds there to do the deed.

I wonder if the high tensile wire will work like it does for seagulls around the resorts and beach restaurants? It doesn't hurt the birds, it just a deterrent that keeps them from making that high-speed dive.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I've had shepards my whole life. I couldn't imagine a better dog for such a wide range of tasks. Rotties I'm partial to because they are so loyal and laid back, but you are right, they can be kinda dumb in the solving of problems. And I do think pits get a bad rap sometimes, they just aren't big enough for me.

If I understand what you mean about the tensile wire, it might be worth a shot. I once knew an old farmer that just made a roof of chicken wire over the entire area his chicken were in. It was about 10 ft. off the ground. Might be a bit of overkill, but he swore by it.