Photo by Harold Wilion via New England Wildlife
This owl checked out this new hole for a minute or so before moving on for his evening hunt. Luckily, he alerted to something and managed to keep still enough for a 1 second exposure. Since was already shooting at 12,800, I didn't take the time to shorten it to .5 sec @ 25,000 for fear of missing the shot while was adjusting setting and was hesitant to use such a high ISO, although he was close enough, that I don't think the noise would have been objectionable.
Just… for the record… owls usually do come out on top. They’re known to take domestic cats fairly regularly.
(You’d be surprised how many people think their little murder machine is an apex predator and so it’s perfectly safe to let them roam. I like cats. I wish more would keep them safe. And the birds.)
Most owls are indiscriminate eaters and will chow down on whatever they get those feet on.
I had no doubt a GHO could do it, but I came across a photo of a Barred Owl lifting an adult cat off the ground, which I found rather impressive.
Kitties are pretty high up the food chain, but they're size still leaves them so potential tasty morsels for anything bigger than they are, just like bigger owls will hunt smaller owls.
Just one more reason to keep kitty indoors where it belongs!