Asked June 03, 2021, 8:23 PM EDT
I live in a residential area of Springfield but only about 3 blocks from a large farm-like piece of land which has a creek on its far side. Beyond that is more farm land, then the McKenzie River, and then forested hills start maybe a mile from my house. On Saturday I discovered part of my garden had been used by an animal to bury its poop. I assumed it was someone's outside cat, and was surprised by the size of the pile and how much poop was in there, but decided maybe the cat had used the same spot a couple nights in a row before I noticed. I cleaned it up (with gloves and a plastic bag) and sprinkled repellent. Today I found a large pile of bark scooped together at my neighbor's house, like a cat would do after going to the bathroom. When I went to clean it up and sprinkle repellent I found the same sort of firm, non-smelly poop, like I had found in my garden, and again in quantities that a house cat normally would not leave. My husband says he definitely did not see any pile of bark in that location yesterday, so this was just one deposit. I would say that the poop was around 3/4" in diameter. The longer piece was probably 3-3.5" long. There was another right next to it about 1.5-2" long and another little piece in the same pile.
I asked my neighbors, who have been complaining about cats pooping in their landscaping for weeks, if the piles are always this big and they said yes. They say they find the piles every day in two spots. I asked if the poop smells because the two that I've cleaned up weren't smelly like I would expect cat poop to be. They said the poop they have found is not smelly either. They said that it's been really light brown and about 4-5 inches long. I did not pay attention to the color but the length seems about the same as I have found. I am sure this is the same animal.
I would like to figure out what is doing this. I am pretty sure it must be a wild animal. I don't know if it's able to go over 6' fences because it's possible that the night before I found a pile in my garden, I may have left the gate open overnight. At my neighbor's, it's found in the front landscaping of their house, so there is no fence as a barrier. I am guessing this is a bobcat or a mountain lion, but am hoping you can narrow it down. I can't find anything that says fresh bobcat or mountain lion scat does not smell strongly, but I've never come across normal cat poop that does not reek. It seems pretty firm compared to house cat poop, and the piles are huge compared to what a house cat would pull together to cover a poop. This makes me think it's not just somebody's cat which happens to poop more than a regular cat.
Are there any animals, besides bobcats or mountain lions, that are large enough to leave this size poop, that are known to bury it?
I didn't think to include something as a size reference in this picture I took of the bark pile, but I would guess that it's about 9"-12" each direction (irregular shape) and about 3-4" tall. I will try to get better measurements next time as I expect to see another mound in the next few days. I haven't dissected the poop to see what the animal has been eating... is it safe to pull it apart with a stick? I read that raccoon poop is pretty dangerous but I don't think they bury their poop.
My neighbors and my husband/myself have children so I'd like to get a better understanding of what we have around here and what the animal's habits are.
Any thoughts?
Thank you!
Lane County Oregon
