This is like a raccoon home invasion support group - I'm so glad to have found it.

My cat can't stay in. I tried that and in revenge she sits just out of arm's length on the couch, stares defiantly at me and poops. So the raccoons have just kept coming and coming. I have two new cat doors in new locations (one magnetic; one very small) and a huge $45 Have-a-Heart trap. The cat is a little skittish (her parents were both killed by fishercats when she was a teenager) and hasn't learned to use them yet. I've taken to boarding up the catdoor if I'm sure she's safely inside at night, but that isn't always an option. The trap has been doing it's job. I set it up in the woodshed. So far I've caught two big and one little one and driven them to woodsy spots far away. But they just keep coming! How many are out there, anyway? Is it because my neighbor with a dog that barked all night moved away? Or are they just having a population boom?

It was really good to hear about their poor jumping abilities. I'm going to work on that angle next. My neighbors are getting tired of helping me carry them out of the shed.