I love it! Not only a cat that can't seem to sustain its puny self,
but a stupid dog, all in a day's walk! The dog is likely "the apple"
of its owner's eye, which gives one paws to ponder... Just hope the
cat was not poisoned by the newt, thus potentially passing it to the
owl... - Jim in MT

At 01:01 PM 1/26/2010, tweeters-request at mailman2.u.washington.edu wrote:
>I went for a hike at Lord Hill park today (Snohomish Counties biggest park).
>As I intersected the pipeline trail there was a large brown blob on the
>ground at the edge of the grass. With binos it turned out to be a Barred
>owl on the ground eating something. Since I have found this owl to be very
>approachable, I walked up towards it for a better look and was disappointed
>when it flew up into a tree way before I got very close. I thought I would
>examine its prey, and I expected to find a rabbit. Instead it was a smallish
>house cat. As I looked it over it was very gaunt and kind of unkempt
>looking, which is typical of feral animals. As I walked back to my car I
>pondered the idea that this new comer owl may provide some controls on feral
>cats in local parks. Feral cats have been shown to be detrimental to ground
>nesting song birds and other wildlife and in some places their populations
>are very high. I began wondering how big an animal (cat) a Barred owl might
>take.
>
>Rob Sandelin
>Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
>Snohomish County.
>
>PS. I also met an acquaintance at the park who witnessed a dog over the
>weekend who was having convulsions after eating a rough-skinned newt earlier
>on the trail. Since these amphibians contain a potent and deadly toxin this
>makes sense but it is the first time I have ever heard of a dog eating one.
>I suppose as these creatures migrate to local ponds they might form a hazard
>to dogs.