That raccoon story is VERY weird!! It certainly sounds safe. And cute
as 2 bugs in a rug. He was petting his buddy for letting him have the
food. :) But aren't raccoons nocturnal? Isn't one of the symptoms of
rabies a nocturnal animal coming out in the daytime?

Katz, whose cats have never been petted by a raccoon (or any other
animal, for that matter)

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Stories
by Mark Edwards <Mark-Edwards@comcast.net> Jun 2, 2005 at 05:21 PM


Just a few short stories:

Yesterday, I was lying down on the bed, doing a little reading.
Suddenly, I stretched out one arm, to get a kink out of my shoulder
muscle. I hit the bedside easy-chair with my hand.

As Dulce Mae was napping in that chair, it startled her, and she
jumped several feet in the air, then jumped down from the chair.

A few minutes later, she jumped up onto the bed, from the side
opposite the chair, using my stomach as a trampoline, and bounced back
into the chair, with a smugly satisfied look on her face.

==

I tried out a sugar-free angel food cake yesterday. It wasn't bad at
all. While I'm sitting on the couch eating it, Little Feet noses up
under my hand, to sniff at the small piece that has fallen onto the
saucer.

Well, this is unusual for Little Feet who, if he wants something from
our plates, will just look at us with that long-sufering "you don't
love me, or you'd offer me some of that food" look.

If he's that interested in my food, that he will stick his face up to
it, I figure he really wants it. So I offer him a small (marble-sized)
piece.

Well I mean to tell you, he loved it. First, he licked at it, then he
took little bites from it, then he just scarfed it down. Same with the
second little piece.

Not knowing how this might affect him (label says: excessive amounts
may have a laxative effect - hmmmm), I stop there. Oh, and I put it in
the fridge, since he was so agressive about getting a piece of the
cake.

A few moments ago, I gave him another small piece, and he still likes
it. Buster and Dulce Mae, on the other hand, couldn't care less.

==

I've mentioned that we have lots of raccoons around here. And I've
mentioned that Buster must be their protector. This morning I got some
more insight into the relationship.

I let Buster out, and he stretched out on the concrete out front.

A few minutes later, a young raccoon walks up, stands on his hind legs
to look in our window (making sure we aren't going to bother him while
he eats), the hunkers down over the pile of cat food.

Buster watches the raccoon, with half-closed eyes.

Finally, the raccoon finishes, and waddles over to Buster, where he
appears to be grooming Buster, chimpanzee-style. As I watch, the
raccon pets and/or scratches Buster's head!

Now, I have *never* seen this kind of behavior before, and Buster
really seems to be enjoying it. I'm a little concerned, because
raccoons can carry rabies, but this appears to be friendly.

Finally, the raccoon wanders off, with Buster none the worse for
wear... Weird!

Hugs and Purrs,
Mark

========================================
LOL you're the Cat Whisperer and Buster is aa Raccoon Whisperer.
Suz&Spicey

Amazing!

He sounds like a friendly guy.  Perhaps you could trap him and give him a
rabies shot.  MLB

Mark, I so much enjoyed reading this post but the raccoon and Buster
encounter was just incredible -- if you get a chance to tape this....(you
could win $100 and a T-shirt from Animal Planet's Amazing Animal Videos) ...
I would love to see this!  They must think Buster is one of them -- you
should make him an "honorary raccoon" award, T-shirt, or something -- oooo,
I know, get a photo of this and we could all use it as wallpaper!
lovely stories,
Christine

hehehe.. cute :)

Tygra likes sweets too.  cookies, cake, muffins, whatever it is, she'll
eat it if given the chance.  Possum on the other hand prefers salty
snacks like chips.

Something else to worry about here Mark is raccoon roundworm,
baylisascaris procyonis, this is DEADLY to humans!  Not sure if it can
be transmitted through the cat, but whatever you do, don't touch the
raccoon yourself if you can help it.

Kristy

Wow, that raccoon story is amazing!  You really need to get some
pictures of this!
--
Britta
"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

<snipped great stories>

Those were wonderful, Mark, thanks for the chuckles!  I would have loved to
have seen the raccoon grooming Buster - what a sight that must have been!

BTW, have you heard back anything yet about your interview?

Hugs,

CatNipped