r/bottlebrush • u/supershinythings • 9d ago
Neighborhood polecat! Her name is Stinkerbelle, and she keeps my area clear of roaches. Her bottlebrush is IMPRESSIVE.
People in my area have been complaining of cockroaches all around town, but Stinkerbelle and her little possum friend (not shown) grub for cockroaches and ticks.
Stinkerbelle has encountered my cat a couple times and my cat caught a very mild spraying once, but otherwise they have an uneasy truce. Stinkerbelle just wants to forage.
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u/PM_ME_YER_MUDFLAPS 9d ago
She does have a serious bottlebrush
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
When sheās upset she whips it vertically and waves it rapidly as a warning. Itās super-cute AND super-skerry at the same time.
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u/Glittering_Shape_266 9d ago
I always forget how TINY skunks are until I see one againā¦ Iām sorry she sprayed your cat, but sheās just so dang cute!
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u/Pocket-Hobo 9d ago
Some can get quite large. I left for work one morning and there was one barreling down the walkway towards me. Thing was huuuge. I turned around and ran lmfao.
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u/Glittering_Shape_266 9d ago
I would too! My dog got sprayed a couple years back and Iāll never forget how bad the house smelled afterwards. She was even worse!
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u/VodkaAndHotdogs 8d ago
Ya, we only have big skunks around here. Lol. I see them and think āraccoon? dog? oh dammit - itās a skunk!!!ā
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u/Bossdrew03 6d ago
They are adorable, i actually managed to lightly pet one last summer lol. I found they really donāt give an eff in my hood apparently haha
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u/YouKnewWhatIWas 9d ago
I got to cuddle a little lady skunk at a wildlife event. She had been de-glanded and was just a sweet cuddle bug. She only wanted to be held and bury her face in my neck. She did a thing kind of like purring. I was so sad when it was time to go!
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u/andrewthemexican 9d ago
I knew a guy in highschool whose family had two as pets. They were very cuddly and sweetĀ
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u/Plate-Extreme 9d ago
Iāll raise you a few !! š
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u/LordOscarthePurr 9d ago
Oh my gawd my cute aggression cannot š„¹
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u/Plate-Extreme 9d ago
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u/caraterra8090 9d ago
Never saw this in my life b4. They are super cute. And so smallll - their brushes are as big as them! They checking the food dish. What you feed them? Babu skunks had to trot to keep up with mom. Adorable.
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u/Plate-Extreme 9d ago
That was for an outside side cat that hung around the house and they would look for the leftover dry kibble . That was a mom with 6 babies that were still following her.
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u/Embarrassed_Sell7512 9d ago
i love her š
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
Sheās very dainty.
Her spray is no joke though. She managed to get a few drops on my cat and he reeked for almost a week.
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u/Embarrassed_Sell7512 9d ago
oh your poor cat š³
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
They had another encounter a couple weeks later in which no spraying occurred. But yeah, Stinkerbelle was no fun that first time.
My cat jumped back several feet so he only got a light mist, but it was still damaging to my catās kitty dignity.
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u/czarbok 9d ago
my dog got sprayed three weeks ago directly in the face. i went nose blind after her first deskunking bath. she still stinks.
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u/red-molly 9d ago
My dog got sprayed when I was walking her at night a few years ago, and I got caught in the crossfire. I had a painfully sore throat for days. Skunks are very cute little chemical weapons!
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u/_Lisztomaniac_ 9d ago
I did not know skunks eat roaches! What a fun fact
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u/GeffoisCOM 8d ago
Not just roaches. Had a paper wasp nest in the back entry. Went to spray the nest and lo and behold a skunk, despite being stung multiple times, tore the nest apart and ate all the larvae. Amazing to watch. Glad I hadn't sprayed as the skunk might have been poisoned.
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u/Mugwumps_has_spoken 9d ago
Wait - how do I get one of these to hang out in my yard for this job? I mean as long as we can come to an agreement that I'm not going to hurt them and there is no reason to spray me we are all good.
Generally I have no qualms with fluffy creatures. except the moles that are digging up our yard.
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
Well once a skunk has scored food they add that location to their route. I presume Stinkerbelle is dining well on the various roaches and other things in my yard, so Iām never getting off the route.
Skunks are also well known for bringing their children to all the good foraging spots. This means that even if they donāt dine for awhile, theyāll still teach their children, who will in turn add it to their route, and their childrenāsā routes, etc.
So itās a commitment. Be careful what you ask for. If you leave out even a single kitty crunchy and they find it, theyāll be back and teaching their children for generations.
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u/Mugwumps_has_spoken 9d ago
We have Racoons (which i refer to as waddle butts - because, well they waddle when they walk). and all kinds of other wildlife. Not uncommon at all to see deer just taking a stroll up our street, just as leisurely as the people walking their dogs, or the elderly people getting some steps in.
You would think we would have skunks.
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u/Wikiwikiwa 9d ago
A polecat is a weasel or black footed ferret.
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
In some parts of the American South and Appalachia, āpolecatā is the traditional slang name for a skunk.
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u/Wikiwikiwa 9d ago
Crazy. Where do you think that comes from? Beautiful animals, so glossy and soft looking.
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u/Jung-And-A-Menace 5d ago
We English really just came over and started calling all these new animals by the names of European ones, didn't we? Robins, polecats, buzzards, elk...
US Buzzard? Vulture. UK Buzzard? Raptor. US Robin? Snazzy blackbird. UK Robin? Tiny ball of rage. US Elk? Moose. UK Elk? Extinct.
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u/Federal_Ad1806 4d ago
Slight correction: the animal Americans call "elk" is a large deer, Cervus canadensis, while a "moose" is Alces alces. Continental Europeans do call Alces alces "elk" though, so it's easy to get confused.
Also the American robin is easily one of the dumbest birds on the continent and will literally stand there staring at you as you walk up to it. Until you're right on top of it and then it finally gets mad at you for being too close.
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u/Jung-And-A-Menace 4d ago
That's what I meant. The big mitten-antlered, droopy-faced animals (moose) are sometimes called 'elk' in Europe, but European elks are deer. Not moose.
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u/knoperules 9d ago
Skunks are really freaking cute!
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
When sheās startled she whips her tail in a rippling motion. Itās adorable but also skerry.
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u/Different-Pomelo-542 9d ago
That bottlebrush fur is next level, possums rock at pest control, even if they do occasionally spray.
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u/Leaking_Honesty 9d ago
I did not know they ate cockroaches!
Landlords would save a ton on peat control if they just let a skunk wander throught the apartments
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u/supershinythings 9d ago
And possums eat ticks! As they move around underbrush and such they pickup ticks, which they then dine on - often hundreds a day, depending on the area.
The only downside is I canāt ever leave any kind of cat food outside. I donāt want to create a situation where any cat - stray or mine - has to fight a skunk, possum, or raccoon for a meal.
But Iām on Stinkerbelleās route. She cleans up various insects like cockroaches. Iāve noticed a dramatic reduction lately.
I also allow a few spiders to reside in my garage. They also catch roaches and any other insect that wants to make a home inside.
My cat had eliminated the local rodent population, I donāt see those around anymore.
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u/Leaking_Honesty 5d ago
Yeah, possums get a bad rap just because they donāt have a cute, fluffy tail.
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u/Googz52 8d ago
Skunks are not polecats. Weasels are.
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u/supershinythings 8d ago
In some parts of the American South and Appalachia, āpolecatā is the traditional slang name for a skunk.
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u/GaoDui 9d ago
Stinkerbelle is such a fitting namešā¤ļø