In order to feed the outside cats, I keep the kibble inside a covered bucket (5 gallon) I go out twice a day and refill the fillers, then I stow the bucket back under one of the outdoor cat condos behind the garage.
Lately, I have noticed the bucket “travels” at night. At first, I found the bucket near the garage uncovered and the contents gone. I figured B-dog had been up to no good, so went out and got another bucket with a better lid.
But that bucket also started “traveling” around the yard. The farthest I have found it is right by Mike’s shop which is about 90 feet from the main house. Mike said to me, “maybe it is sleep walking!”
So I tied it down with bungee cords to one of the posts of the catio set and it has stayed put. I felt justified and figured I had won the war of the feisty but determined coon.
Then out on the feeding platform the food started to vanish rather quickly. Now, this is inside the enclosure and there is no way the cats were eating all that food. Cat’s just don’t do that, they always leave some behind.
So, I took a walk around the enclosure looking for tunnels because occassionally, wildlife will tunnel in and if that is what is happening, I needed to stop it. I don’t buy cat food to feed the wildlife unless they happen to be stray cats! I didn’t see any tunnels anywhere and was quite confused. Something told me to take another look and this time look up- I did another tour and then I saw it- there was a coon size hole in the wire! It was near the top of the entrance to the tunnels and I almost missed it. He had eaten the wire out just big enough to squeeze through and now I know why all the usual residents of the cat enclosure have been inside lately and acting strange.
When I went to check out the hole and closed it up with more chicken wire and pet-proof screening- I noticed that the wire was rusty and not shiny like the rest of the enclosure. I sat back and looked at it trying to figure it out and then it hit me- this coon had backed up to the wire and sprayed all over the wire rusting it in just a matter of days. It also explained the noxous odor I kept smelling near the entrance of the tunnels. I thought something had crawled inside and died and I kept looking for the source. Once he rusted it- it was simply a matter of pulling the wires to make his food door!
Once the rain stops and good weather comes, we are going to be putting up plywood around the enclosure to hopefully stop this from happening again. But I have to hand it to this coon- he is pretty darn determined to get an easy meal!
On another note, Muggles went to his new home in Portland today and it couldn’t have gone smoother. Both Doreen and her daughter flipped over him- and who wouldn’t? They are going to call him Ashkim which means “my beloved” in turkish. He is going to be one spoiled Maine Coon boy!
