5 miles for possums and raccoons? I didn’t know they could move that fast - or had such a great sense of direction. Why don’t you relocate the skunks too?
I think I’ll be able to catch Max, if it’s a good day. He can be friendly one week, letting me pet him. And then run off every time I open the door the next. Pretty odd. I hear ya on the routine thing. My indoor cats’ dinner time clock is more accurate than anything else in the house, LOL! I can quit free-feeding Max and just put food out at 6 or so, in order to be able to catch him. Good idea, thanks.
"Why don’t you relocate the skunks too?"
You've never been sprayed by a skunk, have you?
Skunks can make great pets if you get them de-scented at a very young age.
They're not scared of anything, and they're very curious and want to explore everything.
But that scent can knock a buzzard off a gut wagon!
It's unbearable.
About "Max", never leave feed out, if you're not going to stand by and watch it.
For two reasons, one is it'll help to semi-tame him, and two is to prevent ants from getting into it.
We've had the Fire Ants driven off by a new ant, called "Crazy Ants", and they're more of a nuisance than the fireants.
They don't sting, but they get into everything, and they're harder to kill.