Bits of dead animals

[Unknown]

Hello

I wonder if anyone can shed any light on our dead visitors.  Over the past 4 days, on 2 occasions we have had the reamins of what looks to be the same type of animal left outside our house.  The fur is grey and there seems to only be left the legs and feet and a string of fur joining them up.

The first one I put on to the bonfire heap, but the one today looks exactly the same.  Could it be be same one brought back?

We do have 2 one year old cats, but the remains aren't that much smaller than the kitties.  Also, over the past few weeks we have found excrement of about 2 inches long and black in colour dotted here and there, sorry to those who maybe having a late night snack.

My feeling is the dead animal is a rabbit, but haven't a clue what's killing/leaving it near my house. 

We live in a fairly isolated location, with fields surrounding the property. 

My main concern is incase this preditor decides to take a swipe at my cats.

All views most welcome.

 

[chris pp]

Hi Dotty,

A photo of the dead creatures remains would be good, but it sounds like baby rabbits or hares and the excrement (again a photo would be good) sounds like that of a stone marten or pine marten, stone martens are much more prone to deposit their excrement in heaps, but not always.

Chris

[Unknown]

Thanks for the prompt reply Chris.

The excrement isn't in heaps but in singular pieces, about 1.5cm wide and 4cm long and its a smooth as if its been deposited from a tube.  I will endeavour to take pictures tomorrow.

Any ideas as to what is leaving the rabbit remains, could it be foxes?  not that I've seen any.

We do have some very large buzzards nearby and possibly some owls, but would they leave the reamins so close to the house?  Don't think the cats are very interested as we had a blue tit that flew into the glass of the conservatory and died and the cats didn't even take a sniff.  I think that maybe our feline friends are only interested in creatures that move, ie voles and grass hoppers.

[chris pp]

I rather suspect the two things are connected, the remains and the poo. Not at all likely to be a fox, they don't leave food laying around, also very unlikely to be buzzards or owls, both go for much smaller prey. The colour of the poo is either a high concentration of blood in the diet (or blackberries).

Chris

 

[Unknown]

But what leaves poo this size and eats blackberries?  We do have alot of blackberries. 

I'm getting worried now, what else could it be?

[Owens88]

Hi

I am in England with two smallish 2 yr old cats.

Last week we had three baby rabbits dead on the lawn in two days. So peaceful I thought they must have been caught by a disease, no other marks (from a  cursory glance). Env health said 'its your cats, -frightening em to death'

Over the weekend we saw baby rabbit no.4 playing at hare to the two cats playing greyhound. That one survived and didn't get scared to death. (I re-routed it)

 

Perhaps your cats act as the hunter killers and the droppings are left by the carrion eaters.

[chris pp]

Dotty, the top one is a crotte from a marten, both marten crottes look the same (pine & stone), this one has been eating mammals, there are pieces of fur and it is "twisted and plaited", when they have been eating mainly fruit, it has a smoother outline without the "twisting"

The one below is a fox crotte with large quantities of fine fur in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martens do kill young hares and rabbits, but then so do weasels, but the poo you describe is not that of a weasel.

I think that the odds are in favour of a marten.

Chris

 

[Unknown]

Thanks for the info, I googled pine martens and found some interesting sites.

Lets hope I get a glimpse of the little critter.