BS: Raccoon Home Invasion

Subject: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 09:26 PM

It's the real thing! About 2 AM the other night my wife and I awoke to the sound of loud crunching in the adjacent kitchen. Now we do have two cats and they often snack at night but this sounded more like a hyena was at work. I decided to investigate, arming myself with my wife's purse, a deadly weapon if you know what it's loaded with, and stepped into the kitchen turning on the light. Sure enough, staring up at me was a half-grown raccoon with both front paws still grabbing up kabibbles. His mother was right behind him and made a dash for the cat door but her off-spring was in no hurry to leave. He didn't snarl but he kept busy stuffing his face. However, I was much bigger than him and by this time my wife had appeared armed with another deadly weapon, a wristrest for a keyboard. The raccoon decided to exercise discretion and follow his mother out the cat door.

Well, we made sure that our black cat was still shut in the bedroom and determined that the calico one was sleeping in the office loft. So much for their maintaining the security of our house. Of course, we were just as happy that they hadn't gotten involved. Raccoons are the equivalent of a small tank compared with our two sophisticated felines. This may not have been the raccoons' first home invasion. We had noted that our "cats" were cleaning out their food dishes on a more regular basis and that their water dishes were muddier than usual.

What to do? Well, there really wasn't much we could do because we were to be off to a music festival in Canada in the morning. So we briefed our catsitter that she might encounter some uninvited guests in the evening. She agreed to lock the cat door in the early evening if both cats were inside. So off we went.

When we returned we found out there had been a 2nd visit. Our catsitter had been distracted by a TV movie and didn't get down to our apartment before 10 pm, and then discovered it was fully occupied by 3 raccoons, apparently an additional young one. They were having a ball resorting our CD's in the office. Fortunately both computers were off or they might have logged in to Mudcat and posted their own amusing story. Two of the racoons exited quite fast but the 3rd one decided to hide in the corner where all the wires are patched into the surge protector. Our catsitter's husband had been by this time recruited as back-up. I might mention that he'd just got back from his 2nd tour as a communications consultant in Iraq. However, his wife explained that he was quite gentle in his confrontation with the remianing raccoon, only using a water pistol rather than his usual defensive arsenal. Eventually he was able to persuade the little bandito to leave.

We're still not sure what to do. We're leaving again in a few days for a two week tour of the Pacific Northwest and our cats hate to be cooped up. I do have a large Have-a-Heart trap that I could load with grapes, a favorite food of raccoons which cats are not interested in. But that would only catch one of them at best. We'd hate to break up the family. The others would probably get spooked. We're not interested in harming the bandito family, which rules our quite a range of alternatives. We'll probably let our catsitter deal with it as best she can, shutting more doors to protect the office and the bedroom.

Any other great suggestions?

We used to have a young raccoon as a pet on the farm I grew up on so I'm very familiar with how smart the little bastards are. These do not seem rabid but that's also a concern and they could certainly injure our cats if they felt cornered.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Peace
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 01:42 AM

They are edible.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Flash Company
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 10:50 AM

Charley... Lady in the UK, forget exactly where, had the same problem with a Badger. They are pretty large and very destructive.
A relative of ours has trouble with them digging up her lawn, but getting into the bedroom as this one did is a bit too much!

FC

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 10:55 AM

You already have a trap big enough for the whole family. And it's already been proven to work rather well.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 11:30 AM

Cats make a nice snack for Raccoons. We lost our cat Boris to a Raccoon in Boston. Time to lose your pet door.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 12:03 PM

we have had raccoons in our yard - eating the goldfish from our little pond until I covered it up with chicken wire. I also suspect they may have been coming in through our cat door, as Reavy's dish is always empty in the morning and hes still looks hungry.

Reavy can get in and out through the upstairs windows, by jumping on the neighbours roof, but since we had another cat coming in and crapping in our babys crib and fighting with our cat we thought we'd put in one of those cat doors that comes with a sensor and only opens if the cat going through it has the right code on its collar. ANyway I suppose thats how it works as I havent purchased one yet.

One of my friends who had one said it took some time getting her cat used to it as the door would click as the cat was going through and no way did she want to go through when she heard the click.
Petr.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Rumncoke
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 12:25 PM

stretch copper wire from stripped electic power cord across a board and electrify it, to the voltage of your choice.

Placed just inside the cat flap whilst your cats are confined for an evening, it should deter any future visits.

It worked with a dirty tom cat that was coming in and fouling/spraying in our house. One experience was enough for him.

Our electicity supply is 220 volts, but we did not give him the full amount.

More details of the construction of the deterent can be supplied if interested.

Anne

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 12:34 PM

They were back last evening at 10 pm. However, this time I was checking the porch at the time and found Mother and one of the cubs were finishing up the water bowl, the other cub was actually on his way through the cat door. I confronted the one entering and shooed him back out, and the rest of the family decided to vacate the porch as well. Our calico cat was watching all this with interest from the porch railing. Our other cat was watching from the driveway.

Now I've eaten raccoon before, having grown up on a farm I've probably eaten most everything we could shoot, hook, or catch with our bare hands. Raccoons are quite gamey and greasey. One summer we trapped over a dozen of them and Mother was actually making raccoon liver pate and serving it to summer guests. I'm really not interested in killing and eating raccoons. I'd rather outsmart them.

A collar sensor might be just the thing. Any clue where one could order one?

Maybe I'll check out the banner ad below about "Raccoon Control."

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 01:34 PM

Yes it is possible to get a 'cat flap' that will only open for a cat with the correct collar and sender attached thereto. Will look for a supplier.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 02:06 PM

Charley, in your quest to be noble with regard to the animals health, why not install an invisible fence (Fido type) and provide each Raccoon with its' own collar.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 02:28 PM

Raccoons can climb but they can't jump all that well. Lock the cat door and tinker something together that provides a platform the cats can jump to so they can enter through a window. The raccoons will eventually learn how to rappelle down from the roof, but until that time you should be good to go.

A neighbor of mine who is well past the rappelle stage of raccoon training now has a cat entry that require the cats to jump up into a covered tunnel through which they then must crawl to get to the house. Apparently this combination has excluded all but the most intrepid raccoons for a period of several months.

Whether the cats can still get in, I really couldn't say, but my neighbors do seem to spend an awful lot of time walking to the door to facilitate feline entry and exit procedures...or, in the immortal words of Garrison Keiller:

"To all the cats I've known before
Who wanted to come in my door
And then they'd turn around
Ans wanted to go out
So they could come back in once more."

Cheers!
Claire

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: bbc
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 02:58 PM

Here you go, Charley, but they are not cheap!

Electronic pet doors

best,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: JudyB
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 03:13 PM

Well, these infrared cat doors or these magnetic ones sound interesting.

I would want to look at the collars to make sure they're unlikely to catch on things, and ideally can be pulled off if the cat gets caught on something (they wear breakaway collars now, and rarely remove them).

Something to look into when we have a free minute - and I bet there are bigger pet stores in Seattle than we have around here!

The little bandit guys are cute - but there were two the first time we saw them, and there are three now, and who knows where it will all end! And if they ever did have a disagreement with our cats, it would not be a good thing.

If anyone has any experience using one of the doors with the magnetic or infrared keys, I'd love to hear your opinion.

Thanks,
JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 05:32 PM

Claire-

What you say about raccoons ability to climb but not jump rings true. I'd enjoy outsmarting them with some kind of platform and tunnel system. I'm sure our catsd would catch on fast but it would also be an excuse for them to howl at the regular porch door.

Too bad there were not a "guest" or two around so there would be someone to catch the raccoons and attach special collars to them.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 05:53 PM

Get a dog, preferably one accustomed to cats? Maybe while you're away you could borrow one from a friend (who might tend your cats when they feed their dog - who's tethered near the kitty door).

As noted, compared to the average cat a racoon is a tank. Compared to a racoon, the badgers in my area are a tank batallion. (Or at least an explosive demolition squadron.) Neither will usually be much of a threat to a even modestly sized dog that can't get them cornered.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: open mike
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 06:19 PM

how about a recording of a dog barking which goes off when the
masked bandits approach?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 07:17 PM

"Is it real, or is it Memorex," eh?

I've seldom seen wildish critters much affected by sounds intended to scare them although some people have good success attracting them with "prey noises." It might be worth trying - but you'd need to be there to see if it worked. And they'll probably figure out that it doesn't hurt them by the second night.

I'd be inclined to expect better results from borrowing a big dog to pee on a post near the cat door; but you'd need to refresh frequently. The two, scent + noise, might work together. Some pretty exotic "odorants" are available at sporting goods stores that people use in the attempt to repel deer etc. It should be noted that some of them repel people pretty well, with lesser effect on deer.

"Civilized 'coons" are pretty much immune to lots of things one would think would discourage them. I've seen one scamper across the hood (bonnet?) of an automobile - occupied and with engine running - to jump into the dumpster beside it.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 05 - 11:23 AM

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

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 05 - 01:27 PM

The new deck is up. There's no way the bandito gang can make their way in. The cats will have no problem jumping up.

But we'll see what happens in the next two nights before we leave for our trip.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 07:39 AM

No sign of the little rascals. I guess it's safe to leave for our two week vacation.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: ChocolateLover
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 07:56 AM

We used a magnetic cat flap for a while with our (female) cat as we had problems with toms coming in (she had been "done" but not well enough!). The problem we had with the cat flap was that if she was close to the catflap (within about four feet)and the collar key was in line of sight, it would activate the flap, letting other cats in. This included when she was sleeping on the boiler, walking out to see what the noise outside was, etc. The key can be moved between collars, so you can select one which matches your needs from your pet store (reflective, snaps when snagged, etc).

Hope the raccoons don't figure out how to abseil whilst you're away :o)

ChocolateLover

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 10:00 AM

Maybe you should consider keeping your cats indoors?   Cats are domesticated animals and their life expectancy will increase if they remain indoors.

Be glad a skunk did not try to enter your catdoor. Raccoons and skunks can be very aggressive when cornered and the threat of spreading rabies is great.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 10:07 AM

Charlie, if you're working on something like this it is the kiss of death to offer observations like

There's no way the bandito gang can make their way in

That just gives them something to work toward. Consider yourself warned!

Here on the creek where I live we have rabbits, racoons, oppossums, coyotes, foxes, and lots of other critters that come by less often. The cats stay in because the street has a steady trickle of traffic and the area's wild residents are frequently in view.

Have a good time in the Pacific Northwest. And while you're there, ask Bob Nelson (Deckman) to show you his cat enclosure. It is innovative and is another possible answer to the problem you've been having.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 10:53 AM

If you are fond of your cats, you should keep them inside your house. Cats which are allowed outside get fleas and tapeworms. They can get hit by cars and savaged by dogs. They damage the environment by killing birds, usually the young ones newly out of the nest. (A cat can may kill 6-7 birds a day.) When the parent birds die of old age, a whole bird lineage is wiped out.

So seal up your cat door and accomplish two things at once - being good to your cats and keeping out the raccoons.

About dogs - a gardening magazine I get ran a letter from a reader. She had leashed her dog in the vegetable garden to drive away a raccoon, and the raccoon killed the dog.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 12:51 PM

another reason to keep cats indoors is to help prevent the spread of feline leukemia. When cats come in contact with other strays the risk for contacting the disease rises.   For all of these reasons, keeping cats indoors is the humane way to raise a pet.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,maire-aine
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 05:46 PM

Please consider keeping the kitties inside. They may not like it, but they'll be better off. You didn't say how old they are, but living indoors will keep them healthier in the long run.

My two 16-yr-old females have lived indoors since kittenhood, and both are very well adjusted. Now that they're "elderly" kitties, they spend most of their time snoozing on the sun porch.

M

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 06:16 PM

In my experience, cats and raccoons will generally ignore each other -- my cats and the neighborhood fauna all ate on the porch together for years with no inter-species altercations whatsoever. With rabies now, though, all bets are off.

Raccoons were not averse to unloading the garbage in our kitchen when the humans had stepped out and left the doors open, but they would generally leave if you suggested they go out the way they came in. (The cats' function in these cases was generally observatory, if they happened to be awake at the time.)

You may find that once the kids have grown up and moved away, your problem ceases (at least until next year), since mama isn't scrambling to fill little mouths. Would suggest rather than attacking a captive with a water gun (and possibly freaking it out), try coaxing it toward the exit with a trail of crackers. They mostly just want chow. This will not solve your cat door problem, but keeps the peace in the short term. Then wash anything they've been eating out of with a 2% chlorox solution, just to be on the safe side.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 15 Aug 05 - 08:54 PM

I wouldnt necessarily depend on a dog either. My best friends german shepherd was disemboweled by a raccoon. They are tough critters, and have to work for a living.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Aug 05 - 05:08 PM

Just got back from our 2-week vacation and it seems like the raccoon bandito gang were frustrated by the catdoor deck surround. Not that they didn't try to get in. It's easy to see their muddy little paw prints on the bottom of the deck surround.

The cats appear fine and we do appreciate the general concern about how dangerous it is to let cats outside. It's a risk but they do love to patrol their "jungle;" our backyard adjoins a kind of nomansland of brush and pine trees.

Raccoons when cornered can do great damage to dogs and cats. Our cats seem to have learned not to challenge them.

I may still try to trap the raccoon family in the Have-a-Heart trap, baiting it with grapes. It's really not safe for raccoons to be living in an urban neighborhood. I'll probably run them down to my mother's farm some 30 miles away, across at least two rivers!

Thanks for the concern, the humor, and the good advice.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Scoville
Date: 30 Aug 05 - 11:32 PM

Don't feel badly--trap the bastards and get rid of them. They carry diseases and I can guarantee that nobody is putting Revolution on them to control parasites. You don't want to expose your cats to anything they might bring in, and you don't want to tangle with an angry mama raccoon yourself. We get them in our attic all the time and always call somebody to come get them out (they can be very destructive to your house, too).

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 31 Aug 05 - 12:01 AM

Hmm . . . had a racoon setting up housekeeping in my attic late last winter. Fortunately, not with family, and he was out the day a couple of friends came over and sealed up his access point. A pretty painless eviction, it was.

One of the friends had (at least half-)jokingly talked about going up into my attic with a gun. I said, "You're not going up there and shooting off a .22!"
"A .22!?", he said, "a cornered racoon in a small space? I ain't goin' up with nothing less than a Colt .45!"

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: LadyJean
Date: 31 Aug 05 - 12:49 AM

A friend of mine had a family of them come down her chimney into the third floor. She went hunting the funny noise in the attic broom in hand, and chased them out.
A vetrinarian friend of mine reccomended I use cayenne pepper to keep the neighbor's rose murdering cur out of my garden. I wonder if it would discourage racoons.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,Charlene
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 09:53 AM

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.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: BaldEagle2
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 11:41 AM

We had a visit from a Raccoon last Sunday.   He wanted to feast on the goldfish in our small front yard pond: and had partial success, for our frisky seven have been reduced to a forlorn fivesome.

He made a right mess of the water lily and the ruby rambler.   And the water remained muddy for nigh on twenty four hours.

When I first saw the mess, I was ready to de-construct the whole ensemble and call it a day, but the memory of Friday evening Manhattans with SWMBO by the pool triumphed, and thoughts turned to restoration and protection.

Brutus (our curious cross-breed) will now spend his nights on guard duty in the front yard.   He is indeed very curious about the fish, but has made no attempt to eat any of them. Firstborn's girlfriend thinks we have put Brutus out there to scare her off: and if that was our intent, the plan has failed miserably.

All my neighbors agree that his presence will act as a total block on any further investigations by our raccoon community.   The water lily is almost back to normal, and the ruby rambler is starting to look less ragged.

We should be in good shape for this Friday's beaker of Manhattans.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 02:57 PM

So... the coons come in through the front yard? Are you sure?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 03:05 PM

Second try. I know I posted this earlier this afternoon.

Charlie, did you get over to Bob Nelson's house to see the clever contraption he has built for his cat? It allows her to go in and out a cat door, but into a large wire encloser (even has a tree in there!) so she's out of doors but also out of harm's way as far as getting into traffic on the nearby street.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,Charley Noble
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 11:11 PM

SRS-

Never did get over to Deckman's house but I did get to meet the man himself at my house concert in Seattle. I'd love to swap some more songs with him.

We've frustrated the bandito gang so far by locking the cat door both ways after our two cats are in from their late evening patrol. There were reports from our catsitter that the smaller ones were crawling up mother's back and getting into our catdoor deck that way. I may try trapping them and transporting them to an alternative universe. I'm not really interested in harming them, except for their egos.

Charlene-

Green grapes are one of their favorites if you're looking for bait that cats are not interested in.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 11:54 PM

A pair of skunks have had a brood three years running under a friends porch. His cat gets along well with them. The friend in in a semi-rural area outside city limits, so the skunks have never been provoked into retaliation, at least near the house.
A son in the Vancouver area has occasional raccoon problems, but keeping the garbage bins tightly closed seems to have directed them elsewhere.

In our city, cats are not permitted to roam loose, so no cat doors. Some problems with eastern grey squirrels, which were deliberately brought in years ago by a moronic displaced Torontonian, and exist nowhere else in the prairie provinces. Raccoons haven't migrated into our province yet.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: dianavan
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 02:55 AM

We have a very bold mamma and 3 little ones in our neighborhood. She is so brazen, she walked up my front steps in broad daylight! She turned and sauntered away when I threw my shoe at her. I see them quite often in the morning. My cat doesn't like them but has learned to tolerate their presence.

They don't bother me as much as the squirrels. The squirrels are eating my cucumbers!

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 04:31 AM

"cats are not permitted to roam loose" - police state or what?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: dianavan
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 10:13 AM

I was wondering about that, too!

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 10:23 AM

Oh oh... wait for it.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 11:56 AM

The cats are OK on their owner's property, but are prohibited from wandering off it except under the owner's control. The city is Calgary.
"Bylaw officers enforce this bylaw with a fine of $25. If your cat is impounded you will also be charged a $25 impoundment fee, and another $5 for each day it is impounded. If you would like to report a bylaw infraction call (phone number)." This means a minimum of $55 if you reclaim within one day. Owners here either tattoo or use an identification implant on their cats.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,Charlene
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 01:30 PM

Charlie -- thanks for the grape advice. I've been having pretty good luck with jelly beans left over from Easter and those orange crackers in peanut butter in between. I caught a third one Wednesday night but they just keep on a-comin'. My grandson says they're like mosquitoes, just can't get all of them, so I might as well quit trying. He's got a point. Now I'm thankful that mosquitoes aren't the size of raccoons!

The thought of poisoning is lurking in the recesses of my mind. I hate to see it there, but each invasion brings it a little closer to the surface.

In the meantime, the cat may be adjusting to the new cat door on the deck that takes a leap to reach. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 09:28 PM

I'm curious- what is Calgary's rationale for banning roaming cats?

My guess is that cities without cats have a larger vermin population.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: bobad
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 09:51 PM

There are no rats in Alberta, which is the province in which Calgary resides, because of the Rockie Mountains barrier in the west and an anti-rat Maginot line in the east which was established to protect the grain industry in Alberta.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 09:53 PM

Ebbie-

But such cities might have a larger songbird population.

Our cat gang is quite skilled at thining out the birds in the neighborhood. One cat eats them; the other prefers to bring them into the house to play with.

I believe cats are hard-wired to go for birds.

I do believe our raccoons are bothering someone else in the neighborhood. We no longer see their paw prints on the kittydoor deck surround.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 11:11 PM

The reason? Cats invade other people's property, dig in the garden and leave their excreta.

Dogs, of course are subject to a host of bylaws as well. The owner must insure that his dog does "not bark, howl or disturb anyone," etc. On a pathway, the dog must keep to the right side.

They haven't figured out how to control wild birds yet.

Oh, yes, grass is restricted to six inches (15 cm). One cannot allow grass or plants to grow to the point where they are "unsightly."

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 16 Sep 05 - 01:29 PM

Although this makes a flower garden much harder to plant, it is the only way I have found to keep cats out... none of that cat repellant works for any reasonable amount of time. Lattice. They won't crap where they can't bury it.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,Franz S.
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 12:52 PM

We don't have a cat door. We had a large one many years ago but got rid of it when we found our teenage daughter was using it to sneak in after hours. Our one remaining cat stays pretty much indoors or on the upstairs balcony.

Haven't been bothered by the raccoons around, but several possums have tried to get in to sample our cats' dinners, like when we left the back door open while gardening.

My mother-in-law lives in SF, where houses adjoin each other without setbacks. A few years ago a mother raccoon managed to work her way between her house and the neighbor's and set up housekeeping a few inches from the head of M-I-L' s bed. Made quite a lot of racket during the night.   A number of things were tried without success, short of tearing out the wall. The thing that finally worked was getting a cheap transistor radio, setting it to a local hard rock station, and lowering it down from the roof into the nest area. By the time the battery had run down the raccoons had moved on, apparently for good.   Nonviolent and effective.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 04:50 PM

I'm amazed. No rats in Alberta Province? A fence all around?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: bobad
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 04:54 PM

The story is here Ebbie.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 09:45 PM

GNU -

Lattice...my grandmother used bedsprings.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 18 Sep 05 - 06:44 AM

Bedsprings... excellent idea! Much better than lattice. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: BaldEagle2
Date: 23 Sep 05 - 09:35 AM

Moving our curious cross-breed Brutus into the front yard to protect our fish from a marauding raccoon seems to have worked.

The five survivors from the first attack have regained their friskiness, and the water foliage is in full self-repair.

At about 1 a.m. this morning, there was a ferocious burst of activity outside our front door, as Brutus leapt into action against some unseen adversary.   Silence (and sleep for those of us indoors) returned in less than 30 seconds.

The frisky fivesome are still intact this morning.

And although I didn't actually see the what was trying to invade our front yard, I am pretty sure it was an attempted return visit by the raccoon.

I wonder how many times a raccoon needs to be chased off, for it to permanently remove a site from its visiting list.   That is, will Brutus now have to act as night guard for the rest of his natural? And when he finally goes to the Great Kennel In The Sky, will I have to get a new guard dog, or lose the fish?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Oct 05 - 09:03 PM

They're back! And they're much bigger! And they're really noisy!

This evening around 7 pm (it was dark here in Maine) we heard this very strange sound outside like an animal in distress and were immediately concerned about our kitty gang. Well, one was curled up on the bed but the other one was outside somewhere. So we collected the flashlights and ventured outside, carefully shutting the black cat in the bedroom.

Outside around the corner of the house were at least 3 large raccoons having a spat with each other, and then scuttled around the house as we approached, no cat in sight. Two of the raccoons climbed a nearby tree, ignoring us and continuing their spat with each other or maybe it was LOVE! Who knows?

We eventually called our cat in from the neighbor's yard and our whole gang is now locked in for the night.

Is this the time of years that raccoons settle accounts? Or is it mating season? Or were they just being raccoons?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 12:29 AM

Charley,

I'm glad to see your racoons are back from a selfish standpoint--I found this a very entertaining thread. Keep us posted on your racoon-proofing efforts!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,Donuel
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 05:10 PM

We have a 80 lbs raccoon in our backyard late at night.
Should we trap it?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: gnu
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 06:36 PM

Yes. The news media will pay you $ to photograph it. And the trap comany will pay you more for the advertisement.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 10:22 PM

I'm not kidding. the damn think is easily 80 lbs. It is the most obscenely obese raccoon I have ever seen. My wife saw it last night and woke me up to tell of her encounter with the fatcoon.

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 10:24 PM

Maybe a small pig has gotten loose and not a racoon at all?

Subject: RE: BS: Raccoon Home Invasion
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 12:05 PM

we have a grapevine and a small fishbarrel, so they love
our yard.
my wife thought there was a prowler on our upstairs porch and when she yelled a several heads with glowing eyes looked down at her. They werent that easily scared off either.

a few weeks later she said there were two copulating on the upstairs porch with a third raccoon watching.