Posted by Meg McCraken on April 5, 2006

Q: I live on a large property in Montana. Last spring at about this time we saw a great grey owl. Shortly thereafter my cat went missing. We found her in a field a little ways away, apparently taken and eaten by a bird (which I always thought was the owl). We hadn't seen the owl since then, until today.

I would like to encourage the owl to move somewhere else so that my other cats don't get eaten. Please let me know what I can do.

Habitat: forest/open woods

State: Montana

Habitat: forest/open woods

A: Montana is a very large state so I'm not sure whether you live where there are Great Gray Owls (they're only found in the western third of the state). I wasn't able to find any info on this owl taking cats although Great Horned Owls are known to have done so. Great Horned Owls live all across Montana and have ear tufts - the Great Gray does not so are you sure "your" bird isn't a Great Horned Owl?

Either way, however, there isn't any way I know of to avoid this happening again unless you make some changes. As you probably know already, owls are protected by federal law so you can't harm the owl. My best suggestion is to keep your cats inside, at least at night, and this should reduce the chance of owl/cat interaction. You seem quite certain that a bird had taken your cat but could it have been a Coyote or do you have evidence to the contrary? Sorry I can't give you a simple answer. My best to you and your cats.

John Wiessinger ( April 7, 2006)