There have been coons and possums coming around eating the cat food we leave out for a long time. Overall they watch our cats as they are eating. Sometimes the cats watch the wild animals and sometimes just ignore them.
When Mama Cat had a small kitten she would attack an animal if it got too close. Other than that there were only a couple of times I’ve seen her be disturbed by them. On a couple of occasions I have seen her chase a possum off, but very seldom.
A few nights back twice I saw her crouch as if ready to attack a possum. Both times they were small to medium size and were coming toward her where she was lying near one of the food pans. Both times they decided not to get near her. One just left and one went to the other food pan. I thought maybe it was because they seemed to be headed for her that she seemed ready to attack. They seemed to know not to get close to her.
The next night I saw a possum coming up, but not real close to her. I grabbed my camera just in case something did happen. She was lying on the other side of the food pan from the possum. She rose and crouched down, staring at the possum. Apparently the possum could tell she was waiting for him and not in a friendly mood toward him. He did not get close to her. He just decided to leave.
I got a photo with both of them in it. From the photo it is hard to tell how she is crouched, but you can tell she is staring hard at him.
I have another photo where she is laying just a couple of feet from a possum eating. This was taken about a month ago.
I don’t know why she has taken a dislike to the possums lately. Both the coons and possums seem leery of her. I don’t know if they know this is her home and not theirs or what, but they don’t mess with her. Most all of the coons and possums are much bigger that her, but seem scared of her. She seems to know that she is the one in control. Maybe they just don’t want to fight. I don’t know.
I have published a photo of her near a possum which was eating and one when she was not going to let the possum get close. They can be seen by clicking on the links below.
http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744396325&memberId=67122
http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744396331&memberId=67122
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Comments: 39
unless it is a creature that i might give a rub or two to...then it is "MEEEOWWWORLL!
HISSSSSS!.......the article was a great nature find!
Now here's the worst part, you or a member of your family could be bitten by the coons. This past summer, I was taking food out and the coons had become almost like pets but I wanted to put the food in a different location...one of the coons bit me on the back of the leg! As soon as I put food in the container in front of me, she was no longer agressive...she had just become used to being fed first! Yep, you guessed it, I had to have rabies shots. Around here, they force you to take them because there is no guarantee that you can identify the right coon! As all of this was going on, I also found that it is illegal to feed coons/possums because of the danger of rabies. We had so many bitten in my area this year that there was a shortage of rabies serum...one shot cost $600+ at one hospital that I was referred to when the original hospital couldn't supply my second shot!!!
The key thing for me was that I was fairly certain they were not rabid and as I talked with the doctor, she said that if it was still around after a week, then it was not because the rabies would kill them in a week... all of "my" coons were still there. If the coons have babies on your property, then they really get entrenched in your area... yep, the babies are cute...but...
Ok so what do you do. I really don't want to have them killed unless I have no other choice. The coons, especially, were coming for breakfast since I normally fed the cats early...and the coons would indeed eat everything before the cats got any...so I adjusted my feeding schedule...I wait until it is broad daylight to feed the cats...no wild animals! It's worked for me and I can still hear the animals trying to find food every night--I don't mind if they eat whatever is left over...LOL but I have 20 cats so the cost is already high for them! If you "want" to feed them, leave food out at night but train your cats to have their meal during broad daylight...
Finally, at least one if not more of my cats were bitten, one at the same time that I was; I've also had cats disappear and have to believe that the coons got them at night hunting...
So, no matter how you might think it is nice to see "God's animals sharing the same bowl" which is what I at first thought...
I found out! Tain't safe, my dear!
Z'
Our dog is very territorial about wild animals in our back yard.
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