a thief in the night

We have a housecat, Tammy and four stray cats that hang around the house waiting to be fed each day.   They all love Deli-Cat (no, this is not a commercial for Deli-Cat.   They just seem to really like it).    Normally the outside cats get a less expensive brand of cat food and I use the Deli-Cat as a special treat for them.   Tammy (a.k.a. "the princess") is pampered and gets Deli-Cat all the time plus either Fancy Feast canned or the fancy Market Select Meow Mix in the small container.  

Now you know why she is also called "the princess". 

If you click on any of the pictures, you will get an enlarged version of the picture which will have better detail.

I keep the Deli-Cat food for the outside cats in a plastic container.   Last night some animal thief dragged the plastic container out of the garage and tried to get to the food with its teeth.

I keep it on a large wooden table in the garage.   You can see the bite marks on the lid.   As luck would have it, I just happen to have a "game camera".

This is a camera that is motion activated and is used by hunters.   I use it at times for security.   I set the camera up in the garage aimed at the table with the plastic container containing the Deli-Cat so that when the animal thief returns tonight it will snap their picture and then I will know which of the four cats is the thief.   What about our housecat Tammy?   She is kept in the house all night every night and so she doesn't have the opportunity to be the culprit.   It will be interesting to see who it is.   The "game cameras" are neat and they are reasonably priced.

THE CAMERA RESULTS ARE IN!
This morning the food container was not on the table.

The plastic container was on the floor with the lid off and most all of the food eaten.

What a mess.   And look at all of those little black things.   Ants?

Yep.   Lots and lots of hungry ants.   That's why I had the food in a plastic storage container to keep the ants out.

Well, let's see what pictures there are on the game camera.   Yep, that is definitely Betty up on the table.   She must be the culprit.  At the bottom of the picture it says 1:24 am.   She should be asleep at this time.   I was.

But wait, we have another visitor.   A visitor famous for their thievery.  A raccoon.   And a well-fed one at that.   It already has its hands or paws on the container.

The raccoon is working so hard to get into the food container.   Of course we already know that he was successful.   And look at the time at the bottom of the photo,  4:18 am.   He has that famous raccoon mask on the eyes.

He has the container on its side and I think that he is close to success.   I have to say that he definitely is persistent.

The mystery has been solved with the cats not to blame.   They are off the hook for this bit of mischief.   "All's well that ends well" as they say.   I will keep the container in a cabinet in the garage from now on.

Now it is time a quiz.   Don't panic, it is only one question.   Who is this woman and why is she on a postage stamp?   Leave you answer in the comments section.    Lew