Track Identification Help

[Matt Weir]

Cat with its dewclaws extended on purpose for stability due to the slippy underfoot conditions?

 

[tenderfoot]

Pine marten? http://dirttime.ws/Notebook/PineMarten.htm
but id also go with 5 toed domestic mog. Have you seen the way some cats who arent used to /fond of snow walk in it?

 

[bikething]

It's just odd Red, the gait and the way it places it's feet are odd too, like it's been drinking gin.

Well it is in snow (how deep is the snow btw Red?) - could it be a cat that doesn't like snow on it's fur and is putting it's back paws down where it's front paws have been. thereby superimposing one print over another ?

 

[Toddy]

Polydactyl kittens with the extra 'toe' on the inside of their feet are called mitten kittens. Some of them actually end up capable of using it almost like a thumb. Some of the smart wee blighters end up able to open door handles and unhook catches and the like.......don't think they've mastered the ring pull on the Whiskas cans yet though

Isn't the snow fun to track in ? I followed a line of prints down the back lane path under the trees and couldn't work out what the hang it was; turned out it was a seagull out for a quarter mile walk
It flew off fine, maybe it just needed a wee break.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[bikething]

It flew off fine, maybe it just needed a wee break.

now I've got an image in my head of a segull nipping behind a bush

 

[Toddy]

That'd be a first; a seagull who doesn't fly as high as it can before it lets loose with a, "Garde de l'eau!"

cheers,
M

 

[robin wood]

Well it is in snow (how deep is the snow btw Red?) - could it be a cat that doesn't like snow on it's fur and is putting it's back paws down where it's front paws have been. thereby superimposing one print over another ?

I was reading through the thread and sure this is what was happening but you got there first. The firth toe doesn't look like from the same pad, I reckon its either walking directly on older tracks or more likely putting back feet onto spot vacated by front and overlapping slightly.

 

[British Red]

Could be that indeed, I have seen such things before, but I would have expected more blurring of the toe marks - the clear "between toe" definition lead me towards concluding it was a single print...I have been wrong many times before though!

 

[bikething]

Did a bit more research :

From Animal Tracks and signs - Bang + Dahlstrom:

Print Pattern: When walking on firm ground the hind foot is normally placedd ahead of the fore print: In snow it is placed on top of the fore print.Stride length is approx. 30cm and the straddle is distinct. When trotting, the hind foot is placed in the fore print and the stride length increases to 35-40cm.

Also from the Hamlyn guide to Animals : tracks, trails and signs by R.W.Brown, M.J.Lawrence and J.Pope:

Trail: many gaits are adopted. Stalking tracks are close together, frequently almost toe to heel. Walking gives widely spaced separate tracks. In trotting or running there is partial to complete registration and stride length increases.

so... was it walking or trotting?

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm no expert so don't laugh My first thought when I saw those prints was Otter (but you would see some tail marks if that was the case, yes?)

 

[Toddy]

British Red will just need to set a triggered camera and see what passes by on a sand trap

cheers,
Toddy

 

[bikething]

I'm no expert so don't laugh My first thought when I saw those prints was Otter (but you would see some tail marks if that was the case, yes?)

Possibly.. but Otter tracks are bigger and there's more space between each toe, and between the toes and the pad. You'd also probably see claw marks in front of each toe I think.

 

[British Red]

Snow has gone now - but I'll set a camera trap up when I get a minute

I like the theory of two prints superimposed, but the toe definition is so clear that I just can't see it in this case ...

 

[JonathanD]

You would see the web between the toes if it was an otter, besides they are too small. I don't think the overlapping print theory holds up on this one, the gait and definition on the edges of the print is too precise which suggests a single print. This is almost impossible to achieve on every print as evidenced by those in the picture, but as it is only a small section of the track, certainly should be considered improbable rather than impossible.

 

[Toddy]

Well, if it 'is' a polydacyl cat, it's most likely to be someone's pet. Cats are territorial, it'll be back through if it is one.

I think, even with very cold snow, that the prints are too crisp to be oversteps. I freely admit though I'm no tracker, I just sort of keep an eye open for what's passing by

cheers,
M

 

[Bushwhacker]

It's a witches cat - got an extra toe.

 

[Toddy]

Supposedly they're lucky cats
They are generally very tame since folks think they are incredibly cute kittens and they are very used to being handled.

I quite fancy a Maine Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat. One of them with polydactyl paws Now that'd be a set of tracks to worry about

My wee British Blue dislocated a toe when she was a kitten, and the vet said it wasn't bothering her and operating to fix it would mean finding hair like tendons, so it was just left alone. It means though that I can pick out Tamsin's tracks relatively easily.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[British Red]

If it is a cat, it is indeed a lucky cat....I didn't see it on our property

Can't stand the things and generally ensure they won't be here again if I see em!

 

[Toddy]

Your antipathy to the furry felines is well known ......it's just a beast following it's nature, and they can be discouraged without hurting them.
Mine does a good job on keeping the mice out of the sheds

cheers,
M

 

[alan whelan]

I saw a fox walk on snow covered paths around my house and when I check out the tracks he had put his hind paws into the front paw track leaving an unusual track