Deer and Rothesay house cat enjoy each other's company

A Rothesay family's pet has made some unlikely friends.

Tye is a 20-year-old ginger cat owned by AnnaScichilone, whoput a bird feeder on awindow at her house in the town northeast of Saint John.

She thought it would be entertaining for her two-year-old while he ate his dinner.

But instead of attracting birds, the feeder attracted deer.

At first skittish, the deer soon got used to Scichilone's 10-year-old son and ginger cat, who like to siton the windowsill.

"My son absolutely loves them and I think they've gotten used to him and my cat,"Scichilonesaid. "They don't even run away anymore."

Tye used to meow when he saw deer at the driveway, but the cat is now used to their presence and at most softly paws on the window when they're around.

Scichilone said she finds the image of Tye pawing at the window quite endearing, which is why she's taken a video and shared it online.

Still, she acknowledged deer have becomea nuisance in her neighbourhood.

Deer have been quite a problem in communities all along theKennebecasisRiver, prompting the provincial Department of Natural Resources to issuespecial deer-hunting permits, which allow hunters to take deer inside the towns of Hampton,QuispamsisandRothesay.

Scichilone said she does worry about deer-borne ticks transferring to her or her pets. She said she even installed a net fence around herproperty to deter deer, but it doesn't seem to be stopping the animals from coming to eat from her bird feeder.

"They're a lot smarter than wegivethem credit for."