Animal crackers

[m_cobweb]

Saturday night I had my first up-close-and-personal experience with a raccoon. Yes, somehow I've lived this long without such an encounter. ;-) I was cat-sitting and the neighborhood stray was outside pounding on the window; when I went out to see what was up, I saw this enormous gray-brown masked critter staring at me from about three feet away.

I spent the rest of the evening chasing it off the deck with a broom so Ginger could eat, and chasing the two indoor kitties around after they slipped out, trying to get them back in before the raccoon tangled with them. Boomer found the raccoon fascinating and seemed to want to make friends with it. Not. A. Good. Idea.

Things I learned: Raccoons are fearless. They eat with their tiny little disproportionate hands even if they don't have to. And when they chew it looks like they're snarling. It was interesting coming so close with an alien intelligence and realizing we were both wondering what the other was going to do next.

Back at home:

I'm afraid we are going to need to rehome one of our kitties. Celeste is being regularly tormented by Sammi, to the point where she is essntially living in the closet and coming out only for meals and occasional attention. She even has her own litter box on the top shelf. I believe the problem is that Sammi, being a dominant declaw, is so threatened by the other cats that she picks on the one she can attack successfully. Also, Sammi wants to take refuge in the closet as well, so it's now a disputed area.

darkmane and I have been holding off on a decision, figuring that once we move into a larger place they could all establish new territories and the situation might resolve on its own. But the last several days have been hell--Sammi hurling herself against the closet door, Celeste growling, Celeste yelling for attention at all hours. I love her--she's adorable and one of the easiest kitties to care for I've ever know--but she can't be happy. We would only let her go to a home with people we know and trust (and who would let us visit). We will keep her rather than relinquish her to an uncertain situation. I can't believe it's come to this, but I'm afraid it's escalated to a point beyond which Rescue Remedy can help. (We're afraid to put Sammi on tranquilizers because the others might actually beat her up if they can.)

Comments

Did you see this link?

[sg-boobookittie.livejournal.com]

http://pub53.ezboard.com/fseagothforumfrm25.showMessage?topicID=1382.topic

Granted its not the perfect situation, but maybe they'd be open to it?

Good luck honey.

How did the "other" issues go? You were supposed to call me!!!! I wanted to be there dangit. *sneefle* Hope you are ok. Let me know!

BBK

Re: Did you see this link?

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

You haven't missed a thing--I still don't know much of anything!! Virginia Mason will tell me on Wednesday what my surgery time is on Thursday (March 6). And that's all I got for ya. But I really, really do want you to be there and I'll let you know the time as soon as I know. (Grrr.) God, I can't believe I'm really doing this. Just feels unreal.

About Celeste--she is a very small cat. Maybe that's close enough to a kitten?

Re: Did you see this link?

[sg-boobookittie.livejournal.com]

We'll keep this thread about the link so we don't keep cross-posting.

You should contact her. You gonna?

Re: Did you see this link?

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

I think I will. I can also recommend that she foster some kittens for a shelter and keep one, if she's really got her heart set on a baby. (

Raccoons ....

[thomasrymour.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, those little bandits ....
here's my closeup encounter with one and I gave him/her pad thai!


http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=darkleaves&itemid=48631

Re: Raccoons ....

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

Yours is much skinnier than mine was. ;-) I think Raccoon and Ginger the neighborhood stray have a circuit. And I don't think either one has missed a meal in a while!!

Re: Raccoons .... warning:

[creatrix777.livejournal.com]

i have a couple of them living behind my house here in the Land of Kirk. have only seen them twice in 18 months. also had a pack of 4 giant ones living in my 'hood in fremont. my cats both know to just be completely still when the raccoons come around. maybe i've been lucky, but none of us (me or my cats) have had any negative encounters with them, although i've heard they're vicious and stuff. but i do know this:

whatever you do, DO NOT FEED RACCOONS. or they will never go away. they'll be coming over for dinner everyday forever. they learn fast. heh.

Eeek!

[thevfrchick.livejournal.com]

Remind me to relay the story of my encounter with black bears in the Poconos hills while staying at a friend's house...I don't think I've ever been so frightened for my life!

[vulture23.livejournal.com]

Awww, it would be sad to need to have someone else adopt Celeste... but I can understand the need. Of all your cats, she's the one I've seen least -- even Philip wanders about more -- and it's hard to say how much of that is just because she's shy and how much is fear of being terrorized by Sammi (and the others, though it seems to be mostly Sammi). I can imagine that it's not at all an easy decision to make....

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

I just think she deserves better. I don't know if I can find better--after all, Sammi would prefer a home with no other cats, and how likely is that to happen?--but I have to think of what's best for her. Nothing may come of this, but we do need to consider the possibility. :-(

Sammi has already gone after her twice tonight, and I've been home an hour. Not good.

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Uh, you did know that raccoons are a major rabies vector, right? Be careful around those things. Don't go near them if you don't have to.

[vulture23.livejournal.com]

Fortunately rabies is not common in the pacific northwest -- I don't know about raccoons, but I do know specifically that squirrels in this area are not a major rabies vector, though they can be in other areas, and they can certainly carry tetanus. I'd expect that raccoons would be pretty similar to squirrels in this regard, but that's just an assumption with no hard grounding behind it.

And yes, I know this about squirrels because I had the joy of being treated for a squirrel bite, a few years back. Don't ask.

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

There's a reason I was on the other end of a broom. Diseases or not, I didn't have a raging desire to be chomped on by a raccoon.

[coulrophobe.livejournal.com]

Heh heh... we have resident raccoons at our cabin at Lake Quinault - my mom feeds them dog food (and yes... we knew they'd never go away if we fed them... but we kind of like them). My parents bassett hounds quickly learned the word "coon" and now run to the window to look for them whenever anybody mentions them. :)

A very sad thing about Celeste. I seriously considered getting rid of Miko when she peed on my bed a few times... I figured out that whenever I do anything wrong, she pees on something. So, I've learned to not *piss off* the almighty Miko, lest I be *pissed on.* Yep, she wears the pants in this family. :|

[vulture23.livejournal.com]

Cats are very fond of using urine as a message. This sort of thing happens quite often, actually.

My last cat, at one point, made a point of catching my attention, and then, looking me squarely in the eye, proceeded to pee all over a work shirt I'd left on the floor (and growling the whole time). This eventually led to taking him to the vet, where he was discovered to have bladder problems. Obviously deliberate communication.

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

I am quite certain that the phrase "pissed off" came from someone who lived with cats.

[euterpe35.livejournal.com]

agh! more cat horror stories!

are you people trying to convince me I should never have a cat??

[m-cobweb.livejournal.com]

Let me counter with: Furry body snuggled against you in the morning vibrating with purrs of happiness from being next to you. Big luminous eyes that look into your real self. Funny little chirps and trills from a companion running along beside you as you do chores.

Better? ;-)

Re:

[coulrophobe.livejournal.com]

Yeah... my cat is healthy, just kinda hostile. :( My apartment manager tried to convince me that the pissing on my bed was a good thing (she was "marking" me, and that meant she considered me "hers") - but I noticed a different pattern - it was whenever I did something she didn't like (didn't feed her, tried to make her wear a collar, brought my chinchilla into the apartment, etc.). I obey her wishes now.

[onlyjanica.livejournal.com]

Did you eve find a home for Celeste??