Tigger the Fierce: Coyote Scare + TV Hunting for Virtual Birds, Mice, Squirrels

2021-02-02 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Persimmon, Tigger the Feral Feline Friend

I am hoping that the two coyotes that keep showing up don’t catch Tigger, our beloved feral cat that we took in about a year ago. Yesterday the coyotes treed him up our persimmon tree. He’s a fairly big and powerful cat, but a coyote would make short work of him, as they have with many cats in town.

Fortunately, Tigger’s feral upbringing makes him supremely competent at climbing just about any tree to the very top. His social media “likes” are mainly about having a play date with every gopher and rat within 1/4 square mile including a squirrel or two. My yard is finally free of gophers, a first in 28 years (well, I took care of the last eight). Which is a Big Deal after planting 15 bare-root fruit trees, if you know what gophers do to fruit tree roots.

iPhone images even from DNG are a study in scatology, but it’s what I had handy. I need to use a real camera for Tigger.

Tigger the Cat Treed in Persimmon Tree by two coyotes

f1.8 @ 1/20 sec, ISO 32; 2021-02-01 17:37:50
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 499 ft / 152 m

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Feeling Cautious after the coyote thing

f1.8 @ 1/20 sec, ISO 64; 2021-02-01 17:48:31
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 527 ft / 161 m

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Tigger the Cat in fig tree

f1.8 @ 1/15 sec, ISO 320; 2021-01-31 17:37:26
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 500 ft / 152 m

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I just about bust a gut laughing watching our cat Tigger “hunt” the TV. When he cannot swat the bird or the mouse on the TV, he makes the logical deduction that it must be behind the TV...

We think he might be part Ocicat what with powerful hind legs and the tree climbing. At nearly 12 pounds, he is all muscle and fully capable of taking down a full-grown fox squirrel (which he has).

We brefriended Tigger about 9 months ago (a multi-month process of building trust), and feral though he was, he was in prime condition. I now conclude that this was due to truly exceptional hunting skills which prior feral cats lacked. He is the most effective hunter I’ve ever seen. No other cat I’ve had comes even close (as in at least 10X more deadly). I regret having him neutered as I could use 2 or 3 of him around the yard.

Now if only I could get him to sit still for portraits... but it should be a good test of animal Eye AF and the Sony A1.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cat+entertainment

Cheap entertainment for Tigger

Hunting Mice, virtually

Bird?

f1.8 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 20; 2021-02-03 11:21:14
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 504 ft / 154 m

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Playtime in the Oak Tree

f1.8 @ 1/500 sec, ISO 20; 2021-02-02 13:24:26
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 469 ft / 143 m

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Mid-day ear-scratching time

f1.8 @ 1/1150 sec, ISO 20; 2021-01-23 15:27:45
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 531 ft / 162 m

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Dubious about Mid-Day Prey

f1.8 @ 1/1250 sec, ISO 20; 2021-02-03 11:18:22
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 477 ft / 145 m

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Sleepy Time

f1.8 @ 1/1900 sec, ISO 20; 2021-02-03 11:22:50
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm) ENV: altitude 514 ft / 157 m

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Rat Bane

f1.8 @ 1/1400 sec, ISO 20; 2021-01-23 12:41:32
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/2.8 @ 28mm equiv (4mm)

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Tigger at Dusk

f4 @ 1/160 sec, ISO 1000; 2021-02-10 17:04:42
Olympus E-M1 Mark II + OLYMPUS M.75mm F1.8 @ 155.7mm equiv (75mm) RAW: LACA corrected
Tigger

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