The assasin stakes out her victim

Published on November 22, 2005 By dharmagrl In Pets & Nature

Our resident squirrel, Fatso, made the most of the outside garbange can lid being left open this morning. He got in there and scored himself some tasty morsels (in the photo you can actually see the hole he gnawed in the edge of the garbage can so that he can get in it even when the lid is closed).

Polly the cat likes to sit in the window and watch the world outside, and she spent a happy half an hour watching Fatso and wishing that the window pane would somehow melt away and she could pounce on him...

Fatso, being his usual rebellious self, turned around to face her...I could hear him chattering at her, as if taunting her.

I'm sure that these squirrels are used to cats and dogs watching them through windows and have adjusted their behaviour accordingly. I know that Fatso isn't afraid of me anymore; he lets me get within a foot of him and will stay there as I talk to him. I'm sure that if I tried I could have him eat out of my hand, but base regulations forbid us from treating them as pets and encouraging them into 'domesticated' behaviours.

I find it amusing that I get more satisfaction from watching Fatso in action than I do from any TV show or book....

Comments

xtine

on Nov 22, 2005

I don't know which is cuter, the squirrel or the cat! Have you seen those programs where they set up these huge obstacle courses for squirrels to navigate in order to get to the food? Those make me laugh so hard! I'd love to set something like that up someday.

dharmagrl

on Nov 22, 2005

Have you seen those programs where they set up these huge obstacle courses for squirrels to navigate in order to get to the food? Those make me laugh so hard! I'd love to set something like that up someday.

Me too! I wanted to set one up in the yard this year, but the AF says I can't. I personally think it would be a ton of fun to watch those little buggers try and figure out all kind of stuff to get to the food...

Dr Guy

on Nov 22, 2005

So far, my Cats have gotten 2 squirrells. And there is still no shortage of them!

Cats are actually almost like butchers (the meat ones, not the Jefrey Dahmers). They kill relatively humanely, and then section the kill to provide the most meat. I have watched them do it. It is kind of fascinating, especially with a squirrel that is almost as big as the cat!

Moderateman

on Nov 22, 2005

mmmmmmmm squirrel stew. mmmmmmmm

MarcieMoo

on Nov 22, 2005

We went to Rochester, MN a few weekends ago to visit some college friends of mine. The power plant in Rochester keeps the river there warm enough not to freeze over all winter. Hence, there's hundreds and HUNDREDS of Canadian geese that set up residence there full time. Not to mention the food. These geese get fed ALL day. They have old newspaper vending machines filled with schucked corn. You fill up your cup and then you go feed the geese. They'll come up and stick their skinny heads right in your cup. Then you can feel them pecking and gobbling everything they can, even though you know they're not really hungry.

So...we did that for an hour. It's so fun to interact with animals that you don't normally get to interact with. Maybe that's the draw.

Trudygolightly

on Nov 22, 2005

those are some real cute pictures!

the birds I've been feeding chase each other away, according to size, with the big bad
crows chasing away the bluejays, and jays chasing away the orioles, and finches,
the poor sparrows are the first to leave and the last to come back to look for crumbs...

stevendedalus

on Nov 22, 2005

Odd, cleverly symbolic, or coincidental that you post this on November 22!

Dr Guy

on Nov 23, 2005

Odd, cleverly symbolic, or coincidental that you post this on November 22!

Ohhh! Grassy knoll thread!

dharmagrl

on Nov 23, 2005

They kill relatively humanely

Yeah, Polly's a killer already - she got hold of 2 hamsters and I watched her kill Bert the mouse when I was recovering from surgery. She was in him in a flash and bit him on the back of the neck, killing him instantly. He never even managed a squeak. The she took off with his corpse and I had a hell of a time getting it away from her. She batted poor Bert around, held him in her mouth and shook her head so that he flew across the room....it was very nasty to watch.

Thats a fat-assed squirrel alright...ever think of feeding him raw peanuts? They're much healthier than garbage, and you can buy em in huge sacks inexpensively

I think that I'm going to. I hate them getting in the garbage because they strew it all over the place....maybe if I feed them they'll be less likely to tear up the trash.

squirrel stew. mmmmmmmm

NOOOOOOOOO! Not with Fatso! He's like a family friend!

It's so fun to interact with animals that you don't normally get to interact with. Maybe that's the draw.

I think it must be.

the birds I've been feeding chase each other away, according to size, with the big bad
crows chasing away the bluejays, and jays chasing away the orioles, and finches,
the poor sparrows are the first to leave and the last to come back to look for crumbs...

That's what happens around here when I have bird seed out. The jays and grackles are messy eaters, so the finches and sparrows sit under the feeder and pick up what gets knocked down. It's cool to see the food chain in action.

Odd, cleverly symbolic, or coincidental that you post this on November 22!

Purely coincidental.

Ohhh! Grassy knoll thread!

Nah. Sheer coincidence.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!