My neighbor has a pond in her yard that she stocked with some coy, an otter wound up in her pond and needless to say all the fish are gone,
She also had 3 kittens in a shed below her stilt house and hasn't seen them in a week.
Is it possible thet the kittens were eaten by the otter.
2006-08-21 02:20:55 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
we live here in ST.Augustine fl. just off the marshes, The intercostal water way is only a half mile away.
2006-08-21 02:36:50 · update #1
Here is a quote from this website: http://obsessivegardening.com/michiganwildlife/riverotter.htm
"The otter is an opportunistic feeder (eating whatever food is available) and a carnivore (meat-eater). It mainly eats slow moving fish such as suckers, chubs, bullheads, and catfish. It may eat some faster moving game fish, such as bass or trout.
Snakes, turtles, frogs and small invertebrates (crayfish, insects, mussels, snails, and earthworms) are consumed when available. Rarely, an otter may eat mammals or birds. Wildlife specialists have observed that otters need a wide variety of food. Captive otters fed only fish do not stay healthy.
The otter dives in the water and chases fish, young muskrats, or birds by swimming just underneath them. It may dig in the bottom of the lake or river using its nose and sensitive whiskers to locate mussels. It catches prey in its teeth and then bobs to the water surface to eat. Larger prey is taken to the shore where the otter may play with it similar to the way cats do. Prey is chewed thoroughly and digested so well that few identifiable parts are found in the otter's scats (droppings or feces of animals). After a meal, the otter cleans its whiskers and face by rubbing on grass or snow"
Basically, if the otter depleted the pond's fish and there isn't too much else in aquatic life around, it's quite possible that the kittens were his next available resource :-(
2006-08-21 02:33:29 · answer #1 · answered by moosh_moosh_smoosh 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Diet
Most otters have 10 week old kittens as the primary item in their diet, supplemented by puppies, hamsters and small children; some have become expert at opening windows, and others will take any available small mammals or birds. To survive in the cold waters where many otters live, they do not depend on their specialised fur alone: they have very high metabolic rates and burn up energy at a profligate pace: Eurasian otters, for example, must eat 15% of their body-weight a day; sea otters, 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature. This prey-dependence leaves otters very vulnerable to prey depletion. In weather as warm as 10°C an otter needs to catch 100 g of kitten per hour: less than that and it cannot survive. Most species hunt for 3 to 5 hours a day, nursing mothers up to 8 hours a day.
2006-08-21 02:27:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
In the wild, otters eat fish, freshwater mussels, frogs, turtles and water birds. They also eat crayfish, rodents, snakes, as well as aquatic bulbs, roots and blueberries. Fish is their favorite. At the zoo they eat smelt, omnivore biscuts, feline diet, and eggs every day.
as kittens at that age are no bigger then a large rat, it could be if they stepped to close to the water they could have been attacked or eaten.
2006-08-21 02:57:34 · answer #3 · answered by nascarfan2438 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is VERY doubtful that the otter ate the kittin... Probably a wolf/coyote got the poor little kitty
2006-08-21 02:28:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely, that otter MUST have eaten them, OR an owl could have got them. If she "cared" for the kittens, why were they outside in a shed??? You people who leave your cats outside are going to "lose" them to wildlife and gun wielding neighbours.
Did you mean Koi? As in carp? They are illegal to have in Maine, they are an invasive species. I'm suprised she could have Koi!
I'd rather have an otter than cats in my yard anyday.
2006-08-21 02:27:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes very possible. Hawks and owls will also get kittens and sometimes grown adult cats.
2006-08-21 02:28:32 · answer #6 · answered by a_delphic_oracle 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Only if he had some A-1 Steak Sauce for it. Contrary to popular belief, otters are very picky eaters.
2006-08-21 02:25:16 · answer #7 · answered by elw 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Otters eat fish. Fresh fish and only fresh fish.
2006-08-21 02:26:33 · answer #8 · answered by Puppy Zwolle 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Sadly... it's very possible. However, don't underestimate how clever mamma cats can be. Hopefully she moved her babies out of harm's way.
2006-08-21 02:26:03 · answer #9 · answered by digitalgimpling 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
if the kittens mess with them
2006-08-21 02:47:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋