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

Tye is a 20-year-old ginger cat owned by Anna Scichilone, who put a bird feeder on a window 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 sit on the windowsill.

"My son absolutely loves them and I think they've gotten used to him and my cat," Scichilone said. "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 become a nuisance in her neighbourhood.

Deer have been quite a problem in communities all along the Kennebecasis River, prompting the provincial Department of Natural Resources to issue special deer-hunting permits, which allow hunters to take deer inside the towns of Hampton, Quispamsis and Rothesay.

Scichilone said she does worry about deer-borne ticks transferring to her or her pets. She said she even installed a net fence around her property 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 we give them credit for."