happyWImom Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 A raccoon jumped at (like it was attacking) our screen door tonight! :scared: The cat just about had a heart attack. I heard the loud bang against the screen, saw the cat run over to look, and then saw it looking out from the bushes. A few minutes later, it started to walk towards the door curiously, then went back into the bushes. We do get them occasionally because they like to try to get in the bird feeders on our porch. I've seen many on our porch, but never had one try to attack or get in the house!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Not with a raccoon but one of our window screens is damaged from squirrels trying to get to our bird feeder. It's one of those little ones that has suction cups to stick to the window. And it's just out of reach of squirrels. It's funny to actually see them sliding down the glass and trying to gain a foothold on the screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Our cat had an ongoing, through-the-window war with a raccoon. We still have the claw marks on the screen to prove it. This thing was enormous...not nearly so cute as the raccoons in picture books and tv commercials. It left the screen filthy just by brushing up against it. That was a while ago, though. Now it's just a snotty squirrel who likes to taunt the pets (and leave nose art on the slider door). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhschool Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The poor dumb thing probably didn't see the screen and thought it was jumping through an opening! Which is probably why it looked like it was attacking the screen! It probably came back to get a good look at the strange opening. That's funny about the cat! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 The poor dumb thing probably didn't see the screen and thought it was jumping through an opening! Which is probably why it looked like it was attacking the screen! It probably came back to get a good look at the strange opening. That's funny about the cat! :) Okay, this is what I'm hoping it is. I can live with "curious raccoon", but "rabid, attack raccoon" is not my idea of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Our cat had an ongoing, through-the-window war with a raccoon. We still have the claw marks on the screen to prove it. This thing was enormous...not nearly so cute as the raccoons in picture books and tv commercials. It left the screen filthy just by brushing up against it. That was a while ago, though. Now it's just a snotty squirrel who likes to taunt the pets (and leave nose art on the slider door). Weird! Why would it want to get into it with the cat?? If it was just your normal, garden variety raccoon. They've always shied away from either us or the cats or dog previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Just saw this online. It is part of a longer article from Perdue.... Rabies in Raccoons Raccoons act as a reservoir for rabies in the United States. In fact, the majority of rabies cases in the U.S. are in wildlife, with raccoon cases predominating. In the U.S., 90% of all rabies cases occur in wildlife. During 2000, raccoon rabies made up 41% of wildlife cases diagnosed with skunks, bats and foxes making up the balance. To limit the exposure of humans and domestic animals to rabies, it is important for veterinarians to know the current geographic distribution of rabies, the procedure if a human or animal is bitten by a wild animal, and be familiar with rabies diagnostic testing. . . .(317) 233-8036 Conclusion: There have been no confirmed human deaths associated with rabid raccoons; however, there has been an increased number of rabies cases in domestic animals in the northeast due to raccoon rabies. Therefore, rabid raccoons could potentially lead to human exposure through rabid domestic animals. Not wanting to scare you. Just a note of caution. It's probably better to keep your cat on one side and the raccoon on the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Was there any food in the house that he might have smelled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Was there any food in the house that he might have smelled? No, it was quite a while after dinner. Normally, they go up on the porch because of the bird feeders, but never come to the door! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Just saw this online. It is part of a longer article from Perdue.... Rabies in Raccoons Raccoons act as a reservoir for rabies in the United States. In fact, the majority of rabies cases in the U.S. are in wildlife, with raccoon cases predominating. In the U.S., 90% of all rabies cases occur in wildlife. During 2000, raccoon rabies made up 41% of wildlife cases diagnosed with skunks, bats and foxes making up the balance. To limit the exposure of humans and domestic animals to rabies, it is important for veterinarians to know the current geographic distribution of rabies, the procedure if a human or animal is bitten by a wild animal, and be familiar with rabies diagnostic testing. . . .(317) 233-8036 Conclusion: There have been no confirmed human deaths associated with rabid raccoons; however, there has been an increased number of rabies cases in domestic animals in the northeast due to raccoon rabies. Therefore, rabid raccoons could potentially lead to human exposure through rabid domestic animals. Not wanting to scare you. Just a note of caution. It's probably better to keep your cat on one side and the raccoon on the other. Yikes! Luckily, both of our cats are indoor animals, but I don't want this sucker scratching through the screen at them! We recently read "Old Yeller" and now my ds is worried that his cat will get scratched through the screen by the raccoon-and then we'll have to shoot him. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I've never had that exact thing happen but raccoons are mean. I worked on a dairy farm where they had steady access to as much grain as they wanted. They were downright territorial and not at all scared of humans. I am scared of them to this day but they only hissed at me and I don't know of them hurting anyone else in the farm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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