Raccoons - dumb question

[Aerows]

I have one that is a frequent visitor. She loves cat food, and lingers quite a bit with anything left in cat bowls. She's kind of solitary, though I think she was one of the brood I saw running around in the spring.

She's cute, and snatched my shirt one night when I was asleep on the porch. She nipped me (nothing bad, just a playful pinch) on the toe when she wasn't fed. I fed her, and she placidly crunched on cat food like she owned the place. She was about a foot away from me. I didn't dare touch her.

Is she dangerous? Is she rabid? Will she hurt the cat? So far, none of those things have come to pass, but she's kind of small. If she gets full grown will this be a problem?

[Wounded Bear]

1. Answers...

Yes.
Probably not.
Could.
Might be.



You have to have a healthy respect for wild animals and realize they probably won't react like your pet will.

I'd be very careful.

[Aerows]

3. I wouldn't touch her for a million bucks

but she hides if spooked by noises. I wouldn't put my fingers at risk, but she seems to seek me out. My mother was on the back patio of my place and scared her off with the broom LOL.

She's just sweet and persistent.

[Wounded Bear]

5. Wise...

If you want it to go away, I'd suggest feeding the cat indoors for a couple of weeks. If the racoon doesn't get the free food, it will look elsewhere after a while.

If you want the animal to continure coming back, well, you know how.

Seriously, though, the post up thread has good advice. Sometimes animal control will know of local outbreaks of any diseases among the local fauna. They might also have some good advice overall.

[Aerows]

8. The problem is that I have

an indoor/outdoor cat. She won't eat or poop indoors. She sleeps in the house, is remarkably flea-less, but she is extremely reluctant to do either things indoors, so I feed her outside. I've had her through a hurricane and snow - I had to feed her and put a litter box on the back porch.

In ten minutes she wanted right back inside. I've tried to get her acclimated to being in the house for eating and ... uh, bathroom issues, but she won't. She's like a little dog in those matters.

[Jenoch]

29. Leave the litter box on the porch.

Bring the cat food inside. When your cat is hungry enough, she will learn to eat indoors. Stay away from the raccoon. They look cute but they can be nasty and can carry disease, especially rabies. It doesn't sound like this one has rabies, but you don't know for sure.

[Blue_Tires]

13. Prepare the "unwelcome" mat

lest your attic/roof/basement become the new Raccoon condo for the neighborhood (and they can do a LOT of internal damage)....Nevermind the fact that cats will lose 1v1 fights...

Don't use brooms or whatever to scare them...She may be small now, but curious fear can turn into aggression, and if cornered, a Raccoon can probably in a split-second climb up the broom to your arm, and then it's on your face...

[Aerows]

16. Damn

You are kidding, right?

[Blue_Tires]

24. Well, maybe not broom handles

but I do know instances where some morons have tried to kick them and raccoons have climbed up their legs to attack their upper body...

Never underestimate how dangerous a threatened or cornered animal can be once they flip that "fight for survival" switch...

[Callmecrazy]

25. I agree with Blue Tires...

Raccoons are cute and it's fun to watch them eat with their little hands, but they can be real bastards if they don't get their way. And they WILL find a way into the basement/attic and start to do a little remodeling. Chewing through the walls,etc.
And raccoons are nocturnal. I was told that if you see a raccoon during the day, it's possibly carrying rabies. And rabies loves them some raccoon.
Best to send it on it's way.

[NYC_SKP]

2. I would look for a local fish/game person, animal clinic, animal control, etc. person.

Regardless of the advice you get here, there may well be local issues that bear, including specific diseases and regulations.

I just don't know, except that even if an animal is safe for now, they can become rabid later.

Also, docile behavior can change unexpectedly, so better to be safe than sorry, I think.

[Aerows]

4. Good advice

she's sweet, but she is extremely persistent. LOL. And cute. Which is disarming.

[B Calm]

6. I have a raccoon problem

because I live near woods. I went and bought 2 live traps from Rural King and bait them with dry cat food. Last winter I caught 37 of them, not counting the opossum. I throw the traps in the back of my truck and take them down the road a ways and then release them.

You don't want to feed them, hell they'll eat you out of house and home.

[Aerows]

7. It's only one

but yeah, I live near the woods, too. If she invites friends, I could see that happening.

EDIT: Oh god, opossums. Ugliest creatures on this Earth. One invaded my trashcan, and I had to quit having it outside. It HISSED at me when I discovered it in the trash. It ran away, but goodness.

[dr.strangelove]

9. While Raccoons can indeed be cute, the cuteness is disarming to a fault

Be careful. I would not recommend feeding near a place where a pet feeds. Your pet is likely not equipped to deal with a wild animal like this. You might be inviting significant pain for your cat. As for diseases, I find it best to assume to worst and admire nature from far enough away to avoid a bite. If you enjoy the raccoons, you can easily feed them from a distance away. I would not let them near the house or my domesticated animals.

[Aerows]

10. Oh, she definitely has fangs

they might be juvenile, but I watched her eat last night. They would put a Doberman to shame. She's very docile, though, which considering the teeth she has is probably odd.

I'll try to take video tonight. I'm not Steve Irwin and looking to get bitten or anything, though.

[Myrina]

12. ... racoons can carry something in their saliva that is toxic to dogs ...

... not sure about cats, but there's a sort of 'fever' that dogs get from raccoon bites that causes immediate neurological damage, organ shutdown & (in a couple days) death.

[Aerows]

15. I don't have a dog

just a cat, but that sounds awful. and sounds like bs. Just saying.

[Myrina]

17. Not bs. Link:

http://www.bobmckee.com/Client%20Info/Neurology/Polyradiculoneuritis.html


Polyradiculoneuritis (coonhound paralysis)

Understanding Your Pet's Medical Diagnosis

What is coonhound paralysis?

Coonhound paralysis is an acute neurologic disorder in dogs affecting the nerves controlling the muscles of the fore- and hind limbs, the muscles of the neck, and the muscles that control breathing and barking.

What causes coonhound paralysis?

Coonhound paralysis is suspected to be associated with an overstimulation of a dog's immune system, which may be secondary to contact with a raccoon (and especially raccoon saliva) or another stimulating agent such as a vaccination, a viral respiratory infection, or a viral or bacterial gastrointestinal infection.

What are the signs of coonhound paralysis?

Signs will begin 7 to 14 days after contact with a raccoon or other stimulating agent. Initially, affected dogs have a stiff-stilted gait in all limbs that rapidly progresses to various degrees of limb and body weakness, or even paralysis. Voice loss or voice change is also a common early sign. Occasionally, dogs develop weakness of the facial muscles. This will consist of drooping lips, sagging eyes, and an expressionless face. Breathing difficulties may develop in severely affected dogs and, on occasion, this can lead to a complete inability to breathe. Signs progress for 4 to 5 days (occasionally up to 10 days) before the disease stabilizes. However, most dogs will not show immediate improvement in strength at this time. Muscle weakness or paralysis will continue for several weeks and perhaps for up to 4 months. During this time, affected dogs will lose considerable weight due to general muscle wasting.

[Aerows]

21. Wow

Damn. Thanks, I'm speechless.

[Blue_Tires]

18. Sort of like Pandas

As much as we love them, their disposition is generally awful and they'd scratch your face off just as soon as look at you...

[Myrina]

11. Be on the lookout for the crew trying to dig into your roof or under your house to nest ...

... a (well-meaning) lady up the street fed raccoons for quite awhile & even though she has 6 cats, the raccoons weren't scared off by them & raised hell by getting into the roof/attic & garages of her & a couple others' houses.

Critter Control made a shit-ton of money off of her good intentions.

[Aerows]

14. Holy Hell!

I didn't know they got that bad!

I have conflicted emotions. I know I should shew her away now, but I rather like to see what she will do next. But you are right, if they are anything like squirrels (which I had nothing to do with) they ruined the attic of my families home when I was child.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Raccoons are cute but can be terribly destructive.

A family of them moved into my porch ceiling and did so much damage I had to have the whole thing replaced.

[Aerows]

20. They have huge teeth

and are extremely dexterous.

I could see that being a problem and will dwell on the implications of my home.

Yep, bad.

[Aerows]

22. Okay, I'm convinced

It seems I'm buying trouble with this furry little critter. She's going to be shown the door - I'm still kind, I'm not going to shoot her or anything, just stop feeding her.

[dr.strangelove]

23. I think its the smartest idea

I understand loving "free roaming creatures of nature" as my lovely grandma used to call them, but love them from afar. I take pictures of all kinds of animals in the woods behind my home, but I try my best to keep them in their woodland home and me in my badly in need of a painting home.

[Blue_Tires]

28. Don't leave your cat's food and water bowls outside

Since that's what she'll continue to come for (also make sure your garbage cans are inaccessible)...Luckily raccoons have sensitive noses, so if you know her favorite paths or hideout places, you can pour some strong-smelling household cleaning solvents or whatever in those spots (you can find the "list" of suitable things on most state wildlife sites)...

The raccoon won't be harmed, she'll just take a whiff of the stuff and instantly want to be somewhere else...

[Aerows]

31. Oh, that's a good idea

I'll try that. Thanks Blue_Tires!

[TorchTheWitch]

35. wolf pee

Seriously. You can buy the pee of various predators or other big scary animals to keep the smaller animals away from your home and yard. One of the people that frequents the Pets group here had a fox problem and I recommended the wolf pee. He contacted this website and ended up getting cougar pee to keep the foxes away, and it worked. I first heard about wolf pee from one of my neighbors who uses it to keep various yucky smaller critters like squirrels, rabbits, mice, rats, raccoons, opossums, etc. away from his porch and trash cans. I think I might use it this year, too especially since recently some kind of critter was harboring under my front porch and died there creating a disgusting rotting corpse stink.

http://www.predatorpee.com/

According to the website, coyote pee is recommended for raccoons.

[MuseRider]

26. Do not corner her, even accidently

always leave her room to escape.

I live on a farm. When I fed my feral (now unbelievably my house cat) on my deck I had one with a withered arm. She as so cute then there were babies and then there was competition not to mention my cat getting chased off frequently.

They are adorable, they seem sweet but yes they do carry disease and can be very harmful to other animals and others have mentioned what they can do to your house.

One thing though, if they are dependent on the food you leave you best stop now because they will not be ready for winter. They will always be there waiting and you will have more and more and then the cat gets hurt and on and on and on, trust me.

Like anything we care for that lives not with us but around us we have to remember that if it gets bad you can't just stop caring for them. You have to be ready to continue. Perhaps, if you don't want to stop, you can put cat food out specifically for the raccoons but away from where the cat goes out and comes in and please do it away from your house. It would take a few days of spooking it away but at least for a short time that would help you. Not for long though. You ever seen a line of raccoons on your deck steps waiting for food? They are cute as can be until they fight and then you have a mess.

[Aerows]

32. My cat was feral when she first came to me, too

Now she's pretty lazy, but still goes out to eat and do her business. At night, though, she wants to pack up in the bed with me .

[applegrove]

27. A Kitten of mine saw a family of racoons eating her catfood.

She chased them away. And up a tree. The momma racoon got about 2 feet up the tree looked back and saw how small my cat was. She stopped. Turned around. I grabbed my cat and went inside.

[Jenoch]

30. I used to have a townhouse in some oak woods.

We used to have an indoor/outdoor cat (fixed). That cat had a habit of going outside and not returning for a couple of days. I would put a dish of dry cat food outside the door. I remember waking up in the middle of the night, flipping on the porch light and opening door to see if the cat was there. One time there was a mama raccoon with her brood of 4. Another time there was a mama striped skunk with 5 babies. Both times I just shut the door and in the morning removed the empty bowl.

[Aerows]

33. Oh my, skunks!

that's a frightening thought!

[Jenoch]

34. The little ones were really cute.

But skunks carry rabies, even more than raccoons.

Our cat did not catch birds too often when we lived in the woods, but he did catch a lot of voles. The only reason I knew that there were flying squirrels in our woods was because the cat managed to catch one. They are completely nocturnal.

[noamnety]

36. We had raccoons in our attic.

We figured it out because we found a very small strip of metal on the front porch - smaller than a nail file, something one might normally shrug off as random trash that appears, except my husband's an engineer and can't just let things go without "solving" them.

He finally realized it was a strip of metal from an attic vent above. The raccoons had used their little fangs to tear the metal apart, like an old movie scene of people filing through metal bars to get out of jail, except they were breaking in.

Once they get in, it seems the main things they like to do are chew wires and use your whole attic as their executive toilet. You don't want to end up with an attic that looks like a scene from hoarders.

Animal control had to come and nail a huge trap directly onto our roof. It looked ridiculous, like a bad hood ornament. One of the raccoons got caught in it, then freaked out and jumped around so much in the trap that he managed to pull the nails out - and then had a two story tumble to the ground in it. He survived that, but sheesh, he was not a happy camper when we got home later.