The Skunk in my backyard.

I couldn't sleep this evening , so I turned Coast to Coast on my portable radio and stepped out on the back porch to smoke a cigarette.
I was looking out across the back yard and saw a skunk come waddling across to a pear tree about 20 feet away. He started to eat a fallen pear and I toyed with the thought of going inside and grabbing my phone to take a photo for the kids to see.
Before I could make that move, I saw something coming across from the fence at the rear of the yard. It was black and white, so I thought it might be another skunk.
When it got a bit closer to me, I saw that it was a black and white housecat. It was sneaking up on the skunk!
I thought about how close I was to this unfolding story, but I decided that I was not going to miss it.
The cat was creeping very stealthily and approached to within 2 feet of the skunk before it pounced.
When the cat pounced, the skunk immediately lifted it's tail and sprayed the cat. I swear I could hear it spray. The cat ran away like a shot, I suppose to one of my neighbors homes where it will treat them to a sweet aroma in the morning.
Best part was that even with my front row seat, I didn't get any free perfume out of the deal.
I did get to see a cat interact with wildlife up close and now I like skunks just a tiny bit more.

Skunks can be endearing critters. I recommend a slingshot. It is no fun having a dog that gets skunked.

The skunk's spray isn't nearly as scary as his/her razor sharp teeth and nasty claws, and the powerful punch behind those weapons if the skunk has to fight. That cat is lucky it only got sprayed, lol.

We have one that patrols the neighborhood on some nights, the stench of it just being near by penetrates into the house and it is really damn unsettling. Makes it nearly impossible to step outside too. They're cute little creatures, but annoying as hell.

ROTFL, that would have been a funny picture XD

We have one that comes through our backyard & proceeds to spray the neighborhood nearly every night. I imagine one of the outdoor cats or some such earns the honor. A strong odor for sure, though I seem to be the one with the teflon nose who doesn't find it bothersome. Strong, yes, oh yes indeed, but no one can figure out why it doesn't evoke a negative reaction (physical or otherwise) like everyone else. Actually, neither can I, aside from the obvious general smell tolerance variations between people. Though I'd seen them in the flesh before growing up in Florida, I'd never smelled one's stank before until we moved up north here. I was surprised, it's not nearly as bad as I expected. Part of me wonders if everyone has blown how bad the smell is out of proportion...

a reply to: Nyiah

It was funny.
I could barely contain myself while the cat was doing its slow stalk, since I was pretty certain what the outcome was going to be.
That is different about your take on skunk smell. First I have ever heard of anyone that didn't mind the odor.

a reply to: butcherguy
That's priceless. Thanks for the laugh. That really must have been something to see.

For various reasons, I tend to be awake and active at night. And I spend a great deal of that time outside. So it's not unusual for me to see 3 or 4 skunks each night. Generally we just acknowledge each others existence and go our own separate ways. Skunks really don't want to use their super-weapons unless they have no other choice.

On one occasion I had the chance to witness an encounter between a big yellow cat and a skunk. They were facing each other and the cat slowly made his way up to face the skunk nose-to-nose. It was at this point the cat realized that he was not facing another cat but an entirely different critter. The cat jumped about 3 feet in the air and took off like a rocket to get out of the skunk's weapon's range. The skunk was unfazed and continued to make his way to the cat's food bowl. The big yellow cat sat helpless as the skunk unceremoniously consumed his dinner.

Now, when a skunk is under attack, it will completely unload it full supply of scent. This is a smell not unlike what one would expect from a chemical weapon attack!

My dog found this out the hard way. He would try to kill just about anything that would come in the yard. That included birds, squirrels, opossums, and cats. On this one occasion he decided to tangle with a skunk. Apparently the skunk unloaded his full weapons compliment on my dog. The stench was so powerful that I thought there had been a chemical spill somewhere and I called the fire department. They used their gas measurement equipment all around the inside and outside of the house and could find nothing. Finally one of the firemen said "hey, smell your dog." It was at this point that I discovered exactly what had happened. I was so embarrassed that later that day I took some bagels, donuts, and flowers to the firehouse as an attempt to make up for the false alarm. It took several visits to the groomers to finally rid the dog of the skunk's fragrance. And the secondary effect of his contamination caused various rooms of the house to be uninhabitable for several days. In fact I had some library books in one room that had absorbed some of the aroma and the library would not allow me to return them! It was only after a week or so of airing out that I could finally take them back.


Dex