July 5, 20050 found this helpful
Raccoons are cute but very dangerous! They carry rabies second only to skunks. They grow to be very large and can be deadly animals to have attack anyone or any other animal. In our "neck of the woods", they're caught in cages and shot - or just plain shot.
We have way too many of these creatures and they don't discriminate as to who or what they want to tear apart. I wish you well.
By wendee (Guest Post)
July 5, 20050 found this helpful
They are cute, but I'd think twice about befriending them. I have a friend that fed a family of raccoons, and come winter, they burrowed up under her roof and moved into the attic.... not good.
By Linne Dodds (Guest Post)
July 5, 20050 found this helpful
I have fed many a possum myself & they can be dangerous as can coons,just be careful . If they start to act OFF get something done that you may not like to do . Don't leave your pets outside . If you have them .
Keep your cats in & walk your dogs on leashes away from the coon feed & away from the direction you usually see them coming from .
Don't store feed outside . Iused to keep a garbage can of bird food in an open outside shed. This was Galvanized can with a tight lid. I kept finding it Off ,then one night I heard noises when I took my trash our & caught a little critter at the can. I hauledit in the dark to my porch,not fun but needed to save the food from rain & to be able to afford to feed it 1 cup a day tossed on top of that shed to whoever wants it,birds or animals .
We live in Their Home. I believe in Live & let live & helping where I can . I also don't want any more Trouble than I Absolutely Have to Have .
By JW (Guest Post)
July 6, 20050 found this helpful
I'm amazed by these little critters' capacity to learn--they are smarter than primates--but also to learn your boundaries. Still, they must be taught and even if you are careful and consistent, your neighbors may not be. I feed five every winter and they enjoy any table scraps I have, as well as bread and dog food. They have no problem sharing with our stray tom cats that we also feed and watch out for, but there is always the concern of disease spread through fights or saliva in the food. Besides, even though the cats are their size they could still be in danger, and one neighborhood stray was severely injured by an unknown conflict with another animal, unknown which, and my neighbors took it to the vet. He had a very bad bite wound on his leg and had been missing for three days. Unfortunately we already have our own house cats and can't take in more, nor can the stray cats we share with our neighbors abide going to a shelter since they are fairly wild. They are socialized but can't abide being in our home and want to leave immediately. To return to the raccoons:
The main thing is to make sure everybody has enough food. Raccoons have no problem sharing food with each other as long as there's enough, and generally you'll find them in pairs or groups anyway. The main thing is to feed them away from the house and don't go out to feed them while they are around. They mustn't know that you and your house are the source. Keep it back as far as possible from your house but in a place you can enjoy watching, if you feel you must watch. Remember, if you try to hand feed them or startle them in the dark you may very easily be getting treatment for rabies. Though this isn't the same old shots in the stomach thing, it still is dangerous--and in many places the law requires the animal, or any other animal they can find in its stead, be caught, its head cut off, and tested for the disease. You are not only responsible for your kids, pets, neighbors, and yourself, but also for the raccoon's life and ability to actually survive in the wild and around humans that may not be kind to them. Keeping them wild and yet helping them survive a harsh winter is the main goal.
I strongly disapprove of my neighbor's handfeeding of the raccoons I feed. They feed them jelly donuts and not healthy nourishing food items, then the raccoons are picky and will not eat fruit or vegetables, which are actually more ideal along with protein like dog or cat food, etc. They are putting themselves and us in danger, as well as our homes.
