(wasn't sure any subforum fit.....if it goes better somewhere else, by all means!)
Saw these little prints in a kind-of-dense suburban neighborhood. My first thought was "racoon" but I am not really experienced.....the pics I found online for coons didn't seem to quite match, but ...?
Not a dog, not a cat, afaict.
What do the more experienced critter-watchers know? Do I need to be concerned about leaving my cat outside?
Squirrel tracks look like that round here.... Around here they are small, but I've seen squirrels twice the size of our (Florida) squirrels when in northern climes...
I would think those were raccoon. Squirrels don't usually place their feet like that, since they're generally bounding across the ground. Those look more like walking pace tracks. And size is pretty darn big for squirrels, although I don't know where you are and squirrels vary a good bit in size.
Thanks folks. I hadn't thought of squirrels but these look too big for them critters. I'm still leaning towards raccoon, especially after poking around some more web images. "Siri, find me pictures of raccoon feet!"
The part I was least sure about was that you can see separate pads on many of my tracks in the foot part (not just the toes)....which aren't that visible on a lot of the pics I saw. But there are some that look like it.