One of my Facebook friends is a CCL: Crazy Critter Lady. Dogs, cats, bugs, whatever. She just posted a 5+ minute video of a raccoon climbing up on her dining table to eat cat food at 3am. She said it actually stayed for 20 minutes.

Okay. I see it. CCL. Yes, I am indeed.

You forgot lizards and snakes. Oh, and spiders. I guess they're bugs.

Sue

The lizards and snakes came under whatever.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Eric is quite partial to a toe nibble.

I don't want to know how you know that.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Eric is quite partial to a toe nibble.

I don't want to know how you know that.

It is not nearly as salacious as it sounds.

We had a rambunctious little raccoon kit named Artemis in a litter from a few summers ago. Artie nipped Eric's boot toe a couple of times when the food did not come fast enough. We decided that Artie's friendly/fearless nature, coupled with my behavior modification training that had taught him to come running over for food, had made Artie a danger to himself. A raccoon who bites people is a raccoon who eventually gets trapped and er... uh... ahem... "discharged to God".

The answer to our problem with that little fellow was rather simple. We just put a new behavior modification plan in place for him. Every time Artie got within one to two feet of one of us, we would stamp loudly and scare him back. He was still a baby, so he was easy to train.

Artemis regained a healthy distrust of humans and he learned to consistently keep his distance from people. Biting problem solved.

Suzie-Q, welcome to seti@home and a big "kindred spirit" welcome hug to the Critter Cafe!!!

I loved your videos!!! I am sooooooooooooooooooo jealous. My husband simply will not allow me to have "indoor raccoons".

If you want to treat your little woodland friends to something special, throw some grapes in those bowls. Raccoons love them.

Thanks, Angela.

I've been leaving out some pecan shortbread cookies that I decided not to eat myself. I'll have to pick up some grapes the next time I go shopping.

I wasn't planning on having indoor raccoons. The raccoons had other plans. I don't know how they figured out that there was cat food inside. I guess they saw the doggy door in use by the cats and went through, then did some exploring.

I don't really mind their coming in. What worries me is what could happen to my dogs if there was a confrontation. The cats ignore the raccoons, and vice versa.

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~Sue~

The raccoons will not confine themselves to the table for long. They like to explore. Our outdoor boy kitty co-exists with raccoons just fine. We've never tried to mix raccoons and dogs. Skunks can go through cat doors too...

Raccoons can carry canine and feline distemper, but your dogs and cats are probably already vaccinated against this. Raccoon poop can contain roundworm eggs, and the roundworm they carry can be fatal to people. Mask and glove up if you have to clean up any raccoon poop, and don't skimp on the bleach if you discover a raccoon latrine. If you haven't already gone through the pre-rabies vaccine series, I would recommend it, especially since you deal with a wide variety of wildlife.

Eric and I have been enjoying the company of raccoons for years and we're still kicking, but we are careful and we error on the side of caution.

Susie Q - could you not lock the cat/dog flap at night? Angela can best advise you, but probably not best to mix raccoons and dogs in the same room? Also there is the wildlife issue, do raccoons have fleas that could infect the dogs?

The cats use the doggy door 24/7, so locking the D-door is not an option. The dogs sleep with me at night, when the raccoons are visiting. They generally start barking while still in the bedroom, and the raccoons run off at the sound of the dogs barking.

I have finally got the fleas under control in the house, but the cats will bring them in anyway. Whether or not the racoons carry fleas is moot. I have about 18 cats that I call mine, and I'm living on my military retirement check, which isn't much, so I can't afford to treat all the cats for fleas. I occasionally treat them with food-grade diatomaceous earth when I'm pretending to pet them. Sneaky, no?

I have considered "trap and relocate." I think the city's animal control people, with whom I have a good relationship, would help me with that.

Angela, How do you feel about trap and relocate? Any evidence to show that it's a bad idea?

I think I need to get the rabies shots, too. Where do you get those? From a regular doctor?

Finally, and most importantly, it's Suzie-Q with a Z. And I like to see a hyphen in there. ;-)

Sue

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~Sue~

The raccoons will not confine themselves to the table for long. They like to explore. Our outdoor boy kitty co-exists with raccoons just fine. We've never tried to mix raccoons and dogs. Skunks can go through cat doors too...

We have rabid skunks in the neighborhood. (I live in a rural area.) I was wondering if there was something I could put near or around the D-door that would scare off the wildlife - like wolf urine or something. :-D

Raccoons can carry canine and feline distemper, but your dogs and cats are probably already vaccinated against this. Raccoon poop can contain roundworm eggs, and the roundworm they carry can be fatal to people. Mask and glove up if you have to clean up any raccoon poop, and don't skimp on the bleach if you discover a raccoon latrine. If you haven't already gone through the pre-rabies vaccine series, I would recommend it, especially since you deal with a wide variety of wildlife.

I honestly don't know if the dogs are vaccinated against distemper. I know they should have been, but I recently found out that, when I ask my vet to give my dogs their vaccinations, the dogs don't always get everything I think they should get. Now that I know about the distemper, I will double check. As for the cats, once again, I'm too poor to vaccinate them all on a regular basis. (In case you're wondering, I do take them to be spayed/neutered, and have them vaccinated at that time.)

Eric and I have been enjoying the company of raccoons for years and we're still kicking, but we are careful and we error on the side of caution.

I don't know how I would get the raccoons used to having me near. And that's probably not a good idea, anyway, since the dogs would want to participate.

Thanks for your advice.

Sue

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~Sue~

http://uberhumor.com/just-a-normal-tuesday-morning

Just found this.

Sue

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~Sue~

http://uberhumor.com/just-a-normal-tuesday-morning

Just found this.

Sue

Odd. I clicked quote with the intention of fixing that for you and the system fixed it on its own. [edit] Oh, I see, you fixed it yourself. [/edit]

As for the content of the link, nutz.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Angela, How do you feel about trap and relocate? Any evidence to show that it's a bad idea?

I have never tried or even considered trapping and relocating my little woodland friends. We live near a creek, so any raccoons we trapped and relocated would quickly be replaced by new ones. The simplest way to discourage raccoons and skunks is to not have any food available for them. If closing the dog door at night is not an option, you may have to only feed your cats during the day.

If I stopped putting cat food and grapes out, eventually raccoons would stop visiting me. I am sorry to report that they do not visit me because I am a scintillating conversationalist. I am fully aware of what they want. Raccoon friendship is highly conditional. Sigh....

I think I need to get the rabies shots, too. Where do you get those? From a regular doctor?

Most general practitioners do not offer these shots. My husband and I went to a travel doc for our initial series. We go back to see him for booster shots every few years. Travel docs specialize in the shots people need to get before they travel to interesting places. A pre-rabies vaccine series is recommended if one is traveling to a country where one might unknowingly sleep in a room with bats. (Sorry Monday!) Bats are often rabid and because bats have tiny little needle-like teeth, sleeping people don't tend to notice they've been bitten.

To find out where to get a pre-rabies vaccine series in your area, ask a vet. I have never met a vet who has not undergone this vaccine series.

By the way, even if you've had the pre-rabies series, if a wild animal bites you, you should still get rabies shots to make doubly sure you don't die. Even though a pre-rabies series probably offers full protection, one does not monkey around with fatal diseases. Eric and I feel more confident encouraging wildlife, knowing we already have a fair amount of rabies immunity in our bodies, but if one of us ever got bitten, we would get more rabies shots immediately.

And as for the guy in the shower with his pet raccoon, I really have to agree with Dave's take on that one... "nutz". Our three indoor cats get into enough trouble in our house when we are away at work. I shudder to think about what kind of mischief a bored indoor raccoon could cook up in our house while we were out and about. Also, an indoor raccoon would have to be wormed regularly. I hope people who keep raccoons know this. And then there is that other issue... unlike cats, a raccoon would not use a litter box. Natural raccoon pooping behavior is to climb up on something and then let fly. Nobody really wants a pile of raccoon poop at the bottom of their bookshelf.

Much as I pretend to pout and mope when Eric says "No indoor raccoons!", I absolutely agree with him. (Just don't tell him I said so!!!)

Much as I pretend to pout and mope when Eric says "No indoor raccoons!", I absolutely agree with him. (Just don't tell him I said so!!!)

We won't tell him ;-)

You description of the potential mayhem caused by an indoor raccoon brings t mind a film, probably "Home Alone".

As for the thought of being, err, "sprayed" by a raccoon that's just been wormed - that's totally unthinkable (especially before breakfast)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

I must agree with Rob

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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

Angela, How do you feel about trap and relocate? Any evidence to show that it's a bad idea?

I have never tried or even considered trapping and relocating my little woodland friends. We live near a creek, so any raccoons we trapped and relocated would quickly be replaced by new ones. The simplest way to discourage raccoons and skunks is to not have any food available for them. If closing the dog door at night is not an option, you may have to only feed your cats during the day.

If I stopped putting cat food and grapes out, eventually raccoons would stop visiting me. I am sorry to report that they do not visit me because I am a scintillating conversationalist. I am fully aware of what they want. Raccoon friendship is highly conditional. Sigh....

I think I need to get the rabies shots, too. Where do you get those? From a regular doctor?

Most general practitioners do not offer these shots. My husband and I went to a travel doc for our initial series. We go back to see him for booster shots every few years. Travel docs specialize in the shots people need to get before they travel to interesting places. A pre-rabies vaccine series is recommended if one is traveling to a country where one might unknowingly sleep in a room with bats. (Sorry Monday!) Bats are often rabid and because bats have tiny little needle-like teeth, sleeping people don't tend to notice they've been bitten.

To find out where to get a pre-rabies vaccine series in your area, ask a vet. I have never met a vet who has not undergone this vaccine series.

By the way, even if you've had the pre-rabies series, if a wild animal bites you, you should still get rabies shots to make doubly sure you don't die. Even though a pre-rabies series probably offers full protection, one does not monkey around with fatal diseases. Eric and I feel more confident encouraging wildlife, knowing we already have a fair amount of rabies immunity in our bodies, but if one of us ever got bitten, we would get more rabies shots immediately.

And as for the guy in the shower with his pet raccoon, I really have to agree with Dave's take on that one... "nutz". Our three indoor cats get into enough trouble in our house when we are away at work. I shudder to think about what kind of mischief a bored indoor raccoon could cook up in our house while we were out and about. Also, an indoor raccoon would have to be wormed regularly. I hope people who keep raccoons know this. And then there is that other issue... unlike cats, a raccoon would not use a litter box. Natural raccoon pooping behavior is to climb up on something and then let fly. Nobody really wants a pile of raccoon poop at the bottom of their bookshelf.

Much as I pretend to pout and mope when Eric says "No indoor raccoons!", I absolutely agree with him. (Just don't tell him I said so!!!)

All right, that's it. I'm not putting any more food outside for anything.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

All right, that's it. I'm not putting any more food outside for anything.

Putting it outside is fine. Maybe you should just put it a little farther from the door.

Sue

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~Sue~

How is a raccoon's sense of smell? I'm thinking of leaving food in the back yard for the raccoons, and relocating the cat food from the dining room table to somewhere farther from the D-door. If the raccoons decided to come in, would they be able to find the relocated food? Or would they just rummage around until they found something?!

Maybe I should leave just a tiny bowl of food on the table to fool them into thinking that the real treasure is outside.

They eat cat food out of the bowls I put out for the strays on my front porch, but they still come around back and come inside. Clever little b*stards. ;-)

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~Sue~

My understanding is if there is food openly available they will find it.
The problem is that your cats will have become used to getting their food in its current location and so will take just as long to re-train as it will take for the raccoons to find it (and then the fun will begin...)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

raccoon's are notoriously good at opening things, crawling into things to get to food. Garbage cans are a favorite source, and they do not pick up well after themselves. Dog/cat doors they have no difficulty with, and they do dig.. often a bit at a time. Drywall is not difficult for them to dig through.
So besides the potentials for disease, there are many reasons to not want them inside.

They sure are cute outside though.

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Janice

I'm thinking of leaving food in the back yard for the raccoons, and relocating the cat food from the dining room table to somewhere farther from the D-door. If the raccoons decided to come in, would they be able to find the relocated food? Or would they just rummage around until they found something?!

Yes, they would find the relocated food.

Yes, they would just rummage around until they found something. Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't done that already!!! Raccoons are generally quite thorough in all that they undertake.

raccoon's are notoriously good at opening things, crawling into things to get to food. Garbage cans are a favorite source, and they do not pick up well after themselves. Dog/cat doors they have no difficulty with, and they do dig.. often a bit at a time. Drywall is not difficult for them to dig through.
So besides the potentials for disease, there are many reasons to not want them inside.

They sure are cute outside though.

They might have a bit of trouble trying to dig through stucco, it's usually pretty hard stuff.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Thorough and busy ....

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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues