Ringtailed Cat

The guys working to put up our new shed spotted a Ringtailed Cat....and it wasn't even dark! I told DH I was going to put some food out for it. And he said they eat meat! Well, I wasn't going that far! So I finally put dry catfood out away from our yard. Who knows, maybe that cat will find it! We're having the worst and most widespread drought in the country around here...the weather people call it exceptional drought. I put buckets of water outside my fence. At least that helps the poor critters some!

I had never heard of a ring tail cat. In fact, I thought maybe you were talking about a raccoon. Upon researching the term, I learned that the ringtail cat is a relative of the raccoon. They are omnivores with a diet very similar to that of raccoons. As such, dry cat or dog food would probably be the best choice; that is the overall favorite food of 'my' [wild] raccoons.

As for it being out during the daytime, since they are related to raccoons, I'm going to assume similar behavior. Perfectly healthy raccoons do come out in the daytime sometimes for the raccoon version of a midnight snack. Given the time of year, however, I suspect that you may be dealing with a female who is either pregnant or nursing and is, therefore, particularly desperate to find food and water.

It is often difficult for us to realize the importance of water for wildlife. I feed and water the wildlife in my area. Sometimes, especially in summer, they will fight more over the water than the food.

I'm glad you gave 'her' food and water. : )

I knew about the raccoons that come out in daytime...in bad years they do that a lot. The coons are very common here. But the ringtailed cats are such a rare sight here, even at night it's almost never seen. I sometimes go out with a flashlight late at night, but have only seen one that I could really see well enough to be sure. Very odd looking! They go up in trees, kind of like squirrels in that they maneuver very well there. Unlike the coons, apparently these "cats" avoid humans. This site says "desert habitat". Well, we aren't desert, but as the drought gets progressively worse, I'm starting to consider putting in more desert type plants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_Cat

I have only seen one..it was about 3am and I was outside taking a break....I worked where there were a lot of woods around. I saw a cat-like creature..I thought it was a cat at first, but I realized that it moved differently....I had seen pictures of them but had never actually seen the animal. It was a real treat.

I never even knew we had them here in the US. My something new today!

I had never heard of this creature before, so this threat definitely taught me some things. Over the course of my time here at DG I've learned of many creatures native to the US that I never knew about before. DG is like going to school without the pain.

They are almost entirely nocturnal so they may live very close to you, and you would never see them. Raccoons and skunks are what they call crepuscular which means they cruise around at dawn and twilight. But the cats are primarily night creatures. I am very honored to have seen one.

According to the research I did after reading the 1st post on this thread, I don't believe they live in my area. It looks like in the US they may be mostly a SW thing. For some reason quite a large number of animals and birds stay clear of my area. This may be a warning of some kind.

The ringtail is seldom seen in the daylight. It is usually seen in the trees along creeks or ponds at night when using a flashlight or lantern. Their eyes shine brighter than almost any other animal when caught in a light. Back during WWII they were hunted almost to extinction because the air force wanted the fur to line the flying helmets of bomber crews. The fur will not frost up from breath in freezing temps.
Robert

WOW! Didn't even realize those were found in Texas. Do hope you'll be able to get some photos.

Hmmm...maybe one of these nights they'll show up on the game cameras :o) That's if the feral pids and deer ever quit hogging the feeders.

~ Cat