No visitors last night.

I think we'll try a carpentry quick fix. The catdoor outside entrance is now located about 2 feet above the porch decking. There's a bench there now to facilitate entry and exit which we plan to remove. Then I plan to contruct a plywood mini-deck adjacent to the catdoor with a solid railing to raise its level another 4 inches and a couple of triangular side supports on its topside to firm it up. The cats should be able to jump up there easily enough. It should be out of reach of the coons, unless they climb on each other's backs...

Maybe we need a mini-cam to record the results!

We could borrow my brother's dog, who's visiting from NYC, but then he just jumped through a glass window in the cottage when he was left alone and maybe he'd end up being more of a nuisance than the coons if left in the house...Coons, as was pointed out, can defend themselves quite well if cornered.

When we get back in 2 weeks from our visit to the Pacific Northwest we'll probably try to trap the bandito gang and transport them to Australia, or some other place where they're not likely to find their way back to our small town in Maine.

We could just put up a sign which says "RACCOONS NOT WELCOME".

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Charley Noble