A young fox fills up on water from a bowl left outdoors a Fairfax County home for the neighborhood’s feral cat.
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FAIRFAX, VA — Early on Thursday morning, a young fox outfoxed Popeye, the feral cat residing within the Tudor Hall neighborhood situated simply north of the Fairfax City border.
The household of a Patch reporter has been leaving water, a bowl of meals, and treats for Popeye each evening for the final a number of years.
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A Ring digital camera has captured video of Popeye’s nightly visits many instances. The digital camera has additionally recorded occasional late-night visits by raccoons, possums, foxes and even a flying squirrel.
This 12 months, a gaggle of three foxes have made common visits to the home on Nonquitt Drive to seize some treats and a fast drink of water. Sometimes all three journey collectively, however extra usually they every cease by at completely different instances throughout the night.
Related: Video: Feral Cat Lets Fox Know Not To Eat From His Bowl
Around 12:45 a.m., on Thursday, the youngest fox of the group jumped up on the brick window ledge to lap up all of the water within the bowl. The fox was so thirsty that he ended up pushing the bowl off the ledge.
When Popeye confirmed up at 4:54 a.m., he found that the water bowl was lacking and all of his treats had been eaten.
This was not the primary time that the household’s Ring digital camera recorded the feral cat’s encounters with a fox. In 2021, Popeye chased off a fox that was consuming from his meals bowl, which is often positioned on a step under the townhouse’s bay window. Just a few months later, one other fox snatched Popeye’s treats from the window sill in broad daylight.
Related: Video: Sneaky Fox Snacks On Cat Treats Outside Fairfax Home
Those treats and water bowl additionally proved engaging to among the birds that visited the household’s close by feeder.
The household has seen one in every of Popeye’s ears has been clipped, which signifies he was beforehand trapped, neutered after which launched. This was accomplished as a result of it is troublesome to cultivate some feral cats. Rather than euthanizing them, they’re caught after which altered, as a method to reduce the variety of feral kittens born in Fairfax County.
“Cats who undergo a TNR program reside more healthy particular person lives, and the group receives the added advantages of getting these group cats vaccinated in opposition to rabies,” in keeping with the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.
