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So a month or so ago, I mixed up some egg and milk to batter my chicken. I gave the cat all she wanted then put the bowl on the front porch. I leave scraps out there and it's always gone the next morning.
Well, I didn't even notice that my bowl was gone for a couple of weeks when I repeated that with another bowl from the same set. The next morning, that bowl was gone.

It's a varmint for sure, because it now leaves a turd on the front porch.
Today I was walking about the old sawmill that's just over my back fence when I ran across the bigger bowl. But still no sign of the first one.
I asked the ladies in the office next door and they said they've seen a fox coming around. And there are some dogs that live about 1/4 mile down the road. But I can't see a dog taking a bowl it just licked clean.

Judging by the "gift" it leaves me, I'm guessing it's not very big. But for the life of me, I can't figure out what would take the bowl and all. Coons are pretty crafty because they have thumbs. But
So I'm taking guesses on what this could be. The only clue is the gift. It's about the size of what a cat would leave.

Coon
Possum
Fox
Or something else.

BTW, it eats everything. Beans, bones, gravy, bread, you name it. It's always completely gone.

I'm leaning towards a coon or coons.

Dogs will eat in place but foxes usually take the food back to their den or hiding place
We just cut up a tree that fell down in the floods, must have been 100kg of old bones around the two fox dens

bertsmobile1 said:

Dogs will eat in place but foxes usually take the food back to their den or hiding place
We just cut up a tree that fell down in the floods, must have been 100kg of old bones around the two fox dens

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I don't know much about foxes. If they take food back to their den that would make sense. Especially if there's more than they can eat. But taking the bowl too?

I went out just a few minutes ago and seen two what could've been foxes. They were coming towards the house from the office next door. But as soon as they spotted me, they were gone in a flash.
My ribs were just coming out of the oven, so I put the pan with the juice still in it on the porch, with a couple of bones.

I'm trying to get my camera back up.

Finally got it back up. Hopefully the motion sensor works. Would like to get a close up of what ever it is.

Fox or raccoon.
Red Foxes are known to have their dens close to humans. They do this for security against coyotes. Red Fox dens are commonly found underground. We had some around our house last year.

MParr said:

Fox or raccoon.
Red Foxes are known to have their dens close to humans. They do this for security against coyotes. Red Fox dens are commonly found underground. We had some around our house last year.

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I'm thinking it was foxes. Last night on the cam, I spotted 2 sets of eyes gleaming. They were very interested in the smell coming from the front porch. But the light on the cam I think kept them at bay.
They were small and very quick. Too quick for a coon.

Might be foxes ?

The movements are characteristic of foxes.

MParr said:

The movements are characteristic of foxes.

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Today I got on the mower and road around the edge of the sawmill property, looking for my lost bowl, and got to see one of them.
It's a bit grainy. But it was a 100yds away and pretty small. If I'm not mistaken, it's sticking it's tongue out at me.

Before the floods I had a massive one lurking around the house .
It would see me then trot about 10 yards away stop and give me a contemptious glare over it's shoulder
Foxes are another one of the things that those idiot Englishmen brought into this country for which all of their decendants should be shot for

bertsmobile1 said:

Before the floods I had a massive one lurking around the house .
It would see me then trot about 10 yards away stop and give me a contemptious glare over it's shoulder
Foxes are another one of the things that those idiot Englishmen brought into this country for which all of their decendants should be shot for

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If I ever come to Australia, I'm bringing 100 gerbils.

Fox has invited himself to your area, might have friends / family.
Good luck with that.

keep it up and they'll be raiding your fridge in the middle of the night

Yea, don't need that..

Honest Abe said:

keep it up and they'll be raiding your fridge in the middle of the night

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Man, if they only knew. I'm so friendly to wildlife, I'd let them move in.
I let a moma skunk shelter under my house one winter and spring. That's where she had her babies.
I used to have a possum that came in through the doggy door to finish what the pets didn't eat. He got a little pushy though. Tried to den up in the closet.
He/She was pretty friendly though. It didn't take much to coax her out. A couple of fun size snickers.

What a healthy attitude to wild life.
If people just learned to live with them life would be a lot easier and cheaper .
No insect sprays in this house , I let the spiders do their thing
Mossies are discouraged by planting repellent plants near doors and frog ponds to eat the lava
Foxes get shot because they should not be here as do ferral cat & dogs
When there was a mouse plague I had 14" of diamond python living in the ceiling
Smells a bit but cheaper & more efficient than traps & posions
Safe havens in the gardens for blue tongue lizards = no slugs or snails

I advise against doggie doors. Rabies is carried by a lot of critters. I also would not keep pet food around the outside of the house. Feeding the critters makes them lazy and discourages them from doing their job in nature.

bertsmobile1 said:

What a healthy attitude to wild life.
If people just learned to live with them life would be a lot easier and cheaper .
No insect sprays in this house , I let the spiders do their thing
Mossies are discouraged by planting repellent plants near doors and frog ponds to eat the lava
Foxes get shot because they should not be here as do ferral cat & dogs
When there was a mouse plague I had 14" of diamond python living in the ceiling
Smells a bit but cheaper & more efficient than traps & posions
Safe havens in the gardens for blue tongue lizards = no slugs or snails

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Agreed on everything except shooting animals. I couldn't do that. Foxes don't really harm anything or anyone. Except stealing my cheap plastic bowls. I'm couldn't kill one just for that. They avoid conflicts at all costs.

Here's my bird bath idea. It still needs a little work.

Small doggy pool, close enough to get fed by the AC drain line. I put a birdbath in it, with a solar fountain submerged in it, with a tube that runs up through the stand and into the bird bath. I used a grommet to hold the tube in place. The pump pushes a small stream of water onto a short, thick piece of wood. It's been there a week, so far and I still haven't caught the birds bathing yet.
It does need a little improving through. Because the tube is so long, it'll only push the water up all the way when the sun is shining full on the solar panel. So I'm going to get another one. Have the bottom one only go up 1/2 way into some sort of container. And have another one in that container to send the water up the rest of the way.

It's a work in progress.

Put up a game camera.
Might have to lock or hide the camera or it might evaporate also.

Just wondering: Are you located in or close to a Sanctuary City???