Ever Have A Skunk (or Other Wild Animal) Live In Your House?

[doomsdave]

A while back, a skunk took up residence in my house.

It was a relatively young striped skunk, and he (she?) LOVED my cat's cat food. The cat, for his part, shared freely. Aside from the odor, a skunk is a formidable adversary for a cat. Cats don't like to fight anything anywhere near as big as they are (unlike, say, wolves or mountain lions). Quite a tableau, the cat sitting patiently while the skunk wolfs down all his food. You could hear it crunching feet away. A hog with an elegant fur coat.

The skunk was a very able climber, and easily climbed to my countertops and ate any of my food it found there.

The skunk was fascinating. It wasn't frightened of me, and I didn't do anything to anger or annoy it. I think it was a specimen that I encountered in my garden and nearly stepped on a number of times. It was kind of cute.

BUT

They carry rabies (among other diseases) and parasites of all kinds. Even if they don't spray, they can bite and scratch. Sense and sensibility are not constant among all cats.

So, I trapped the skunk, using a "havahart" trap in a super-thick plastic garbage bag. The bag was to ensure that if the skunk sprayed, I wouldn't get hit, but it would.

I put the trapped skunk, bag and all, in the back of my Trucklet of Terror and let it go near Howard's appliance store on Imperial Highway. (Hate that place.)

I opened the bag and the trap and the skunk wasn't in a big hurry to leave! Eventually he did.

Skunk never sprayed.

I also put barriers in my crawlspace to keep critters out.

Any of you have a similar experience?

 

[betsygee]

Skunks are kind of cute!

We had a raccoon coming in the house through the cat door for the same reason as your skunk, it loved the cat food. Usually it would come in at night and we only knew about it in the morning from the awful smell it left in the laundry room. But once it came in when hubby was home and he had to chase it out with a broom.

Then we discovered SureFlap cat doors. Brilliant invention! They read a cat's microchip and will only open for an animal that's recorded in its memory, so no more raccoons or neighborhood cats coming in.

 

[doomsdave]

Skunks are kind of cute!

We had a raccoon coming in the house through the cat door for the same reason as your skunk, it loved the cat food. Usually it would come in at night and we only knew about it in the morning from the awful smell it left in the laundry room. But once it came in when hubby was home and he had to chase it out with a broom.

Then we discovered SureFlap cat doors. Brilliant invention! They read a cat's microchip and will only open for an animal that's recorded in its memory, so no more raccoons or neighborhood cats coming in.

How neat!

 

[Willowy]

I want a pet skunk someday. I wouldn't be comfortable with a wild skunk taking up residence, though!

 

[abyeb]

A raccoon... it climbed in through the chimney. Fortunately, I was there when it happened so I could put Charlie in a safe room while I called the local wildlife service. They were able to humanely trap and release the raccoon. Supposedly it was pregnant and was looking for a cozy den. Something like a wild animal entering your home seems impossible until it happens to you, but there is certainly that risk, which is why I think that indoor cats need rabies vaccines.

 

[Mother Dragon]

We had a bat get into our bedroom about 2 a.m. The cats were happily knocking it out of the air., which is what woke me. My husband scooped it up in a plastic whipped topping tub and tossed it out the front door. End of problem.

Nope. Wrong move. I happened to mention to our vet, who's also friend, what happened. He groaned and told us we shouldn't have released the bat because it might have been rabid. At 2 a.m., who's thinking straight? We dutifully reported it to animal control. They told us that people don't feel or see a bat bite because it's so tiny, and that rabies can develop up to ten years later.

Thank goodness the cats were all current on their rabies shots even though they're indoor only. They were required by law to get boosters and to be examined three weeks after the incident by our vet, who would then provide animal control with certificates of health.

For our part, we had to each have a series of three rabies shots given over a two-week period. Because it was unlikely we were bitten we were spared the horribly painful bite shots. Instead, we were lucky to get three easy injections in the arm. Our insurance, however, got bitten pretty badly. Those shots cost $350 each. Had we had to have the others, the cost would have been $750 each.

I decided that for that cost I would go out and bite a bat.

We've also had a pygmy rattlesnake in the house. It came in through the gap under the garage door. Fortunately, the cats found it but were not bitten. My husband managed to kill it. We also had two garter snakes get in. We put a new seal on the garage door and that took care of the problem - I hope!

The builders didn't put a cap on our chimney and we were always getting chimney swifts in the house. The cats thought it was wonderful but were highly annoyed when we rescued their flying toys and tossed them outside.

Aside from the bat and the rattlesnake, I think I'd rather have our critters than a skunk in the house.

 

[muffy]

When I was living with my mother in Clinton a little snake got into the house. I was able to get it into a jar and took it to the creek and let it go. My mother had a fit. She could not stand the though of a snake being in her house.

I have squirrels that chew through the screen of my deck door and come in to get to the nuts. They don't live in the house they just come and go as they please if I don't keep the glass door shut. My screen is a mess.

Muffy

 

[DreamerRose]

I haven't had a skunk in the house, but I did have one years ago that lived under my garden shed. He sprayed my dog twice, once through a screen door, and once straight in the eyes. You probably know they stand on their hands and hop around to spray. Run for the hills if you see a skunk standing on his hands.

I finally put coyote urine on cotton balls and dropped them around the shed. Whew! Did he ever let loose! But that got rid of him; he went a few doors down the street and took up residence.

A couple of winters ago, one came up on the deck to eat birdseed.

 

[Draco]

Mice.
When I was younger.. like 5 years old or so. I remember my mom would yell at me and my sister for putting dog food inside the toy box in the basement. I don't remember how long it went on for until they learned it was mice that was hoarding dog food in the toy box.

Now I have this friendly squirrel that comes up to my screen door if it's open to beg for food, especially if I am cooking. Drives my cats nuts (I have pet proof screen and locks on the door so the cats can't get out). It's cute, but it's destroying my flower pots. It'd probably get into my place and live there if I'd let it

 

[neely]

A raccoon... it climbed in through the chimney.

We had a very similar situation - a raccoon also but it bent back the blade of an attic fan on top of the roof and entered the attic. The house we lived in back then had two attics and the raccoon ran back and forth from the upper attic to the lower one. Our cat at the time, Sylvester, would literally jump straight up on the wall when he heard the loud thump, thump, thump of the raccoon's feet. The village set traps around the house but not on the roof. We probably caught every squirrel and opossum in the neighborhood but no raccoon. We finally had to call a wildlife service as well who attached a trap to the roof near the attic fan and caught the raccoon. It was a very large male!

 

[abyeb]

We probably caught every squirrel and opossum in the neighborhood but no raccoon. We finally had to call a wildlife service as well who attached a trap to the roof near the attic fan and caught the raccoon. It was a very large male!

Raccoons are tricky guys...

 

[Winchester]

Other than a bat several years ago and little field mice from time to time, no. We did, however, find a live skunk in the skimmer of our pool one afternoon. And then there was Jeremiah (yes, a bullfrog) who tried to take up residence in our pool, too.

But I could tell you some interesting stories about Hydrox, The Old Coot, and his experiences with field mice in the house!

 

[jcat]

We've had bats, mice and garter snakes a couple of times, but the funniest thing was a ball python in the cellar. I heard our last cat playing with something down there and was shocked to find a large snake, which I put in a cat carrier before calling the police. They figured somebody had dumped it in our cul-de-sac when it got too big, and it got in through a window. Jamie Cat was absolutely thrilled and looked for more snakes for years. He obviously had no idea that the snake was big enough to eat him.

 

[doomsdave]

Other than a bat several years ago and little field mice from time to time, no. We did, however, find a live skunk in the skimmer of our pool one afternoon. And then there was Jeremiah (yes, a bullfrog) who tried to take up residence in our pool, too.

But I could tell you some interesting stories about Hydrox, The Old Coot, and his experiences with field mice in the house!

Do, please!

 

[Willowy]

He obviously had no idea that the snake was big enough to eat him.

No ball python will ever get big enough to eat a cat! They take 4-oz rats at the largest. Do you maybe mean a Burmese python?

A baby garter snake got into my parents' house last summer. My dad called my mom downstairs to rescue him from the worm-sized baby snake!

 

[betsygee]

We've had bats, mice and garter snakes a couple of times, but the funniest thing was a ball python in the cellar. I heard our last cat playing with something down there and was shocked to find a large snake, which I put in a cat carrier before calling the police. They figured somebody had dumped it in our cul-de-sac when it got too big, and it got in through a window. Jamie Cat was absolutely thrilled and looked for more snakes for years. He obviously had no idea that the snake was big enough to eat him.

Wow!

 

[Winchester]

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 1) - Hydrox had this habit of coming to bed about 30 minutes or so after Rick and I did. He'd jump into bed and cuddle right around my stomach; I'd put my arm around him and we'd go to sleep. Well, one night, he came to bed and settled down. I put my arm around him. And then I heard the squeaking. I was out of that bed in a flash. Turned the light on and....the boy brought a mouse to bed. A live mouse. And he let it loose.

I ended up on top of the bureau. Rick got his work boot and was trying to smush the mouse as it was running around in our bed with Hydrox right behind it. Our son awakened and he was standing in the doorway, laughing so hard, I thought he was going to pee his pants.

Eventually Hydrox picked up the mouse again. Rick picked up Hydrox and gingerly walked cat and mouse out the hallway into the kitchen. DS opened the back door and Rick stuck Hydrox outside, but kept him in his hands. It was winter, so it was really cold. The cold wind made Hydrox gasp and when he did, he let go of the mouse. The mouse dropped down to the deck and scurried off into the night, completely unharmed (unless the poor thing had a heart attack later on). Rick brought Hydrox back into the house, I changed the bed sheets and we went back to bed. Throughout the night, we heard our son laughing.

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 2) - I was working third shift and came home at 7:00 in the morning. I came walking up the steps to the living room, just in time to see a mouse running out the hallway, with The Old Coot right on his tail. The mouse went under the Christmas tree and disappeared in the mix of wrapped presents. I started removing presents from the floor and putting them on the couch. No mouse. Anywhere. I had no idea where it went.

So I picked up Hydrox and went back to the bedroom. Shut the bedroom and locked it (no mouse was going to get me, by golly!). And I went to bed. Rick came home and knocked on the bedroom door. I got out of bed and opened the door. And Rick said, "Do I even want to know what happened here today?" And I started telling him about the mouse. He said, "But, Pam, that mouse can go right under the door! They can go through really small spaces!" Well, crap. I didn't know that. Rick eventually found the mouse a day or so later, trapped it and took it outside.

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 3) - Again, I came home from third shift at 7:00 in the morning. I was so tired that I flopped down on the couch in the living room. And there I lay, with my eyes open. I looked on the floor and saw this.....thing. I looked closer and it was the hind end and entrails of a mouse. I looked at Hydrox, who was flopped on my belly, and said, "Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" Went out to the kitchen, got some paper towels, draped the towels over the carcass, picked the blasted cat up and went to the bedroom. Locked the bedroom door. And went to bed. I made sure Hydrox wasn't anywhere close to me....not with mousey-breath.

Of course, Rick got home from work and cleaned the mess up. Came back to the bedroom and knocked on the door. When I opened the door, Rick said, "Pam, the mouse was dead! What's it going to do? It's dead!" I responded, "I know it was dead. I am aware of that. But it wasn't going to get me anyway!"

And just because I can.....Our Son and the Field Mouse - When our son was about seven years old or thereabouts, I was down in the basement working on laundry. And I was checking pockets. Stuck my hand in a pocket in my son's jeans. And touched fur. Well. Rick said they probably heard me screaming on Pluto. And they swear that I made it up the basement steps to the kitchen without ever touching a step. I looked at DS and said, "Why? Why in the name of all that's holy is there a dead mouse in your pocket?" He just shrugged and said that it seemed like a good idea at the time. And that's why, in my next life? I want a little girl. And that's why, when our DIL was pregnant, I told our son that I wanted him to have a son.....who was just like him. He was aghast and wondered why I would wish that on anybody.

 

[abyeb]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the mouse story. A mouse is so small, I guess it got overshadowed by the time a raccoon entered my house. Once when I came home after being out and about, Charlie excitedly ran to the door to greet me in his usual manner, rubbing his head against me and weaving between my legs. Usually, after his greeting, he leads me toward his food bowl, hoping for a snack, but this time, he walked right past the food bowl and proudly showed me... a dead mouse.

I only saw deep scratches on the mouse, no bite marks, so it seemed that he had killed it with his claws only (the same way he does for crickets, just on a larger scale). I was so glad that he hadn't tried to eat it, because I know cats can get diseases that way.

I have no idea how that mouse entered my house, but that was the only time, so I guess that's something good.

 

[Mother Dragon]

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 1) - Hydrox had this habit of coming to bed about 30 minutes or so after Rick and I did. He'd jump into bed and cuddle right around my stomach; I'd put my arm around him and we'd go to sleep. Well, one night, he came to bed and settled down. I put my arm around him. And then I heard the squeaking. I was out of that bed in a flash. Turned the light on and....the boy brought a mouse to bed. A live mouse. And he let it loose.

I ended up on top of the bureau. Rick got his work boot and was trying to smush the mouse as it was running around in our bed with Hydrox right behind it. Our son awakened and he was standing in the doorway, laughing so hard, I thought he was going to pee his pants.

Eventually Hydrox picked up the mouse again. Rick picked up Hydrox and gingerly walked cat and mouse out the hallway into the kitchen. DS opened the back door and Rick stuck Hydrox outside, but kept him in his hands. It was winter, so it was really cold. The cold wind made Hydrox gasp and when he did, he let go of the mouse. The mouse dropped down to the deck and scurried off into the night, completely unharmed (unless the poor thing had a heart attack later on). Rick brought Hydrox back into the house, I changed the bed sheets and we went back to bed. Throughout the night, we heard our son laughing.

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 2) - I was working third shift and came home at 7:00 in the morning. I came walking up the steps to the living room, just in time to see a mouse running out the hallway, with The Old Coot right on his tail. The mouse went under the Christmas tree and disappeared in the mix of wrapped presents. I started removing presents from the floor and putting them on the couch. No mouse. Anywhere. I had no idea where it went.

So I picked up Hydrox and went back to the bedroom. Shut the bedroom and locked it (no mouse was going to get me, by golly!). And I went to bed. Rick came home and knocked on the bedroom door. I got out of bed and opened the door. And Rick said, "Do I even want to know what happened here today?" And I started telling him about the mouse. He said, "But, Pam, that mouse can go right under the door! They can go through really small spaces!" Well, crap. I didn't know that. Rick eventually found the mouse a day or so later, trapped it and took it outside.

Hydrox and the Field Mouse (part 3) - Again, I came home from third shift at 7:00 in the morning. I was so tired that I flopped down on the couch in the living room. And there I lay, with my eyes open. I looked on the floor and saw this.....thing. I looked closer and it was the hind end and entrails of a mouse. I looked at Hydrox, who was flopped on my belly, and said, "Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" Went out to the kitchen, got some paper towels, draped the towels over the carcass, picked the blasted cat up and went to the bedroom. Locked the bedroom door. And went to bed. I made sure Hydrox wasn't anywhere close to me....not with mousey-breath.

Of course, Rick got home from work and cleaned the mess up. Came back to the bedroom and knocked on the door. When I opened the door, Rick said, "Pam, the mouse was dead! What's it going to do? It's dead!" I responded, "I know it was dead. I am aware of that. But it wasn't going to get me anyway!"

And just because I can.....Our Son and the Field Mouse - When our son was about seven years old or thereabouts, I was down in the basement working on laundry. And I was checking pockets. Stuck my hand in a pocket in my son's jeans. And touched fur. Well. Rick said they probably heard me screaming on Pluto. And they swear that I made it up the basement steps to the kitchen without ever touching a step. I looked at DS and said, "Why? Why in the name of all that's holy is there a dead mouse in your pocket?" He just shrugged and said that it seemed like a good idea at the time. And that's why, in my next life? I want a little girl. And that's why, when our DIL was pregnant, I told our son that I wanted him to have a son.....who was just like him. He was aghast and wondered why I would wish that on anybody.

I love these stories! Hydrox must have been a hoot! I think I would have made my son do his own laundry from then on. Or maybe not. He might have just left the mouse in the pocket and washed it, too.

 

[danteshuman]

Juvenile possums .... they made a horrible mess in the garage pantry. The doors are closed religiously long before dusk now. We caught them and released them in a local rain water drain by some fields. Since we think the mamma possum is still hanging out in our back yard munching on dropped bird food/the fig tree (and they are continuously breeding) we just are on guard against them year round.