You know that cat food I've been putting out for the feral kitties...

[Critters2]

well, I learned last night that it's also raccoon food. Raccoons scare me. Especially when they're sitting on my back porch when I step out there at 9:30 to make a quick run to the office.

I didn't go to the office after all.

[flvegan]

1. I scared one last night that was eating from my cat bowl.

He ran over my fence and right in front of my very surprised neighbor.

I watch them through the window. Little burglar masked cat food bandits.

[Shakespeare]

2. I always thought they were adorable, UNTIL I learned what they can do to a chicken.

They'll kill 'em purely for sport. Raccoons and members of the mink/ferret families will both do that. :scared:

[woofless]

4. And the cats kill songbirds.

[Shakespeare]

6. Mine don't. They're indoor cats.

Not sure what your point is...

[sniffa]

23. I think the point may be Cornflake Olive Garden

:shrug:

[LostinVA]

24. He's just trying to start a flamewar

Which will invariably end up with someone trying to justify shooting cats.

[Shakespeare]

25. Oh. In that context, I get it.

:eyes:

:hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

18. Mine don't. They are

fed. We feed about 20 kinds of wild birds, and have three ferals whom I see every day all around our house. No, I can't say for certainty that they never kill a bird, but I can say that I've never seen a tell-tale clutch of feathers anywhere around here.

However, they have brought me mice and voles. :(

[Critters2]

5. When I was visiting my grandparents' farm once, as a kid, I learned

what they can do to a dog. Duke survived, but you wouldn't have thought so for all the blood! I've been afraid of 'coons ever since.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. I startled a group of them a while ago while on a walk- they ran into the sewer system.

They're fairly large, aren't they?

[klyon]

7. Raccoons can be very dangerous, so can farrel cats for that matter

give them plenty of space. Feed the cats away from the house and don't leave extra food. Or better yet capture the cats and turn them over to the Humane Society in your area unless you are prepared to spay and neuter them and invite them into your home. Your compassion is wonderful but you are not solving a very serious situation, in fact you are making it worse by attracting the coons.

[Critters2]

8. The closest thing we have to a Humane Society is a poorly-run shelter,

that never has room for cats. And doesn't do any spay-neuter education, humane education, spay-neuter clinics, or trap-neuter-release programming. So, isn't working in any way to solve the problems. I was on the board of an HS in Iowa that did all of these things, and it drives me crazy that all this shelter does is put a roof over the heads of the few animals it has room for. I've tried to volunteer to start some of these programs, but they're not interested. I'm pretty much coming to the conclusion that I'm going to have to take the bull by the horns, you should forgive the expression, and start a Humane Society myself.

Oh! Sorry for the rant. You touched a nerve!

[Boudica the Lyoness]

29. I catch feral cats

I catch them and stuff them in a box then haul them to our vet and he spays and neuters them. I feed them if they choose to stick around and most of them take up residence on our farm. Three 6 month old kittens cost me over $200 with shots and worming! It's expensive but kinder than them becoming kitten making machines. A couple of times they needed more work that a spay or neuter such as a hernia that needed to be fixed. I don't really care for cats but as an animal lover I feel for them.

[applegrove]

9. Racoons are harmless. Other that screatching when they are mating, they are a blast.

Don't be afraid. I you walk towards them they will always run away.

[China_cat]

14. Raccoons in this area are a huge rabies vector.

Harmless, they aren't.

[hedgehog]

16. Not to mention: raccoon roundworm!

In humans, pathological lesions observed consist of skin irritations (cutaneous larval migrans) and eye and brain tissue damage (visceral larval migrans) due to the random migration of the larvae. The affected individuals may experience nausea, a lethargic feeling, incoordination and loss of eyesight.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-27261--,00.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/baylisascaris/factsht_baylisascaris.htm

[applegrove]

20. Didn't know that. Rabies is rare where I cottage.

[China_cat]

21. SC is considered a rabies epidemic state.

It's so bad that if you have a dog or cat that's unvaccinated and it bites somebody, it gets tested for rabies. The test consists of killing the animal and sending the head to the lab.

[applegrove]

28. In ontario it is rare. At least the part of ontario where I live. Every so often you

hear about a fox for some bats that have rabies.

[EFerrari]

10. I used to set traps baited with sardines and tomato for ferals.

And I used to hafta call someone to release the possums I caught 5X out of ten. They scared me even though they were just looking at me.

At least I had someone to call.

[EnviroBat]

11. Raccoon's are very friendly.

They loved to be chased into a corner in the garage, and SNUGGLED!
Ooooo smoo smoo smmo soocha good boyeee, awww num num num nummmm....

[Patiod]

12. We have them eating out of our cat bowls, too

I've tried to convince SO not to put food out for the cats/coon, but he won't listen.

My friend assumed that racoons were killing her chickens, until she was bit by a fox who was hiding under her henhouse (and this was in the 'burbs - not out in the country). Had to undergo all those stupid rabies shots - not fun.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. That's why I only put out a little food and only when abandoned kitteh is right there. Also

I do not feed it near my house.

[zanne]

15. Possum like the food I put out for ferals...

So do skunks and birds.

[bertha katzenengel]

17. Hi, mycritters,

I learned this same lesson the hard way.

Try putting ferals' food out in the morning. I have seen a raccoon or two during the day, but it's very rare. If there's any food left at dusk, take it in.

[Debi]

19. Outside kitty food needs to come inside when the sun goes down

We put our cat food out in the AM and take it in around 8:30 or 9:00 PM.

Racoons are mean!

[SPKrazy]

22. Raccoons scare you?

Do tell :P




:rofl:

[Flaxbee]

26. MammaRaccoon brought me her kits yesterday, to show them off

I have no idea why else she brought them by - and I have no idea how many were there because they were tumbling and rustling all over the place. She stopped by again today, without the young ones.

Backstory: MammaR stopped by late last week, just tired and hungry with her poor tired teats hanging halfway to the ground. So she got some overripe bananas every time she stopped by. Yesterday, I guess to say "thanks", she brought her kits by - came up the stairs to the second story landing, stood on her hind legs at the screen door, chattered at me, and then took her children and wandered off.

Sometimes a worn-out momma needs a little help.

[Kool Kitty]

27. My husband and I feed local feral cats

and found out, just like you, that we are also feeding local raccoons. Now we set out the cats' food in one spot, and put another bowl a bit further away. That seems to have stopped the problem, everyone has their space and food. Both the cats and the raccoons know the sound of our car and go to their designated spots when we pull up.

[driver8]

30. We had a raccoon come through the doggie door to eat the dog's food.

He then tried to take the whole bag of food with him and it got stuck.

Our dog slept in our bedroom and when I opened the door in the morning to let him out, I could hear him at the doggie door crying. I went to see what was wrong, and there was a bag of dog food stuck in the door. I knew it had been a raccoon because of the tracks. Also, raccoons like to wash their food and the dog's water in his water dish was all brown.

Crazy Raccoons...