My friend, from whom I bought this house, used to sit on the patio and feed the raccoons. They didn’t quite get close enough for him to touch them (and I think he knew he shouldn’t touch them anyway), but were not aggressive. He made sure not to get between the adults and the kits. When I bought the house (just under 10 years ago), the free meals for raccoons stopped. I’ve heard enough about how they can damage houses, and how they can become aggressive if you don’t keep feeding them. I think they’re cute, and like seeing them waddle across the yard. I leave them alone and just enjoy seeing them, and they leave me and the house alone.
The SO also thinks they’re cute. She says they’re bigger than the ones she saw in Tennessee, and she thinks it’s funny the way they waddle. But she does not want them in the yard. Apparently she had trouble with raccoons before, and they were tearing shingles off of her roof.
Now here’s the problem: She likes feeding the squirrels and crows. She puts old bread on the patio for them. Usually, the squirrels and crows eat it up in short order. Yesterday afternoon though, they hadn’t. A young raccoon decided he’d get some. She yelled at him and he ambled off a short distance, but wouldn’t go away. She resorted to a pellet pistol pumped up to low velocity to discourage him. (She didn’t want to hurt him. Just ‘touch’ him a little.) He climbed up a tree – much to the consternation of the crows and blue jays, who scolded him at length. But he didn’t come back into the yard… for a while. Out came the pellet pistol again. It didn’t work as long this time.
She gave up. It was clear the raccoon was going to get his bread, and that the birds and squirrels were not going to challenge him. She said to the raccoon, ‘You go ahead. But y’all aren’t getting any more. This is the last time, so you’d better enjoy it!’ He didn’t eat all of the bread, and I saw a blue jay eating the scraps when I got up this morning. She saw the raccoon amble by, but I didn’t. She wondered if this is the same raccoon that came to the front door and looked through the screen just after the pizza guy came last week.
I had to laugh. I told her it would be hilarious if, with all of her protestations, she and the raccoon became close friends. She said, ‘Yeah, we’ll be sitting on the patio together drinking beer.’
Bad luck for the squirrels and crows. They get no more food as long as the raccoon is hanging about.
I have a huge raccoon that comes through my cat door and eats the cat food at night. My place is a bachelor apt. so he and I are only about 10 ft from each other. He seems to know and get along well with my cat and ignores me. He has gotten so big over the years I imagine he could be hard to handle if he got mad so Ijust leave him be. He looks more like a small bear when he walks.
For several years he lived on my roof underneath some overgrown jasmine, I ripped out the jasmine recently and did not see him for a couple of weeks but now he is back. He seems to poop in the same place all the time and so far has not damaged anything.
I like raccoons
I look forward to the new batch of kits coming by every year. They hang out in the old kitty jungle gym on the patio and leave little paw prints on the sliding glass door.
Me too. I wish she didn’t chase them off, as I’ve had no trouble with them. I’m under no illusions that they’re not wild animals, but they’re fun to look at. But as I said, she’s had them tearing up her roofing; so she doesn’t want them too close.
The raccoon (the SO thinks it’s a female) came up to the screen about an hour ago. SO’s at work, so she didn’t see it. I made a kissy noise, and it trundled off. The cat, who was lounging in the sun by the open doors, didn’t get up until it was headed away.
I love the squirrels and crows too. (And, heck, even raccoons, though the ones in our neighborhood rarely make themselves known during the day.) I only feed the squirrels and crows when I see them and then, only as much as they can clean it up in a few minutes. Then, I usually give them a little more (and, probably, a little more.) This way, they know the supply is limited, and that I am the one who makes it makes it happen. And my landlady won’t give me heck for leaving bread and peanuts all over the place.
I like opening the front door and having a squirrel run up with that urgent Must. Have. Peanut. Now! look on his face Sometimes, I’ll invite one to follow me down the hall to where I keep them. It’s hilarious when one tries to bury his peanut in the carpet. He goes through the whole routine of finding Just The Right Place, digging a “hole” in the medium height hi-low, putting the peanut in and patting the imaginary dirt down with his little hands. Job well done, except the peanut is still in plain sight. A minor detail for him.
A few of the crows know me and will come when they see me. If I put a bunch of stuff out every day, I’d have every crow in several neighborhoods there. Once again, my landlady would not be too happy with me.
Where I lived before, I fed the same pair for seven years, until the male disappeared. He had a bum leg, so I always knew who was who. The female got herself a new hubby and I fed them for another year or two, until I moved. It’s nice getting to know crows as individuals rather than part of a big, noisy bunch.
So, feed the critters, but not too much at a time so you can better control who is coming to the feast. Rats and such would surely enjoy the leftovers, which is another reason I don’t put out a lot at a time. And enjoy the show when you do.
We have a mama and kits under our shed every spring. We don’t feed them except to put an egg out once in a while, just to watch her open it so carefully. Last time, I guess we were too early as she took it under the shed without opening it.
The crow family that calls our house home get bread and such in the front yard so they don’t have to squabble over it with the raccoons.
Walked into the kitchen in the middle of the night and flipped on the light. I woke up a raccoon asleep on the outside window sill. So I gave her a snack.
It will have to wait until next spring. they moved out about a week ago. Haven’t seen any of them since.
We live a couple blocks from Lake Washington. I think she moves the kits to the woods at lake side for the summer.
I love raccoons but I’d be wary about having them around my cats. They might be tolerant now but after a few missed meals the raccoon might see things differently and the average raccoon can absolutely demolish the average cat in a fight.
