Nice to see Annie and Chris, got together. :-)

Want a picture.

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Nice to see Annie and Chris, got together. :-)

Beauty and the Beast!

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Nice to see Annie and Chris, got together. :-)

Beauty and the Beast!

+10 :)

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I had a close encounter (approx. three feet) from a skunk who sprayed (someone
else). That's powerful stuff, even from a distance. Most friends I knew
would suggest washing with tomato juice -- usually applied to one's unhappy dog.

When a skunk raises his tail and puffs out the fur on his tail...

RUN!!!!!!! :)

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

When a skunk raises his tail and puffs out the fur on his tail...

RUN!!!!!!! :)

No, no, no, no, no!!!!!!!!!

A skunk will first raise and puff out his tail. If you continue to bother him, he will run away. If he has no place to run because you have been stupid enough to corner him, then he will do a little angry dance that involves stepping and stomping in front of you. If you are another skunk, he will scream at you. If you still persist in bothering him, he will turn his little hiney-end towards you and continue his stepping and stomping dance. If, at this point, you continue to act towards the skunk in a manner he considers to be aggressive AND the skunk has absolutely no place to run or hide, THEN AND ONLY THEN will you need a sponge bath using hydrogen-peroxide.

Anybody who gets sprayed by a skunk has done something stupid. Skunks do not instinctively "want" to spray you. That would disarm them. They mostly want to warn you to keep away from them.

Smart people sometimes do stupid things around skunks. We have a friend who has a PH.D. in physics. She is a smart lady. A little skunk wandered into her kitchen through a pet door. What she SHOULD have done was shut the skunk in the kitchen and wait for it to find its way back outside through the pet door. What she did instead was try to shoo the skunk out the pet door by banging on a pot with a large metal spoon.

She got sprayed.

Her kitchen got sprayed.

The skunk spray took the paint off of her dishwasher. It is powerful stuff.

I do not blame the skunk for spraying. I blame our friend for doing something stupid around a skunk.

To know me is to love me...

When a skunk raises his tail and puffs out the fur on his tail...

RUN!!!!!!! :)

No, no, no, no, no!!!!!!!!!

A skunk will first raise and puff out his tail. If you continue to bother him, he will run away. If he has no place to run because you have been stupid enough to corner him, then he will do a little angry dance that involves stepping and stomping in front of you. If you are another skunk, he will scream at you. If you still persist in bothering him, he will turn his little hiney-end towards you and continue his stepping and stomping dance. If, at this point, you continue to act towards the skunk in a manner he considers to be aggressive AND the skunk has absolutely no place to run or hide, THEN AND ONLY THEN will you need a sponge bath using hydrogen-peroxide.

Anybody who gets sprayed by a skunk has done something stupid. Skunks do not instinctively "want" to spray you. That would disarm them. They mostly want to warn you to keep away from them.

Smart people sometimes do stupid things around skunks. We have a friend who has a PH.D. in physics. She is a smart lady. A little skunk wandered into her kitchen through a pet door. What she SHOULD have done was shut the skunk in the kitchen and wait for it to find its way back outside through the pet door. What she did instead was try to shoo the skunk out the pet door by banging on a pot with a large metal spoon.

She got sprayed.

Her kitchen got sprayed.

The skunk spray took the paint off of her dishwasher. It is powerful stuff.

I do not blame the skunk for spraying. I blame our friend for doing something stupid around a skunk.

So if it starts doing a screaming waltz run for it? :)

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

@Angela
I just don't like it when a skunk has a "firing solution" pointed my way is all. Just glad it wasn't used that's all.

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To know me is to love me...

Awwww <3

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

So if it starts doing a screaming waltz run for it? :)

One of the many things I learned working in the citrus groves applies to most animals in the wild: make no sudden moves. A frightened animal will react defenseively, and an agressive animal will chase or attack you.

No skunks in the area I live, but over in Lemoore, my FRA branch is close to farmland and woodlots. We often see (and smell) skunks on the roadside after an unfortunate encounter with a motor vehicle....

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

I like skunks, especially Purvis. I don't like people that don't like skunks.

I'm entitled and free to like or dislike any animal that I choose... I'm afraid of skunks; so, in essence, I don't like them. I respect their territory, and will not go out of my way to irritate one, (again because of the respect thing, plus, I don't want to get sprayed), but I won't ever be in the same space as a skunk. If I see a skunk, I'm leaving the area. ...And, I did just that when I saw a skunk at Angela and Eric's. I quickly got up and went inside the house.

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

....fair enough young sir......

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I like skunks, especially Purvis. I don't like people that don't like skunks.

I'm entitled and free to like or dislike any animal that I choose... I'm afraid of skunks; so, in essence, I don't like them. I respect their territory, and will not go out of my way to irritate one, (again because of the respect thing, plus, I don't want to get sprayed), but I won't ever be in the same space as a skunk. If I see a skunk, I'm leaving the area. ...And, I did just that when I saw a skunk at Angela and Eric's. I quickly got up and went inside the house.

Ditto here TL, Ditto.

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

Like Angela said....if it's black and white and it don't meow......
Be very very quiet.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

...And, I did just that when I saw a skunk at Angela and Eric's. I quickly got up and went inside the house.

Having had the privilege of feeding the Raccoons one night, I would absolutely LOVE to meet Purvis, I bet he is a real sweetie ....

Some people do make pets out of skunks but they get them disarmed first. I would be very careful around a wild one because it's possible for them to have rabies.

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I took this picture yesterday (Saturday) morning outside my house.
I've never seen a skunk this close. He knew I was there. I got as
close as I could until he stopped, looked up at me and put his tail
at attention. Then I backed up two steps and he went about his way.
Did that one more time. I wanted to get as close as possible. I know
the signs of imminent spraying, so I watched closely.

He crossed the street and headed in the direction of the cat trap, but
he didn't notice it or the food inside. The animal control people told
me to call them if I caught a skunk. I don't know if they'd have set
it loose or killed it. We have a lot of rabies cases in this area, and
the skunks are one of the biggest offenders. My neighbor killed a rabid
skunk in his back yard about a year ago.

So far I've only trapped one cat. I'm very disappointed. Something got
into the trap last night and ate some of the food. The trap was sprung
but nothing was inside. I think we put the trap in the wrong place. I
think we should have put it closer to the trail the feral cats follow
between my house and the other place they hang out, which goes across
the street, throug a back yard, and over a fence.

I have been able to scoop up two of the more friendly feral cats and
they're awaiting their neutering.

I tried to scoop up a third but he got away and won't come near me or
my neighbor (who was trying to help) anymore. Then I tried to entice
him into a cage with food. He wouldn't fall for that.

I also want to catch the kitten factory - a female who has had at least
three litters. I slid a bowl of smelly canned food under her nose and
she wasn't even interested. How do you catch a cat that won't eat the
canned food bait?

Teeny, who is semi-pet, semi-feral, and who desperately needs to be
neutered (because he is evil) has not been home for several days except
for a few minutes a couple of nights ago. I'd planned to lure him into a
cage with canned cat food so that I could take him to the TNR event.
I tried to put him into a carrier once and he ripped me a new nose* hole.
(*keeping my post rated G) But I know I could get him into a room alone,
and then into a cage with the food. If he doesn't show up tonight, that
won't happen. Teeny has killed at least two other cats that I know of.
He is extremely agressive.

I love all animals, including skunks.

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~Sue~

I also want to catch the kitten factory - a female who has had at least
three litters. I slid a bowl of smelly canned food under her nose and
she wasn't even interested. How do you catch a cat that won't eat the
canned food bait?

Unfortunately you have started to late. I had a neighbor who was into capturing feral cats and she would keep food out and after the cats became comfortable with the food, she would put out the trap and move the food inside. Because they clip the ear of a treated cat, you could tell right away if the cat had already been neutered or if this one needs a doctors visit. Because she was feeding the cats all the time, she could bait them with dry food but you might try human tuna. The odds are they have had somebodies garbage and may be more used to it than cat food. Fresh fish also might work if you have a place where the cat would catch fish near you. Even though they don't like water, they will fish when possible.

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Catching ferals is an iffy business at best.
Cats are cunning, and if they even THINK you are trying to catch them, game over.
When I was trying to trap one that frequented my back yard, I caught more squirrels than kitties.
It took two months, but she finally took the bait, literally.
She was pregnant, and I convinced the vet to let her have her babies before fixing her. 3 kittens later, she was fixed and I brought her back home and released her to her habitat. The 3 kittens were successfully adopted into forever homes.

I saw her on and off for another two years, and then no more.
I suspect she is in kitty heaven waiting for me like many others on the Rainbow Bridge.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

...We have a lot of rabies cases in this area, and
the skunks are one of the biggest offenders. ...

Yes, skunks are far more likely to be rabid than raccoons. I have read that it takes a while for skunks who are incubating rabies to show signs of it. This means a non-symptomatic but still rabid female can transmit it to her babies before they are born, so lots of skunks are actually born rabid, but without obvious symptoms. As a species, they manage to reproduce themselves before succumbing to the disease, which I guess is one way of "beating" the disease. Skunks are certainly not endangered, at least in our area.

If I see a skunk, I'm leaving the area. ...And, I did just that when I saw a skunk at Angela and Eric's. I quickly got up and went inside the house.

LOL!!! I'm surprised you only saw one skunk!!!