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?
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?