- Joined
- Oct 30, 2010
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- 2,410
So I have mice at my city apartment...I'm home for spring break, and we have raccoons our backyard, well, had.
Late last night I woke up to my dad yelling "Hey, leave her alone!"
I thought the dog was bothering the cat inside or something but then saw him leaning out the window with his flashlight. I went over and there wasn't anything but I could hear something. He said there was a raccoon and a cat fighting, and then the raccoon was really hurting the cat. When he shined the light on them, it stopped and the cat limped away.
In the past, we have had cats living under the shed in the spring, with kittens and all. We figured the raccoon was trying to raid the cat's place and hurt the kittens. After the cat ran away (we assumed she was protecting her kittens but was so badly hurt she couldn't defend them anymore) we heard what sounded like some babies crying and the growling noises from the raccoon. This went on awhile and we thought the raccoon was trying to fit under the shed to get the kittens.
All day today we were cautious around the shed, not sure if there was anything under it. I had a hunch the raccoon was still under there. My dad thought the raccoon was sick (rabies) and acting strangely attacking cats. I didn't think it was all that strange for a feral and a raccoon to cross paths and fight at 3am, especially if there were young near.
At about 8pm today, I see the raccoon carrying something in its mouth by the scruff of its neck, walking along the fence, out from under the shed. I thought maybe the raccoon had tried adopting the kittens as some animals adopt other species young. We then watched until 10pm as she carried her own raccoon young from her nest to a new location, 1 by 1. We counted 4, and the average litter is apparently 3-5. So now I believe the cat got too close to her nest and she was just defending them. Too close for comfort, she's moving them out.
Here are a few pics. They're actually really adorable. Much more so than my annoying apartment mice.
Late last night I woke up to my dad yelling "Hey, leave her alone!"
I thought the dog was bothering the cat inside or something but then saw him leaning out the window with his flashlight. I went over and there wasn't anything but I could hear something. He said there was a raccoon and a cat fighting, and then the raccoon was really hurting the cat. When he shined the light on them, it stopped and the cat limped away.
In the past, we have had cats living under the shed in the spring, with kittens and all. We figured the raccoon was trying to raid the cat's place and hurt the kittens. After the cat ran away (we assumed she was protecting her kittens but was so badly hurt she couldn't defend them anymore) we heard what sounded like some babies crying and the growling noises from the raccoon. This went on awhile and we thought the raccoon was trying to fit under the shed to get the kittens.
All day today we were cautious around the shed, not sure if there was anything under it. I had a hunch the raccoon was still under there. My dad thought the raccoon was sick (rabies) and acting strangely attacking cats. I didn't think it was all that strange for a feral and a raccoon to cross paths and fight at 3am, especially if there were young near.
At about 8pm today, I see the raccoon carrying something in its mouth by the scruff of its neck, walking along the fence, out from under the shed. I thought maybe the raccoon had tried adopting the kittens as some animals adopt other species young. We then watched until 10pm as she carried her own raccoon young from her nest to a new location, 1 by 1. We counted 4, and the average litter is apparently 3-5. So now I believe the cat got too close to her nest and she was just defending them. Too close for comfort, she's moving them out.
Here are a few pics. They're actually really adorable. Much more so than my annoying apartment mice.