THE FACE OF A fisher, a larger member of the weasel family. (Photo provided by Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

HOUGHTON — The City of Houghton has advised west Houghton residents to watch their small domestic animals after a fisher was spotted in the area.

The fisher, a larger member of the weasel family, is suspected to be linked to the recent disappearance of several cats in the neighborhood.

The animals are often seen in the U.P., but not often near towns or settlements, said Colton Flak, a wildlife technician for the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division at Baraga.

“They’re rarer for people to see, but they’re not uncommon,” he said.

Sarah Eles, whose cat Poppy recently went missing, said a neighbor had described the fisher as looking like a baby bear cub.

Flak said he had yet to receive any official reports from residents in the area reporting losses. He said he would need to hear more information about the situation from them before advising them on options.

By city ordinance, no person, except a public officer acting in an official capacity, can injure, kill or capture a wild animal. Nuisance animals shall only be dealt with by the DNR’s current policy for wildlife damage and nuisance control policies, the ordinance said.

Flak asked affected residents to contact him at the Baraga office at 906-353-6651.

“I’d be more than happy to help those people if they reach out,” he said. “They can call our office and they’ll be patched through to me.”

Eles encouraged people with missing cats to put up posters and talk to their neighbors to make sure the cats hadn’t accidentally gotten trapped in their gardens or sheds.

She’d had Poppy since the pandemic, when a neighbor who had found her by the side of the road.

She described Poppy as an “adventure cat.” At first, she had only taken Poppy outdoors on a leash, but found the cat was smart enough to know her yard and territory.

Poppy, who wore a reflective collar, would go out about 9 p.m., Eles said. Usually around 4 a.m., she would tap at the window to be let back in.

Eles thinks the fisher might be responsible, but isn’t sure. She’s seen other animals like foxes and coyotes around the area.

She also didn’t rule out people, based on the animosity she’d seen toward indoor-outdoor cats. Friends of hers had posted Poppy’s picture on missing animal sites, which she said had drawn comments such as “Good. One less cat picking off our beautiful birds.”

Eles doesn’t regret letting Poppy go outdoors. “She was living her best life,” she said. “If we had kept her indoors full-time, she would have been miserable, and she would have made us miserable.”

Eles speaks about Poppy in the past tense but knows she might never get a definitive answer.

A neighbor’s daughter thought she had spotted Poppy’s tail along a walking trail, but Eles wasn’t able to find it when she looked. She said she would rather know the outcome, good or bad.

“It’s much harder not to know, because there’s a slight bit of hope, a tiny bit of awareness that maybe she’s locked up in someone’s house and can’t get out,” she said.