- Joined
- Oct 5, 2012
- Messages
- 586
- Purraise
- 42
When I started on this strange journey, I had a neighbor who was feeding a breeding feral female and breeding raccoons. She left food out day and night all the time. In the months before she moved she told me that many of her feral cats began to disappear but also told me of the thriving raccoons outside her patio. Then of course she moved abandoning the one regular feral cat left who was also the largest of the lot. Perhaps the raccoons killed or drove away the other feral cats? Anyway, as I began to feed Hercules I noticed dirt in the water bowl in the morning and the food bowls empty and thrown about - people here advised me it was the raccoons. I felt bad about it but decided to feed only Hercules and limit the time the food was down to only two hours during the day and make sure not one kibble of food was on the ground when I took the bowl up. That solved the raccoon problem. They moved on somewhere else....
So Dawn I know you are worried the raccoons without food will attack the cats, but it sounds like even if they are fed they are still attacking. Perhaps it is better to let the cats learn when the safe time to eat is and then they can hide from the raccoons the rest of the time. Raccoons over time will see there is no food and travel away - they are scavengers so they must right? Unless they are sick with rabies and the like. You've got such a hard situation, I wish you much luck and miracles.
So Dawn I know you are worried the raccoons without food will attack the cats, but it sounds like even if they are fed they are still attacking. Perhaps it is better to let the cats learn when the safe time to eat is and then they can hide from the raccoons the rest of the time. Raccoons over time will see there is no food and travel away - they are scavengers so they must right? Unless they are sick with rabies and the like. You've got such a hard situation, I wish you much luck and miracles.