Owl Sizes Up Family Pet

We have a pair of barred owls living in the woods behind our home. It is delightful to hear and watch them regularly. One evening, we heard them calling to each other and stepped out on our deck to see if we could catch a glimpse.

We ended up watching both the male and female in a tree just feet from us. It was so cool! Then my husband carried our kitten Noodles outside. Watch the owl's reaction when he hears the cat meow. It sure looked like the owl was sizing our pet up and thinking about it as potential prey. I was really nervous and wanted my husband to take our pet back inside. I did not care for the way that owl was looking at him.

A barred owl was photographed in Minnesota in 2012 grabbing and flying off with a full-grown domestic cat, a semi-regular prey item for the great horned owl but previously unknown to be taken by this species.

The barred owl is a generalist predator. The principal prey of this owl species are voles, followed by mice and shrews. Other mammals preyed upon include bats, opossums, rabbits, rats, squirrels, and weasels. Birds are taken occasionally.
This owl will wade into water to capture crayfish, fish and frogs. Additional prey items include a variety of bugs, lizards, and snakes. Prey is usually devoured on the spot. Larger prey is carried to a feeding perch and torn apart before eating.

We've seen the barred owls in our neighborhood catch and eat a wide variety of prey. Never cat, thankfully. But there's always a first time. And I didn't want it to be with our kitty!

The barred owl hunts by waiting on a high perch at night or flying through the woods and swooping down on prey. A barred owl can sometimes be seen hunting before dark. This typically occurs during the nesting season or on dark and cloudy days. We see the owls in our neighborhood during the day quite frequently. But mostly at dusk.

And in the middle of the night, they often make quite the racket just outside our bedroom window.