Pestering raccoon

[paulney]

A little prologue:

For three nights in a row, we thought our cat was having drunken orgies and debauchery in the kitchen: each morning we'd come out to find his whole bowl of food eaten, bowl of water overturned or full of very dirty water, mud prints all over the tile, etc. The cat's door is magnetic: it doesn't open up to any other cat except ours. It's been there for 2 years now, and we never had a problem: works great. So, a stray cat was ruled out.

My daughter sleeps on the second floor; she's only two, so she speaks in words, not phrases. So, one of these past days she wakes up and tells me (pointing to the window): "Wolf", "there!". I thought she had a very vivid imagination.

Then, on the fourth evening we come home late, we step in from the garage into the kitchen, and we see a huge mess again, and a bushy tale disappearing in the cat's door. And... we see our cat coming down the stairs from the second floor.

So I step outside, and I see a huge raccoon sitting 4-5 feet away from me, staring at me, not even afraid. Damn!

I didn't have a camera with me, so to scare him away I took a water hose and tried to give him a bath. The bastard ran away. Tonight he's back! And I got a couple of pics. He was trying to get through the cat's door again (I barricaded it), while my wife was in the same room watching TV.

Clearly, he's not afraid of the humans at all. And he's going to stick around. How can I dispose of him in the most convenient way? No shooting (I don't want to kill him). I'd rather trap and release him in the woods (or have someone do it, preferably for free or a small fee).

Thanks.

Cliffs:
- raccoon was getting through the cat's door
- huge mess in the kitchen
- Pics!pics
- he's made clear he's sticking around
- I want to get rid of him

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Any pest control company can live trap him... if he's not too smart to avoid the trap.

 

[Safeway]

Shoot a firey arrow at it after you soak it in gasoline.

 

[paulney]

I'll give a call to animal control tomorrow

 

[novasatori]

he looks kinda cute

wouldn't your cat/kid like a playmate - of course he'll need his shots.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Im in ur kitchenz, messin wiv ur stuffz.

 

[FleshLight]

Tell the raccoon that what he's doing is blasphemy and madness then kick him in the chest.

 

[toolboxolio]

Feed it a steak littered in rat poison.

wait.

profit.

 

[compuwiz1]

I think it wants to be your friend. Take him in...see how long your house lasts.

 

[Jeff7]

I'm in ur flowers! Messin' your kitchen!


I'm in ur kitchens! Framin' ur kat!

 

[compuwiz1]

This one time, we were camping. We had this large cooler outside our trailer, and a bag of dog food on top of it. We were trying to sleep and heard this crunching noise, so I grabbed this big bright flashlight, and went out to see what was making the noise. Little bastards (raccoons)..the two of them were sitting on top of the cooler, reaching into the dog food bag, eating it like popcorn. My light didn't stop them, they just kept eating, in defiance. I finally took the broom and hit the edge of the cooler, and they ran off. That only held em off for about 5 minutes, just long enough for me to go back inside and lay down, then they were at it again. I should have been smarter the first time. The second time, I took away the food and put it inside. They stayed gone.

If you can get down to what they're coming around for, and eliminate it, then they'll stop coming.

 

[kedlav]

I remember camping in Boy Scouts back in the day when one of the kids who liked sugar a bit too much forgot to brush his teeth and woke up to getting his face licked by a raccoon. Idiot tried to scare it off and ended up getting his face bit and chest scratched up.

Oh yea, advice. Call Animal Control. Otherwise, lace a steak with some rat poison and leave it outside.

 

[meltdown75]

On the farm we usually put a .22 slug right between the eyes.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
On the farm we usually put a .22 slug right between the eyes.

:brokenheart:

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
On the farm we usually put a .22 slug right between the eyes.

That's horrible.

 

[meltdown75]

Have a cry, folks.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: novasatori
he looks kinda cute
wouldn't your cat/kid like a playmate - of course he'll need his shots.

They look cute but raccoons do NOT make good pets. Nor do foxes. Nor most waterfowl.
There is supposedly a variety of domesticated geese but I have never seen them.

Anyway, I recommend lots of ammonia or rat poison.

 

[SearchMaster]

I'm not a big raccoon fan, but those pictures of him in the garden have a very high cuteness factor.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: paulney
...

So I step outside, and I see a huge raccoon sitting 4-5 feet away from me, staring at me, not even afraid. Damn!

...

Clearly, he's not afraid of the humans at all.

Theres a good chance it has rabies. Not being afraid of humans is one of the signs. Another is activity during the day. Have you seen it come out in daylight at all? I lived in the country long enough to know that you dont mess around when it comes to raccoons.

If it's messing around with your cats, live trap it and shoot it. Its not worth the risk of having your cats end up with rabies, and then yourself (or your kids).

 

[jlfirehawk]

The only way that works for me is shooting them, I dont have pets but we live in the country and there is this stray cat that keeps coming around and for some reason the racoons love my back deck and my garbage cans. I wake up to them having pulled garbage across the yard and these racoons are the size of dogs I havent been able to trap one of them in 4 years so I revert back to shooting them. I have kids too and those nasty creatures have all kinds of nasty bacteria they leave behind.

 

[edro]

Get a Live Cage Trap.

Then, transport him to some woods about 10 miles away.

 

[j00fek]

.22 will remedy this

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: j00fek
.22 will remedy this

Agreed.

 

[arcas]

Perhaps it's time to re-think the idea of having a simple entry door for your cat. You might get rid of this raccoon but it's only a matter of time before you have other animals in the house (other raccoons, skunks or possums come to mind). Perhaps you could install a locking door uses an RFID chip in the cat's collar to unlock.

I recall reading a hack by an EE whose cat kept bringing dead things into the house through the entry door. He built a locking door with a camera that analyzes the animal's outline. The door only unlocks if the outline is roughly cat-shaped (ie. it's not carrying anything). He showed a log of images that failed the test. Most were the cat carrying dead things but one was a raccoon outline.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: arcas
Perhaps it's time to re-think the idea of having a simple entry door for your cat. You might get rid of this raccoon but it's only a matter of time before you have other animals in the house (other raccoons, skunks or possums come to mind). Perhaps you could install a locking door uses an RFID chip in the cat's collar to unlock.

I recall reading a hack by an EE whose cat kept bringing dead things into the house through the entry door. He built a locking door with a camera that analyzes the animal's outline. The door only unlocks if the outline is roughly cat-shaped (ie. it's not carrying anything). He showed a log of images that failed the test. Most were the cat carrying dead things but one was a raccoon outline.

lol. <cat runs through door. Raccoon follows at high speed. SLAM!>