I was sitting here doing what I do, when something outside caught my eye. It’s a mama racoon and three babies climbing out from beneath our little shed in the back yard.
Sorry, no pictures. My camera is in a warehouse somewhere while our basement is repaired.
I’m not sure if I should be thrilled or horrified. They scratch a lot, so does that mean the shed is crawling with fleas now? Our cats are all indoor pets so, no problem there.
They do provide entertainment for kitties and people alike in the household. The 'fraidy cat, not so much. she’s been spending a lot of time under the covers.
Raccoons are awful. They have those little hands and they do a lot of damage. They will learn to open your garbage cans and spread garbage everywhere, they make holes in anything that can possibly have a hole made in, and just all around trouble. You need to borrow a very big dog (who’s had rabies shots) and scare the daylights out of mama or trap it and relocate or kill it.
You will regret having a raccoon as they are cute but so troublesome.
My parents had one that would come in through the cat door and raid at night (I warned them not to put in a cat door for that very reason but did they listen to dumb ol’ me?) Several times they woke up to find it on the kitchen table eating the groceries. They were going to call it Ricky but I told them that since it raided and had a mask it should be called Dillinger.
I think it’s been a while since they’ve seen it, however.
My sister had a family of raccoons residing under her roof in what would have been the attic if she had an attic. Wildlife people told her the raccoons would move out by themselves once the babies were old enough. We were over for a BBQ the night they all paraded out single file across the eaves and left home for good.
Get rid of them fast. The next step could be the roof of your house. They can tear right through the shingles or about anything they want. They don’t scare away easily either. A trap and release miles away in the woods is the best solution.