Video: Young Fox Hides Feral Cat Popeye's Water Bowl In Fairfax

FAIRFAX, VA — Early on Thursday morning, a young fox outfoxed Popeye, the feral cat living in the Tudor Hall neighborhood located just north of the Fairfax City border.

The family of a Patch reporter has been leaving water, a bowl of food, and treats for Popeye every night for the last several years.

A Ring camera has captured video of Popeye's nightly visits many times. The camera has also recorded occasional late-night visits by raccoons, possums, foxes and even a flying squirrel.

This year, a group of three foxes have made regular visits to the home on Nonquitt Drive to grab some treats and a quick drink of water. Sometimes all three travel together, but more often they each stop by at different times during the evening.

Related: Video: Feral Cat Lets Fox Know Not To Eat From His Bowl

Around 12:45 a.m., on Thursday, the youngest fox of the group jumped up on the brick window ledge to lap up all the water in the bowl. The fox was so thirsty that he ended up pushing the bowl off the ledge.

When Popeye showed up at 4:54 a.m., he discovered that the water bowl was missing and all of his treats had been eaten.

This was not the first time that the family's Ring camera recorded the feral cat's encounters with a fox. In 2021, Popeye chased off a fox that was eating from his food bowl, which is usually placed on a step below the townhouse's bay window. A few months later, another fox snatched Popeye's treats from the window sill in broad daylight.

Related: Video: Sneaky Fox Snacks On Cat Treats Outside Fairfax Home

Those treats and water bowl also proved enticing to some of the birds that visited the family's nearby feeder.

The family has noticed one of Popeye's ears has been clipped, which indicates he was previously trapped, neutered and then released. This was done because it's difficult to domesticate some feral cats. Rather than euthanizing them, they're caught and then altered, as a way to minimize the number of feral kittens born in Fairfax County.

"Cats who go through a TNR program live healthier individual lives, and the community receives the added benefits of having these community cats vaccinated against rabies," according to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.