When my parents still lived in their house in Chula Vista,Calif.,they noticed something had made a den under the decking of the back yard hot tub. They were never able to see the animal until my brother-in-law placed a have-a heart animal trap in the back yard baited with bbq chicken pieces.
Lo and behold the next morning, they had a female red fox in the trap. They let it go and did nothing about it. Then the next door neighbor saw it jump the block dividing wall and called animal control and said it was after her cat.
They never caught it as they were also using Have-a heart traps and once burned twice shy. However, no cats were reported missing in the neighborhood.
rr
Ps. Ask Amos about Chula Vista.