Another THING in the backyard

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dgk - 01 Jul 2005 20:46 GMT

Perhaps a few folks will recall that I had an oPossum in my backyard a
few months back. The backyard is fenced in so that my cats can't get
out, but it isn't angled to stop critters from getting in. I do live
in New York City so there aren't too many critters around.

Anyway, today while I'm getting ready for work I glance in the
backyard and see what appears to be a large brown cat, no, it's
clearly a raccoon. Now I wasn't to thrilled about dealing with the
oPossum, but those aren't nasty and don't carry rabies.

So, figuring that the thing couldn't get out of my yard without
assistance, I opened up a hole in the fence (which is kept loose in
that spot for such emergencies). Still, the hole is in the upper half
of the fence and I don't know if the raccoon will find it so I call
311 (city services). But no, animal control won't some, they send the
cops. I mean really.

We head into the backyard. No raccoon. Hopefully he/she/it did get
away and is now destroying one of my neighbors yards. Just leave my
tomatoes alone. While it is a small yard, it has been raining a lot
and stuff is growing all over the place. So it could still be there
somewhere and we just missed it.

I'll do a VERY careful check before sealing up the fence and letting
the boys out later today. It turns out that cats coexist very nicely
with oPossums but I suspect that is not the case with raccoons.

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biggerbadderbarry - 01 Jul 2005 20:52 GMT

> Perhaps a few folks will recall that<...>cats coexist very nicely
> with oPossums but I suspect that is not the case with raccoons.

What about a ground hog, I have a big one that I can't get rid of.

A freind of mine has a trap he will let me borrow, I can trap him and
take him down the road a ways.

I figure he has also been eating the cat food I've been providing for
neighborhood strays.

A ground hog is extremely shy, but they look very nasty. They root
around up under rotted outbuildings etc.

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PawsForThought - 01 Jul 2005 20:53 GMT

> I'll do a VERY careful check before sealing up the fence and letting
> the boys out later today. It turns out that cats coexist very nicely
> with oPossums but I suspect that is not the case with raccoons.

Yeah be careful. Racoons do not back down and can be mean. We've got
them here too. One day one of my cats was at the window, intently
watching something outside, tail swishing like mad. Then I could hear
Mickey smacking the window with his paw. I went over and there right
outside the window, standing in my flower box, was a big racoon.
Mickey and the racoon were trying to sniff each other through the
glass. Wish I'd had my camera. Anyway, just be careful not to leave
your garbage cans where the racoons can get to them, or leave any food
around, otherwise you'll never get rid of them.

Lauren

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Diane - 02 Jul 2005 00:29 GMT

> Racoons do not back down and can be mean.

Most importantly, as carnivores they can carry rabies.

Opossums have a nasty bite when cornered, but they are a bit on the slow
side most of the time.

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Jmagerl - 01 Jul 2005 21:07 GMT

THe cat from next door knows that if it sits outside my door I will
eventially give it a kitty treat. I knew the raccoons were also catching
onto the trick too. Imagine my surprise when I turned the light on and there
was the cat sitting nicely in the middle of 5 raccoons. All were waiting for
their kitty treats. Wish I had a camera.

> Perhaps a few folks will recall that I had an oPossum in my backyard a
> few months back. The backyard is fenced in so that my cats can't get
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> the boys out later today. It turns out that cats coexist very nicely
> with oPossums but I suspect that is not the case with raccoons.

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biggerbadderbarry - 02 Jul 2005 13:53 GMT

> THe cat from next door knows that if it sits outside my door I will
> eventially give it a kitty treat. I knew the raccoons were also catching
> onto the trick too. Imagine my surprise when I turned the light on and there
> was the cat sitting nicely in the middle of 5 raccoons. All were waiting for
> their kitty treats. Wish I had a camera.

No doubt! You never know who may show up next waiting on a treat - lol

BEHOLD, THE POWER OF TREATS!

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Magic Mood Jeep© - 01 Jul 2005 22:36 GMT

We have them in scads here. Last year when I was trying to trap ferals, I
caught 3 raccoons (or the same raccoon 3 times, they all looked the same &
were the same size) and a opossum. The raccoons all just waited patiently
while we opened the trap and then wandered out & scurried away. The
opossum, howeverm had to be removed fromt he trap - since I wasn't about to
stick my hand/arm in there, I picked the trap up with Mr. Oppossum inside,
held it with the opening on the bottom, about a foot above ground, and
banged on the other end (kinda like I had a giant bottle of stubborn
Catsup). Opossums are usually slow, but this one book off in quite a hurry!

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KellyH - 01 Jul 2005 23:31 GMT

> We have them in scads here. Last year when I was trying to trap ferals, I
> caught 3 raccoons (or the same raccoon 3 times, they all looked the same &
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Catsup). Opossums are usually slow, but this one book off in quite a
> hurry!

When I was trying to get my cat back, I had traps set out and caught a
raccoon once and numerous possums. The raccoon hissed at me! It was the
middle of the night and I went out to check the traps. I had the traps
covered so I couldn't see what was in it right away. I lifted the cover and
saw the raccoon, scared the sh*t out of me! I found a large stick and
opened the trap from a distance.
The possums didn't scare me. You're right, they just sit there and don't
come out of the trap. I would have to tilt the trap or bang on it with a
stick to get them out. But, they would make a horrendous mess in there,
eeeew!

Back to the raccoon in the yard. Was it daytime when you saw it? I don't
know a lot about raccoons, but I've never seen one during the day. Does
that mean it's sick or something? It might be hard to keep it out of the
yard if it's really determined. Raccoons have destroyed two Rubbermaid
outdoor trash barrels of mine.

-Kelly

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dgk - 02 Jul 2005 13:01 GMT

>When I was trying to get my cat back, I had traps set out and caught a
>raccoon once and numerous possums. The raccoon hissed at me! It was the
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>-Kelly

Before I found the oPossum I did find a huge pile of crap in the
middle of the lawn. I could not figure out where it came from.

As for the raccoon, it was morning and the sun was up, around 6 AM. I
wondered about the daylight part because I thought that it unusual to
see them at all. From reading about the oPossum I found out that they
often get blamed for the damage that raccoons do because you see them
and not the raccoons. Still, it had that face and rings of fur that
sure looked like a raccoon.

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Biskybabe - 01 Jul 2005 23:00 GMT

Our feral co-exists quite happily with the raccoon(s) that come into
our back yard. We were worried but she won't even get up when the
raccoon comes in for kibble.

Raccoons are smart, though. The one that comes into our yard knows he
gets whatever kibble he can until the humans notice and bring the bowl
in, then he heads off to find food elsewhere.

b

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