"RichardS" wrote in message
...

"RichardS" wrote in message
...
Got a bit of a surprise when I went down to close the kitchen doors
last
Thursday....


http://www.olifant.co.uk/Olifant/Pub...ks/RSAN-6D8A55

This was a bit of a welcomed find, because in the five years that
we've
been in Twickenham I've seen a year-on-year increase in the amount
of
wildlife about. When we first moved here I was rather struck by the
singlular lack of birds (other than pigeons) in an area that is, by
London
standards, covered by a lot of greenery. Other than foxes and the
occasional curious rat we hadn't seen any other wildlife, so a
hedgehog
was a very welcomed resident. It also explains the reduction in
snails
and slugs that I've noticed over the past couple of weeks.

Our cat did what any self-respecting 18 year old cat would do... sit
under
the table & watch with dismay as the whole sorry spectacle unfolded.

Now, to encourage him/her to stick around we'll put out some
supplemental
food - tinned dog food is normally recommended (and if we can find
something that the cat doesn't like then so much the better). I'm
sure
I've read that fish-based foods must be completely avoided, but the
St
Tiggiwinkles site didn't say anything on that issue. Anyone know?



Thanks for all the replies, folks.

Put out a dish of chicken-based cat fud last night, with a plate for a
lid
as suggested. Heard the lid go, so looked outside, and of course had
to
chase away mr fox (now christened "Wile E. Coyote") ... twice.

So, next suggestion quickly taken up - built a small feeding-tunnel,
2 1/2
bricks long, 2 bricks high, topped with a board & weighted with a
heavy
parasol stand (all safe & no chance of collapse - tested it
thoroughly).

Dish in middle, topped with the plate lid again.

Working late last night, heard the lid being pushed off again. This
morning, dish completely empty. So, good chance the hedgehog's still
around - I'll try the smoked tin foil tonight just to check that it
isn't a
small cat or a rat that's managed to get under there.

We intend to encourage him/her to stick around. The slug & snail
population
has been decimated recently, and that's good news for me & the garden
(I was
just on the verge of giving in, and reluctantly using slug pellets)!

Oh, will make sure some fresh water is left around too.

--
Richard Sampson

mail me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

Five brick lengths is a minimum for the tunnel otherwise a fox will
scoop out the food with its quite long front leg. I actually saw a fox
trying to do this whilst lying on its side.

The plate which you put on top will definitely not deter a fox and the
fact that it was removed indicates that it was not a hedghog that
removed it. The latter would have used the tunnel.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.