Rogue Owl??

[sparkle14]

My sister has just moved to a farmhouse in Lincolnshire, and is afraid to let her cats out as the locals have told her of an owl which they suspect is attacking and killing cats! I have never heard of any owl capable of this, and no mention of "cat attacks" anywhere I can find! Could this be a case of mistaken identity??

[werdnal]

The only instance I have ever hear of an owl attacking domestic pets was an Eagle Owl which escaped from captivity and was terrorising small dogs in a park somewhere. I would have thought none of our native owls are large enough to take an adult cat.

Perhaps your sister could speak to the local paper or another reliable local source to verify whether there is (or ever has been) sightings of an Eagle Owl in the area.

[nightshade]

Owls as predators could not afford to take injuries from
hunting something that can fight back
It may be defending a territory
I would suspect the info

[sparkle14]

Thankyou for your replies, I think she will investigate further!!

[James_Owen]

I have heard of Eagle Owl being seen from time to time around Scrooby in North Notts, not too many miles from the Lincolnshire border, so they are around in the region. Now wild bred Eagle Owl would probably want to avoid domestic pets, but if these birds have been released from captivity all bets are off. There was such a bird up in Scotland last year that apparently went after dogs. Worth finding out more I suppose.

[aeshna5]

Eagle Owl is the only species likely to take a cat in UK. There are various birds about- some as escapes/ deliberate releases from captivity + some possible birds that have arrived from the near continent where they are spreading. Though this hasn't been proved, it seems likely that some birds have crossed the North Sea.