My cats chatter at the squirrels just like the birds, and I've always wondered if cats have ever been known to capture squirrels. My mom feeds the suburban wildlife in her backyard. At night possums and raccoons come to feed at the large trays of el cheapo cat food she leaves out and to get a drink out of the pool. Sometimes the raccoons will even take a swim. One big guy even came in the cat door, looked around the living room, and calmly climbed back out! Her cats have never attacked or acted aggressively to these possums and raccoons, nor have the wild critters ever paid attention to the cats, even when they're snacking side by side at the food trough. The wild animals even bring their babies in the spring, and the cats just ignore them. Even the occastional skunk has never been spooked by the cats. My mom and I watched nervously on the patio once when one of her cats curiously sniffed a skunk rooting around in the ivy, but the skunk just nonchalantly walked around him.

So, I wonder, what makes a cat want to stalk certain animals and ignore others? Maybe it's because the possums and raccoons are so much large, and the skunks are about the same size, whereas most wild rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks are smaller than our well-fed domesticated cats.