I remember my mother complaining about this awful loud screeching in the middle of the night. "Those fisher cats", she said, "they're awful, they keep me up all night sometimes". The screaming often attributed to fishers are actually red foxes, according to massaudobon.org

Fishers are known to be fairly quiet, I guess. They can be sneaky, though, so who knows!

What the heck is a fisher cat?

This animal is not a fisher or a cat, it's actually a member of the weasel family. These evasive, secretive beings saturate Massachusetts despite being almost completely gone from the state back in the 1800's.

As with other weasels, Fishers have long, slender bodies and a low profile when moving along the ground. Their coat is dark brown, dense, and glossy. Males are typically larger than females, measuring about 3 feet and weighing up to 20 pounds.

Why are fishers dangerous?

They aren't particularly dangerous to humans, but they will do a number on your chickens and your cats. I live in a right to farm town and we just got six chickens, so we are very aware of what these weasels are capable of.

Their primary foods include small rodents, squirrels, rabbits, birds, eggs, fruit, porcupines, and carrion. They will also opportunistically prey on poultry and domestic cats. Although they are proficient climbers, most of their hunting takes place on the ground. -mass.gov

These two girls have been in a quarantine unit since the fisher cat incident. I truly thought we were going to have to put them down based on the severity and complexity of their injuries.

The Leghorn (white) was limp as spaghetti, her comb was pale, she had some serious wounds and and days of labored breathing.

The Ameraucana (brown/black) had a broken jaw that she couldn’t close (so her tongue dried out), and an eye injury on top of multiple lacerations over her body. -Sweet Liberty Farm (Coventry, RI)

Fishers can be scared away with bright lights, loud noises, and water sprayed out of a hose. Keep an eye out for them. They love the forest and love to hide. They can see you even though you can't see them!

Fishers are an important and valuable natural resource in Massachusetts. They are classified as a furbearer species, for which a regulated trapping season and management program have been established.