They are cute but they really sound creepy. The Fisher Cat, also known as the Fisher, isn't a cat at all. It is a member of the weasel family and prowls the woods of the Northeast making us wonder if what we are hearing has us trapped in some kind of horror movie. Some say the sound we attribute to the fisher is actually a fox but everyone I have spoken to says it's a fisher.

This time of year we hear all kinds of sounds traveling on the night air. We have finally gotten to the season where we can open the windows at night for a little air while we sleep, that is until we are awoken by the sound of the fisher. The lady who made the YouTube video below captured the sound they make perfectly. Now imagine how that sounds on a dark night in the woods around the Hudson Valley.

The first time I ever heard a fisher I was convinced that something had happened to my neighbors. I actually grabbed my cell phone and headed out towards their house. I was about halfway across my yard when I realized it wasn't coming from my neighbors but actually from the Kill down the street.

I had no idea what a Fisher was at that time but I knew I wasn't heading out towards the noise to find out. Turns out that about the same time I was retreating to my house my neighbor showed up in their yard because they had heard the same noise. They told me it was a fisher. They had gotten up to make sure their cats were all inside. Apparently, fisher cats and real cats aren't buds.

They are cute but they mean business. In the YouTube video below you might almost believe you could have them as a pet but trust me that would be a bad idea. The video does a great job of explaining the fisher and why our forests need a predator with their abilities. It also mentions a few facts that would make them a bad pet.

5 Reasons a Fisher wouldn't make a great pet

1 - They are wild animals that are not easily domesticated. Often wild animals can't be kept as pets for legal reasons I couldn't find that information regarding the Fisher.

2 - They make a sound similar to a ghostly child in a horror film. If you thought your dog barking at the mailman was annoying imagine a Fisher doing the same thing.

3 - They have large teeth and a strong jaw. According to the video, they are a cousin to the Wolverine which can apparently crush a Moose's skull. I don't think a Fisher could do that but they can take out a Porcupine.

4 - They have huge feet which would definitely track dirt all over the house. Plus they shed their whole coat every year.

5 - They are opportunistic predators which means at the end of the day they will eat whatever they can which would include your other pets.

 

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