Help!!!!!!!!! Hawks and Cats

[d***@hotmail.com]

I have two wonderful house cats that love to go out on my little deck
when it is nice out. The deck is about 10'x4' and has wrought iron
rails around it and is located on the second floor. I was leaving my
house this morning and a neighbor pointed out a Hawk that was in the
tree, it is the second time I have seen it but the first time it was
hunting chipmunks. The hawk was a pretty good size(it looked to be the
size of an owl) and I didn't even know we had such a thing were we live
but evadently we do.

My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.

Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

[Rhonda]

Even if the hawk couldn't pick up the cat -- they can kill their prey
just by trying to pick them up. They (kinda gross) can squish them with
the impact. I wouldn't chance it, you don't even want the hawks being
tempted to try.

Is there any type of cover you could make and put over the balcony?
Maybe a secure hardware cloth-type "cage"? If not, I'd only let them out
if you were with them constantly.

Rhonda

Post by d***@hotmail.com
I have two wonderful house cats that love to go out on my little deck
when it is nice out. The deck is about 10'x4' and has wrought iron
rails around it and is located on the second floor. I was leaving my
house this morning and a neighbor pointed out a Hawk that was in the
tree, it is the second time I have seen it but the first time it was
hunting chipmunks. The hawk was a pretty good size(it looked to be the
size of an owl) and I didn't even know we had such a thing were we live
but evadently we do.
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.
Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

[Anna via CatKB.com]

Post by d***@hotmail.com
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.
Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

Hawks eat mostly mice, squirrels, snakes and sometimes rabbits. I think at
17 lbs, your cats would be too big to carry them away. Great Horned owls on
the other hand can take larger prey although I think 17 lbs would still be
too heavy for them but they could grab a small cat or dog. A Great Horned
owl grabbed a 3.5 lb Yorkshire terrier in Canada but luckily his owner ran
out and yanked him out of his talons.

[Gary Stone]

Post by Anna via CatKB.com

Post by d***@hotmail.com
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.
Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

Hawks eat mostly mice, squirrels, snakes and sometimes rabbits. I think at
17 lbs, your cats would be too big to carry them away. Great Horned owls on
the other hand can take larger prey although I think 17 lbs would still be
too heavy for them but they could grab a small cat or dog. A Great Horned
owl grabbed a 3.5 lb Yorkshire terrier in Canada but luckily his owner ran
out and yanked him out of his talons.
--
Message posted via CatKB.com

I live in a national forest and we have Great Northern Horned Owls here
also. If there are abundant other critters they wont risk taking a cat
(something that can cause them damage). I worry more about the eagles here
than anything else and then the same thing goes for them. They will take a
kitten or smaller cat though and think nothing of it. The owls are one of
few critters that can take out a porcupine and skunks with no problem.

Stone
Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos

[Valkyrie]

Post by Gary Stone

Post by d***@hotmail.com
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away?

I live in a national forest and we have Great Northern Horned Owls here
also. If there are abundant other critters they wont risk taking a cat
(something that can cause them damage). I worry more about the eagles here
than anything else and then the same thing goes for them. They will take a
kitten or smaller cat though and think nothing of it. The owls are one of
few critters that can take out a porcupine and skunks with no problem.
Stone
Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos

When I was living in Montana, Washington State University did a study on
owls and found that after closely studying the contents of "owl pellets"
(you can look that one up) that about 75% of their diet consisted of house
cat, domestic or feral I have no idea. They don't swoop down and pick these
animals up and a bird as small as an osprey can take out a cat. They go
into a dive and hit them like a cannon ball in the back, break their spines
and then eat them where they lay, dead or otherwise. I saw a red tail hawk
nail a fox that probably was 4-5 times it's size and was eating on it before
the fox was even dead. It's the food chain, it's the way it works, life is
not Disney.

I've seen bald eagles carry away salmon, trout and snakes but I have never
seen them carry anything that would weigh more than they do. If you've ever
seen a bird of prey take a snake they crack it like a whip to kill it if
it's still alive after they dive on it. The reason they fly off with a fish
is that they can't sit in a fast running river to eat it, getting it to land
is the main objective. They drop more than they get to shore.

I doubt if an owl or hawk would swoop down on a cat on a porch unless it had
a pretty clear fly way but it could kill it pretty easily if the cat goes
out into an open area. Birds of prey tend to eat what they kill where they
kill or take it down unless they are disturbed. I assume you live in the
city so probably traffic, dogs, other cats and coyotes would be more of a
danger.

That hawk you see is more than likely watching the same birds your cats are.
Those they can catch in the air, sometimes. Or they will hit them and then
go to where they drop. Maybe you have a field near by it's watching for
snakes and rodents. Birds of prey are pretty fascinating creatures to
observe. I live in the city now and have bird feeders on my balcony and my
cat spends a lot of time watching them. We have several red tail hawks that
show up regularly to scope things out. I know when they are around because
my bird feeders have no customers, the little birds hide out till the hawk
moves on to an easier hunting territory.


Val

[(PeteCresswell)]

Post by d***@hotmail.com
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away?

While kayaking I rescued a pretty-good-sized squirrel that a hawk dropped in the
lake.

My daughter is about 99% sure that one of the local owls fed one of her cats to
it's young.

I'd say that a raptor doesn't have to carry it's prey away. It can kill it just
by the impact followed up with some lethal wounds from the beak. Bad way to
go...

[NanCe via CatKB.com]

Post by (PeteCresswell)
My daughter is about 99% sure that one of the local owls fed one of her cats to
it's young.

I read a book written by someone that lived in the country where there were
Great Horned owls. His small cat disappeared one night and came home months
later with marks on her back and vet said it looked like talon marks. I
wonder now if some outdoor cats that live where there are these owls
disappear due to being grabbed but then fall to the ground as they're so
squirmy. Apparently Great Horned owls are about 3 lbs and can carry 2 to 3
times their weight so if a cat isn't too large, I'm sure that's how some of
them met their fate.


NanCe

[Steve]

I can see a hawk getting a kitten, a squirrel, a rabbit or some other
small animal that isn't able to do much to defend itself. However, cats
are also predators and they can be pretty darned ferocious. Even if the
hawk could carry the cat away, I think it might be in trouble when it
reached its destination.

Post by d***@hotmail.com
I have two wonderful house cats that love to go out on my little deck
when it is nice out. The deck is about 10'x4' and has wrought iron
rails around it and is located on the second floor. I was leaving my
house this morning and a neighbor pointed out a Hawk that was in the
tree, it is the second time I have seen it but the first time it was
hunting chipmunks. The hawk was a pretty good size(it looked to be the
size of an owl) and I didn't even know we had such a thing were we live
but evadently we do.
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.
Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

[Funkadyleik Spynwhanker]

Note, most raptors could pretty much kill any adult cat on the first strike.
(They can crush human hand bones without a head start, with a dive it's
worse. Kitty will probably have a broken spine right off the bat, making
defense impossible except for against the most inept bird.)

The raptor may not be able to take an adult cat away for eating, but it
sorta doesnt matter if your pet is already dead.

Typically though, an adult cat would be "not food" in the brain of a bird
because they are too big to cart off to eat in a safe place, but that
depends on the bird and the cat.

(Have personally seen farm cats killed by even modest sized hawks so you are
not just being nervous for no reason. I would be too in that situation.)

Post by Steve
I can see a hawk getting a kitten, a squirrel, a rabbit or some other
small animal that isn't able to do much to defend itself. However, cats
are also predators and they can be pretty darned ferocious. Even if the
hawk could carry the cat away, I think it might be in trouble when it
reached its destination.

Post by d***@hotmail.com
I have two wonderful house cats that love to go out on my little deck
when it is nice out. The deck is about 10'x4' and has wrought iron
rails around it and is located on the second floor. I was leaving my
house this morning and a neighbor pointed out a Hawk that was in the
tree, it is the second time I have seen it but the first time it was
hunting chipmunks. The hawk was a pretty good size(it looked to be the
size of an owl) and I didn't even know we had such a thing were we live
but evadently we do.
My question is can the hawk swoop down and carry my cat away? My
husband thinks our cats are too big weighing both in at 17 pounds.
Plus he says that the hawk would have a hard time munevering down onto
the porch and then try to pick up the cat.
Do any of you have any info on this? or how I can discourage the Hawk
away from my apartment building? My cats just love to lay on the porch
and watch the birds and I hate to have them not enjoy that. Please
help!!!!!

[d***@hotmail.com]

Thank you all for your input, you all had some new and interesting
information on the Hawk and it's prey. We also looked up some pictures
of the bird and we are pretty sure it's the red tail hawk. My husband
had his binoculars out this morning and saw how huge it's wing span
was.

We will only let our cats out on the patio when we are constantly with
them, I would never take a chance of them being injured. Hoping that
it finds a new place to live and doesn't hang around too long but where
we live there are plenty of squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits, so he's
likely to hang around for awhile. Thank you all for the replies.
Denise