Potential Coon Problem

catmanmew

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I'm sure this has been asked before but I'm new to this whole outside cat business... anyway, I was out visiting with our kittens late Saturday night & Pearle had just come in thru the kitty door & I had just brought out a little snack for all 3... so I look over at the kitty door (which is taped open cuz it's new) & there is a small racoon head!

So I jump up & open the door & make my nastiest animal sound (can't yell cuz it's like 1 am) so I look at the kittens & they are all looking stoically at the door & sure enuff he pokes his head in again... so I jump up again & try to scare um off & this time 2 of the kittens run out after him (to attack?) & he stayed away... I think...

So what can I do prior to resorting to trapping him... I am not leaving food down overnight until this situation is under control which sucks for the two adult cats, as they sometimes come late at night to eat... another question, will the kittens (5-6 mos old) be able to scare him off/take care fo themselves?

Any thoughts would be great!
 

diggerled

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If your kittens decide that it is a good idea to corner this raccoon for some reason they will probebly lose the battle. If the raccoon got food at your home before he will keep coming back. I am dealing with the same situation right now. I loaned my trap to a friend but she is supposed to return it this week. I will trap and relocate the coon as soon as I get it. We have been doing the wait and see what happens for a few weeks. A fight broke out on Sunday night so enough is enough.
 

going nova

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We had a problem with skunks. What we did was set a feeding time a bit earlier in the evening (before the skunks come out), and picked up the food when they were done eating. Some of the cats missed feeding for a couple of days, but the skunks stopped coming around.
 

buehler740

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well I have kinda the same problem I have my shed set up for strays and fearl kitties that do come by to eat , they have an opening at each end , so there is an escpae door if they need it , I'm trying to figure out how to make the cats stay and the coons to just stay in the habitat part where there is seed for them, I never find any cats in there in the morning, want them to stay at my place , I do think the cats come around late at night sometimes I see them sometimes not , the ones that do come by know they can get in at either end of the shed . any ideas on how to make that shed the best place in town for the cats to be? I lost count on how many I have caught and got homes for over the years ,
 

ldg

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Dave, I don't know how to keep them out of the garage for food other than to restrict the feeding schedule.

We used to leave food out all the time when we were TNRing the ferals - and figured out we were feeding an entire forest. Raccoons, skunks, possums. Trapped quite a few of each, too.

We ended up putting food out around dawn for about an hour, and putting food out at dusk, for about an hour. The cats adjusted to the schedule.

Sadly, diggerled is right. The cats would not (likely) win the battle against a coon.


You can trap the coon and relocate it - but there are usually more (often a lot more) than just one.
 
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