Neighborhood Cats, Birds and a Bear

I see a fair amount of neighborhood cats in my yard. I have birds and squirrels around, which most likely attracts the kitties.

This orange cat has visited at least once before. These are taken from the back porch, so the zoom in takes away from the clarity a bit. It appears to be well fed and has a blue color. The squirrels were really scolding it as that is the area I throw birdseed and peanuts in.

I have seen this longer-haired gray kitty several time this spring/summer. He is not as skittish as most are as I walked within 15 feet of him before realizing he was there. I must have walked by him twice, as I didn't see him until I was coming back from the mailbox. Unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me, so settled for a pic thru the southern living room window) With the screen there, I was limited on the zoom I could use (too much and it would focus on the screen).

I have been hanging a mealworm cake bird feeder from the back porch this spring. The other day I looked and could see that a woodpecker left this impressive perfectly round hole thru the center

Even though I bring in the mealworm cake feeder every night, Friday night the local bear decided maybe there was some good eats inside the pen. Good thing I have the spare fence panels so was able to replace that gate panel (the other panel held its shape. I did have to buy a couple of the heavy duty 8' fence posts, which I found at the local Agway.

Shows the fence panel is straight, so still usable

Apparently the bear decided to climb onto the porch and knocked off one of the planters. The round white thing is the plate I use as a water catcher below the pot. The sound of it falling may have scared the bear enough that it left at that point as nothing else was disturbed - except the broom that stands in the corner, which was moved about a foot (but still leaning against the railing).

So now I will forgo the mealworm cakes. If I try to put them out on a tree, the squirrels will decimate them very quickly. But, the residue from the birds pecking at it apparently was enough to interest the bear, and I don't want to encourage it.

Comments

[Cop Car]

You really do get the wildlife, Bogie. Before reading your words, I had assumed that the one cake had come with the hole in it. Nice work, Woodpecker!

[Cop Car]

P.S. One would think that the bear could have used the gate rather than crashing through the panel next to it - lol.

[bogie]

Wouldn't that be convenient if it used the gate!

I thought about anchoring the end of the fence to the house, but assume it would just pull siding off - I'd rather the fence be destroyed.