Caught The Cat Food Burglars!

[Old Moparz]

Let me set this up. We have 2 cats that come in through a pet door to eat & sleep when it's cold. They were strays that someone dumped off by our house 10 years ago, but we couldn't find homes for them. We already have cats, so letting them inside the house isn't an option because they all fight & spray to mark territory. (Smells really good.) I removed a basement window, built what looks like a rabbit hut on the inside wall, & put the flap style pet doors in plywood where the glass was.

Anyway, the 2 cats have been extremely hungry the last few months because someone was stealing their food. The clues left behind were footprints, dirty water in the water bowls, & then loud thumping noises at times. Finally, my wife goes down to the basement to feed the cats & sees a huge raccoon feasting on the cat food. One cat was smacking the raccoon in the head while pressed up against the wall of the hut, but the coon ignored her & kept eating. A week later, I heard a noise & went to look. I saw the coon, & banged on the wire mesh to chase him out.

Later on he was back making noise. I brought a cup of water down, splashed him & he ran off. This worked for a couple of weeks, but he came back. This time I waited with a spray bottle full of water & a metal garbage can lid. When he squeezed in, I sprayed him dead on in his face & banged the lid on the wall to scare the crap out of him. It worked & he didn't come back for over a month. When he did come back, he brought along a friend. Now they were tag teaming the cats & eating themselves silly.

We couldn't have them coming inside anymore, so I called animal control. I sure don't need vet bills for fixing up a cat or 2 that tried to beat up a raccoon & lost. They gave me a number of a guy who catches them & relocates them to some nearby state land. He snagged a skunk on the first try & let him go in the woods, but 2 days later, it worked. We felt bad having to relocate them & had tried other methods, but oh well. Can't have them in the damn house anymore.

Burglar #1 & #2:



Here's a close up of #1. They're really beautiful animals, but too bad they started coming inside the house. It was nice to see them outside & we felt bad knowing they won't be back, but it isn't safe anymore when they come in. I've seen raccoons around here for about 15 years, but never in the house.

[TruckDriver]

Racoons would of been my first suggestion. I'm not suprized by that.

[Johnny SixPack]

I commend you for taking the non-lethal route, OM.

We've got some 'coons that roam the neighborhood everyonce and awhile, but there are dogs in most yards now, so we don't see them as much.

It was a different story though during the power outage we had after Rita.

With the neighborhood pitch-black at night, and 3/4 of the animals/families gone, we had all manner of wildlife cruisin' the streets.

Funny how it only took about a 24 - 48 hours for the lil' critters to start filtering back in.

During that time I found one of the 'coons mid cat food meal.

He just sat and stared at me as I tried to shoo 'im off.

Kept rinsing the dry catfood in the cat's water dish and ignoring me.

Even gave me the talk to the hand routine!

[89MOPAR]

Too bad racoons can't be domesticated !!

Good thing the raccon was mellow when getting swatted by kitty 
Racoon could kill kitty if it wanted.

[Silver R/T]

ya glad you dont shoot em. story sounds bit funny though lol

[nh_mopar_fan]

There's a lot of good meat there....

[purple70rt]

We have few 'Coons' in our neighborhood also.

[Lowprofile]

Giant Rats, thats all they are! Good for you [and them] that you got them alive. Up at our farm, some of them haven't been so lucky.

[4402tuff4u]

I commend you for taking the non-lethal route, OM.

We've got some 'coons that roam the neighborhood everyonce and awhile, but there are dogs in most yards now, so we don't see them as much.

It was a different story though during the power outage we had after Rita.

With the neighborhood pitch-black at night, and 3/4 of the animals/families gone, we had all manner of wildlife cruisin' the streets.

Funny how it only took about a 24 - 48 hours for the lil' critters to start filtering back in.

During that time I found one of the 'coons mid cat food meal.

He just sat and stared at me as I tried to shoo 'im off.

Kept rinsing the dry catfood in the cat's water dish and ignoring me.

Even gave me the talk to the hand routine!

I believe the reason racoons always appear to wash their food and feet is because they dont produce saliva, so they need a source of water to ingest their food. You will notice if you leave a dish or bowl of water outside, sometimes you see foot prints nearby and the water is dirty. The sad part is that if the racoon has rabies and your dog drinks the water, your dog has a good chance of ingesting the rabie virus.

[Charger_Fan]

I'm glad you were able to relocate them, that's good.


I have a friend that grew up on a farm in Indiana. I guess they had the little buggers causing havoc all the time around there. He said they used to chew on everything...including power cords in the barn...ZAP!

He considers them food too.

[MichaelRW]

Next time.......

Title: Stuffed Roast Raccoon
Categories:
      Yield: 1 Servings

      1 lb Sweet potatoes; mashed
    1/2 c  Raisins
      1 c  Bread crumbs
      2    Apples; peeled and chopped
    1/4 c  Butter; melted
           Salt and pepper to taste
      4 lb To 5 racoon

  First make the stuffing; mix together all
  ingredients (except raccoon, of course) gently
  until blended. Set aside. Wash raccoon meat
  thoroughly and dry with a cloth. Cut off some of
  the fat, leaving just enough for a thin layer.
  Salt the inside of the coon. Stuff gently with the
  sweet potato mixture and sew opening shut. Bake at
  325 °. for about 3-4 hours. When half done, turn
  over so all sides will be browned. Serve with a
  crisp vegetable salad.

[Lowprofile]

Busted!