Chewed Up Cat Food Sachets In Garden - Cat Or Fox?

[237SJ]

I keep finding chewed cat food sachets in my Mum`s garden. I guess they have been removed from someone`s recycling bin. I`m pretty sure it`s a fox but would a cat carry and deposit them somewhere else? I know foxes tend to carry their food to somewhere they consider safe to eat it and I have never seen cats do that but I was just wondering.

[237SJ]

Thanks. It`s not a dog. Either a fox or cat but I can`t see why a cat would chew up a cat food sachet when it can eat the contents in it`s own house.

[wolf63]

Cats are illogical, evil and contrary animals.

But I would suspect a Fox of this crime. I would have thought that it would be difficult for any animal to get the remaining food out.

[237SJ]

I have the horrible feeling you are right Wolf. There has been a very interesting turn of events. This morning my Mum came downstairs to find the chewed Felix sachet in the living room which means whatever it was has managed to come through the catflap!

[Prudie]

I'd also blame a fox first but a cat without a home would certainly be hungry enough to carry off some food pouches from a bin.

[woofgang]

rats are a possibility too. I had a huge issue with the garage and when I pulled out the freezer I found a lobster shell and half a dead snake as well as food wrappers.

[237SJ]

Could be a stray Prudie. The trouble is, the cat has gone deaf and can`t hear when interlopers come through the catflap. Her bowl has been licked clean a few times which is unusual because she usually leaves a bit of food once she has licked off the juice. Then one night my Mum caught a large cat disappearing through the catflap. Something has definitely been coming in but the Felix sachets have recently appeared in the garden each morning and I don`t know if the two events are connected. There are a lot of foxes around here. Woofgang - that`s horrible.

[Chipchopper]

Crows and magpies would be on my list of suspects too, they have no trouble tearing through a refuse sack.

[pastafreak]

I somehow doubt crows or magpies would come into the house through the catflap....
I wonder if 237SJ has found a solution to her mystery?

[wolf63]

pasta - I am sitting smiling at your post. I think that my Princess Merlin is so stupid that a cat flap would terrify her - no matter how I tried training her to use it.

237SJ - has your mum considered getting a microchip activated cat flap? Her cat may be aware that there has been an intruder and that would upset her. Cats can be terrible bullies and invading another cat's territory (her home!) is not a nice thing to do.

[237SJ]

I haven`t found a solution but I`m pretty sure it`s a fox due to the teeth marks. I picked 5 sachets from under a bush one morning and a neighbour said that she has been finding them in her garden as well. I think I know which neighbour is leaving the sachets in their recycling bin so I`m going to have a word with them and ask them to put them in their dustbin. Wolf, the existing catflap is set in a glass kitchen door which cost about £250 because the whole pane has to be removed. It`s not possible to just replace the catflap - the glass would have to come out again and that would be another £250.

[boxtops]

The sachets ought to be in the dustbin anyway - they shouldn't be in recycling unless they have been thoroughly washed, in which case they wouldn't attract the fox or whatever it is. My used sachets go straight in the non-recycling dustbin. Washing them out takes up more energy than I can be bothered with. Tins are a different matter - I always wash them out and recycle them.

[237SJ]

It gets worse. Now I`ve got one making dens underneath the fence in my garden. Every morning there is so much soil dumped across the paving slabs, I can`t even get the garden shed door open. Yesterday I put a lot of spare half slabs over the area and the damn thing has even managed to dig around them and dump a load more soil over the patio. This seems to be an every day occurance now. I think I`m just going to have to leave the holes and sweep the soil and let him get on with it. The score - me:0 Fox:1

[latinainglesa]

I've come to this a bit late, as I was searchign for the answer to my issue which is the same as the OP's! We have had cat food pouches taken from the box (so full new pouches, not from our bin!) and left on the kitchen floor with evenly spaced slash marks, which have torn them open. The contents have been eaten. This happened a few times, and then stopped...or so we thought. This weekend we were clearing up the garden and when we moved a large pot, we found a whole stash of empty pouches, slashed open in the same way! Something is coming in though our cat flap and stealing cat food lol. I'm assuming a fox, but wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas. I don't particularly mind, just wanted the mystery solved, and to make sure that our cats aren't in danger.

[boxtops]

I don't understand how any animal would know that there is food in an unopened sachet - there is no scent from a sealed packet. Where are you storing your cat food, latina? even a fox can't open a cupboard, surely!