Ferocious animals

[Guest]

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[MagicaPractica]

Something is outside our kitchen window at night. It is eating the dry cat food we leave for the strays.

It has been doing this for the past week.

I just checked - food was still there.

And I keep looking, no visitors yet.

But in a few minutes, the food will mysteriously disappear.

We haven't been able to catch the animal in the act.

We're thinking - raccoon, or perhaps possum?

I hope to catch it on film. We'll see.

My guess would be skunk or raccoon.

 

[Guest]

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[MagicaPractica]

I'm hoping for raccoon.

Skunks are actually very pretty, as long as you're upwind.

 

[Guest]

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[MagicaPractica]

Whatever it is, they have a huge appetite.

I'll look forward to hearing what it is.

 

[WRJames]

I have seen a bear walk down my driveway -- and evidence of shredded garbage can lids and scattered garbage on a regular basis. After that, raccoons and opossums seem pretty tame.

However, when I was growing up in a somewhat more civilized venue, our cat at the time spent weeks fighting with a possum -- we would hear them screaming every night, we would patch up the cat the next morning, and it would go out again to do battle. Finally after a month, the cat prevailed, probably because of a superior support team.

As for skunks -- we had a tool shed in the back, and my father had the idea to tear out the wood floor and replace it with a concrete one. As we were pulling up the boards, I was remarking how some animal had a lovely little nest underneath them that we were disturbing. As the next board came up, I said "Hey Dad, the animal is still here and it's a ..."

We were halfway up the backyard before the next word came out of my mouth.

 

[slyc_willie]

Around here, I get both racoons and opossums. Neither cause too much damage, but then, I live in an apartment.

If you get pics, Sarah, and all it shows is a hazy outline, I'd call the Weekly World News . . . .

Oh, wait. They're out of business now.

Hmm.

Call Geraldo, then.

 

[glynndah]

Sprinkle a light dusting of flour around where you place the food and look for footprints the next morning. Also, raccoons make a real mess in the cat's water dish. It always looks like mud when they've been eating.

 

[S-Des]

Sprinkle a light dusting of flour around where you place the food and look for footprints the next morning. Also, raccoons make a real mess in the cat's water dish. It always looks like mud when they've been eating.

They like to wash their food while holding it in their front paws. It's one of the funniest things you'll watch (next to the way they like to play fight with people when they're not completely wild). It could be any of the animals you mentioned, plus a bunch of others. We have foxes and coyotes now, which we've never seen around here before. I don't know what is around your locale, but be careful. Getting sprayed by a skunk is bad, but not the worst thing that can happen.

 

[glynndah]

They like to wash their food while holding it in their front paws. It's one of the funniest things you'll watch (next to the way they like to play fight with people when they're not completely wild). It could be any of the animals you mentioned, plus a bunch of others. We have foxes and coyotes now, which we've never seen around here before. I don't know what is around your locale, but be careful. Getting sprayed by a skunk is bad, but not the worst thing that can happen.

Yes. I was trying to figure out how they did it. Did they toss in a handful of kibble (or whatever you call pieces of dry cat food) and then fish them out kinda like goldfish crackers in a bowl of tomato soup or was it done individually, like potato chips in the onion dip?

 

[S-Des]

Yes. I was trying to figure out how they did it. Did they toss in a handful of kibble (or whatever you call pieces of dry cat food) and then fish them out kinda like goldfish crackers in a bowl of tomato soup or was it done individually, like potato chips in the onion dip?

They hold them in the palm of their hands (they are quite like human hands, incredibly soft), then dip them in the water, shake them around, then dip them again. They sort of seem Obsessive/Compulsive about it (which is strange, given their joy at eating garbage).

When I was a kid, I read a story about a racoon growing up with a boy, and there was a section about him trying to eat a sugar cube. After dipping it in the water a few times, he appeared shocked that his food "disappeared".

 

[rgraham666]

When I was a kid, I read a story about a racoon growing up with a boy, and there was a section about him trying to eat a sugar cube. After dipping it in the water a few times, he appeared shocked that his food "disappeared".

Little Rascal.

I read that one too. I loved it.

 

[S-Des]

Little Rascal.

I read that one too. I loved it.

Like Old Yeller, it should be required reading for all boys (girls can read it as well, but they really are a guy thing ).

 

[Sapphire_O]

When I was at Capital Hill (our version of the White House), they have this cat sanctuary there and there were 3 racoons sitting in it eating the cat food. These wide-eyed tourists turned to me and said "What is that THING." They were scarred of it!!

 

[Guest]

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[Guest]

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[jomar]

Bigfoot?

 

[Guest]

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[TheeGoatPig]

We have bears over here in New Jersey. Saw one the other day, it was trying to get at the bird feeders (bears won't even eat bird seed, yet they always try to mangle the feeders to get at the seed, what the hell?). My mother chased one off about a week ago as well.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

While we were on vacation, the raccoons invaded our front porch and made a huge mess. They somehow managed to open a gift popcorn tin that I had thrown out and forgotten about. I don't know how they did it, because I can't even open those things. There were popcorn kernals in the dog bowl and everywhere. Though, once the dog was back, we didn't hear out of them again. I think he chomped their furry little butts.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

When I was living in Denver we would wake in the morning to have deer looking in our bedroom window while they browsed in the grass. And we lived in the middle of a large town, Lakewood. Just beyond the yard was a field the kids played in...with the deer. They had no fear of the children, just adults. It was kinda cool for the kids to be able to be that close to the wildlife.

 

[Guest]

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[Guest]

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[tickledkitty]

I bet it's raccoons.