…………..my folks have been feeding stray cats in their backyard for years,ocassionally birds would rush in,grab some pieces,then take off.And fast too; cats,you know?lol.
But out of nowhere a racoon(we think only the one) started eating the cat food too.And this is in the city also,not arural area.Just wondered if anyone knew things about them.And would they try to harm the cats?
Put some ransed hamburgers in the cat food and the racoons wont eat anymore, but the fallback is that your “folks” might have a backyard graveyard.
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Although cute, raccoons are very dirty, destructive, and will eat all the cat food. They should really stop putting the food out. Friends of ours have had to pay lots and lots of money to have raccoons trapped that were ruining their roof, chimney, attic. They are considered a nuisance animal and generally killed by the trappers. By feeding them you are encouraging them and will increase the population and increase future conflicts between the raccoons and people. I’m an animal lover but I have learned what a big problem raccoons have become. They are mean, dirty, smelly, and destructive, despite being cute.
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if the racoon has rabies or gets it, it could give it to all the cats by eating from the same bowl . . . racoons are cute, but I think it would be best to call the city on this one . . . some cities do a trap and release, I’d check into that . . . good luck!
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http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_closer_look_at_wildlife/raccoons.html
http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74116.html
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Raccoons are very aggressive and destructive animals. They are vicious fighters and if they are provoked or annoyed, such as when a cat decides to come and have dinner, they will attack viciously and would easily kill a cat. I’ve seen raccoons fight medium sized dogs and win, so a cat would stand almost no chance at all.
Your parents should take the cat food in at night to try to discourage the raccoons from returning. You should also contact animal control and ask for their help. They might refer you to wildlife control.
You could also get yourself a havahart (humane) trap which will trap the raccoon in a cage until wildlife control can come and take it away.
There are some pest control companies which will catch the animal humanely and release them somewhere else.
Good luck!
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