Wild Night with a Raccoon in My Living Room: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Adventure!

[dannyzmom]

In the wee hours of the morning, Hubby wakes me up "Honey - get up - there's a vicious racoon in the house!" I get up and run downstairs to find the sweetest, most terrified little coonie-bear you've ever seen just perched on the arm of my couch making that terrified chirring sound baby raccoons make when they're frightened. I send Hubby off to round up our two cats & lock them in a bedroom while I try to coax the coon toward the now-open front door by making a path of bread from him to the door. The poor thing has knocked over lamps, picture frames, everything in his path in his frantic search for an escape. Suddenly, he skitters up one of my fake ficus trees only to realize that he doesn't know how to get down!!! So there he is precariously perched, chirring and panting and looking at me with these "please don't eat me for supper" eyes (yeah, Hubby - he's vicious alright...). At this opint, I send Hubby to get the camcorder because this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. Ultimately, I was able to slide the tree over to the front door & gently lay it down so Rocky Raccoon could run off. What an adventure!!!

Mind you, I don't live in a very wooded area! I live in one of those "cookie cutter communities" with lots of houses on zero lot lines and very little land. In 4 years here, I've never encountered a raccoon before (especially in my living room)...I can't imagine where this poor little guy lives!

So...lesson learned: I will be bringing the kitties in at night and locking the cat-door. Oy vey...

 

[Christ Follower]

Wow! There's an adventure all right!

 

[janetupnorth]

Carolyn - you have the STRANGEST adventures!

 

[lisa717]

LMAO PIMP.....just when I thought I had an exciting life you had to come along and take the spot light!!!!!!

 

[MissChef]

In the wee hours of the morning, Hubby wakes me up "Honey - get up - there's a vicious racoon in the house!" I get up and run downstairs to find the sweetest, most terrified little coonie-bear you've ever seen just perched on the arm of my couch making that terrified chirring sound baby raccoons make when they're frightened. I send Hubby off to round up our two cats & lock them in a bedroom while I try to coax the coon toward the now-open front door by making a path of bread from him to the door. The poor thing has knocked over lamps, picture frames, everything in his path in his frantic search for an escape. Suddenly, he skitters up one of my fake ficus trees only to realize that he doesn't know how to get down!!! So there he is precariously perched, chirring and panting and looking at me with these "please don't eat me for supper" eyes (yeah, Hubby - he's vicious alright...). At this opint, I send Hubby to get the camcorder because this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. Ultimately, I was able to slide the tree over to the front door & gently lay it down so Rocky Raccoon could run off. What an adventure!!!

Mind you, I don't live in a very wooded area! I live in one of those "cookie cutter communities" with lots of houses on zero lot lines and very little land. In 4 years here, I've never encountered a raccoon before (especially in my living room)...I can't imagine where this poor little guy lives!

So...lesson learned: I will be bringing the kitties in at night and locking the cat-door. Oy vey...

Wow!!! I was like "how the heck did it get in?!" Thank God I read to the end of your post!
Our cat door is in our garage, I can't have cats in the house anymore, my daughter is highly allergic to them and practically tears her skin off of herself, she itches so bad (eczema goes crazy!) I know we've had 1 or 2 racoons in our garage before! But my cat doesn't put up with any crap! So they never stay long!! We live in an area where we get a lot of wild life! The racoons aren't so bad anymore but the other morning one was running right down the middle of our road heading for the trees, when I was kissing hubby good bye at 6:00 am!
We also have a family of 4 deer that keep coming to the house next door and eating their plants! They come 2-3 times a day! I've encountered a big buck just walking down the street, about 2 streets over from my street, about 2 years ago! Now that was wild! That dang buck was beautiful but huge. I didn't get to close (in my car) because I thought if I freak that thing out it could kill us if it runs over the car! When another car came along, it went running through someones back yard and took off! My kids leave apples and lettuce outside for the new family if dear, looks like a doe and 3 fawns!!
Some idiots who want to build back there tore out all of our natural wet lands forrest area (we live 5 houses from where it starts!) we also have a ton of trees in our backyard! anyway and now the animals have no home and they keep coming into the neighborhoods! They need to go higher up the hills where they can run free. But they are confussed right now! Don't get me started, it pisses me off, because all they are doing is building apartment buildings! But that's a new thread!!!
We get bull snakes, and bunnies too! Skunk, and tons of squirrels. Other things too, but those are the most common! My cat stands his ground though at this house! This is his home and he fights racoons right off the back porch! He's a big kitty!
Thank God that you didn't get an adult one in your house!!!! They can be mean! And thank God Mama Racoon didn't follow baby in! They are even more viscious then! You have some great adventures Carolyn! What a hoot!

 

[dannyzmom]

LMAO PIMP.....just when I thought I had an exciting life you had to come along and take the spot light!!!!!!

...and all I have EVER wanted was a quiet boring life...

 

[KellyTheChef]

Carolyn~

Tell your DH we said it's a good thing he's there at night to protect you! LOL!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Note to self:

Scrap plans for cat door in the remodel......




That is just too funny! Why does everything happen to you Carolyn?

And Kelly, that was a good one! :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[MissChef]

Carolyn~

Tell your DH we said it's a good thing he's there at night to protect you! LOL!!

LOL! On the same note.... Carolyn, are you the one that HE calls to kill the spiders?

 

[baychef]

Maybe this baby has been nibblin' on your earlobe!!!!

 

[wadesgirl]

How did he get in???

We were at a family dinner at my sister's one night and all of a sudden heard a ruckus on her back stairway (covered stairway that leads to the business downstairs of an old mainstreet building). My BIL opened the door and there was this small raccoon eating the dog food on the back porch! He quickly ran right back out the BUSTED window on the back porch. Next time I was over there, dear BIL was putting in a new window!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You're lucky to have successfully chased him out of the house! Over in the thread about having a mouse in the house, I told this story about a raccoon...

You've never had to chase a raccoon out of your kitchen at 12:30 in the morning? You just haven't lived. That was so much fun, but not half as much fun as the $400 ride in the big red taxi (with flashing lights) and several rabies shots after the little *@#!er bit me.Once I got bitten, it was out of my hands. The police were here along with the meat wagon. It was like the Keystone Cops, because who works 3rd shift? Rookies. There were 6 cops here, probably the entire shift. The biggest one of all said, "A raccoon? I ain't goin' in there!" Two of 'em had riot shields! They were still all looking at one another when they loaded me into the ambulance and last I heard, they woke up some critter expert who showed up with a snare.Of course, his head made a one-way trip to Madison (that's where the lab is) to test for rabies. Since the results would take a few days, they assume the critter is rabid so they start the shots. Believe it or not, the horsepistal had used their vaccine on a dog bite patient earlier in the day, so they had to send a sheriff squad, lights & siren, to the trauma center in Milwaukee for serum.And that stuff is big buck$!Oh, and what happened to the rest of the raccoon?He's a hat.

 

[pamperedlinda]

When DH was married to his practice-wife he had a great story about a possom. He was stationed at Moody AFB in South GA and one night he heard this strange noise in the bathroom. When he investigated he saw this hole in the wall behind the toilet and a little nose coming through it. He thought it was a squirrel. So, he decides he's gonna catch the sucker and he gets a box ready and smashes a bigger hole in the wall. Well, DH is from Colorado and has never really seen how big a possom is! He nearly beat himself to death getting out of that bathroom. He kept the possom locked in the bathroom until animal control arrived. I would have loved to have been there to see that!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Oh, I forgot to add that when I read this post I was thinking "Oh No, what part of Carolyn's body is hurt now!"

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

He's been in the house for about a month and has been chewing on her ear.

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

He was stationed at Moody AFB in South GA

(HIJACK) Hey, I was stationed at Moody many years ago. When was he there? (END HIJACK)

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that.

So where is the video? Are you going to put it on UTUBE??

 

[pamperedlinda]

(HIJACK) Hey, I was stationed at Moody many years ago. When was he there? (END HIJACK)

It was pre-me so I do't know. Early 90's maybe? He flew the F16.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

(HIJACK) Hey, I was stationed at Moody many years ago. When was he there? (END HIJACK)

I know a lot of women who weren't stationed at Moody but they are anyway.

 

[janetupnorth]

Carolyn's raccoon!

 

[RebelChef]

I have raccoons and possums on my porch almost every night. I've learned to ignore them until the dog and cat food bill gets too high. lol

Years ago, hubby and I were fishing and while he was cleaning the fish I was standing a few feet away. Next thing I knew I heard this noise behind me. I looked over my shoulder and didn't see anything. I heard it again so I turned around to look. There was a huge raccoon climbing down the tree behind me, upside down. He was on a mission, I'm telling you. Hubby gave him the carcas of the fish. lol

There are lots of them where we camp and it'll scare the devil out of you in the middle of the night when they fight on the picnic tables or blow the tops off the metal trash cans. I prefer the squirrels. lol They'll eat out of your hand and climb on you.

 

[raebates]

We live in the boonies, and we have lots of critters around. Raccoons look adorable, but they can be really mean. Possums scare the bejeebers out of me.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Aww, raccoons are so adorably cute, right? Like the cute, adorable little raccoon that bit me on the left hand. I went to the hospital and his head went to the lab in Madison.

So what happened to the rest of that cute, adorable little SOB that bit me?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Cute Hat.....nice blue eyes.....and I love the background with the snow covered branches and the pink sky!

 

[pamperedlinda]

I'm kinda surprised you didn't get a headband for your cowboy hat too.

 

[raebates]

He is a handsome devil, isn't he?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Cute Hat.....nice blue eyes.....and I love the background with the snow covered branches and the pink sky!

The pink sky is a result of a problem in the optics of my digital camera. Trust me, the sky is ugly grey this morning!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

He is a handsome devil, isn't he?

I dunno - kinda hard to see his face when his head is gone.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm kinda surprised you didn't get a headband for your cowboy hat too.

The cowboy hat came after the raccoon hat.

 

[janetupnorth]

Nice hat KG!...and Marisa...you haven't even begun to meet mean creatures until you come across a Fisher!!!!

 

[raebates]

Oh, KG, you're too modest.

 

[janetupnorth]

Fishers look cute but are mean and nasty!!!! About one of the only animals that will mess with a porcupine:"Fishers are solitary hunters. Their primary prey include hares, rabbits, squirrels, mice, shrews, and porcupines. While fishers and mountain lions are the only regular predators of porcupines, the fisher is the only predator to have a specialized a killing technique. By repeatedly biting and scratching at the porcupine's face, they cause it to bleed to death. Because most of the porcupine is covered in quills, the fisher then eats the porcupine by flipping the dead animal over."

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Well, that's it then. I'm never going back THERE again.http://www.fishers.in.us/images/footer/tof_logo.gif

 

[janetupnorth]

Well, that's it then. I'm never going back THERE again.

http://www.fishers.in.us/images/footer/tof_logo.gif

He-he...do they have porcupines too?

 

[raebates]

Yes, they do. They also have some pretty annoying drivers.

 

[RebelChef]

and Marisa...you haven't even begun to meet mean creatures until you come across a Fisher!!!!

We don't have them down here. Maybe it's too warm or the habitat is too different.

Oh! Cute story. My niece is 22 and a total dingdong sometimes. A few days before Christmas she called her hubby screaming "There's a possum in the trashcan!" He said "Ok, so?" She said "Well, I went to take trash out there and something told me to look down. When I did, I screamed, the possum screamed and now he's dead. He just fell over dead!" He just laughed at her and told her the possum was playing possum. She thought she'd killed it by screaming at it. lol

 

[its_me_susan]

In the wee hours of the morning, Hubby wakes me up "Honey - get up - there's a vicious racoon in the house!" I get up and run downstairs to find the sweetest, most terrified little coonie-bear you've ever seen just perched on the arm of my couch making that terrified chirring sound baby raccoons make when they're frightened. I send Hubby off to round up our two cats & lock them in a bedroom while I try to coax the coon toward the now-open front door by making a path of bread from him to the door. The poor thing has knocked over lamps, picture frames, everything in his path in his frantic search for an escape. Suddenly, he skitters up one of my fake ficus trees only to realize that he doesn't know how to get down!!! So there he is precariously perched, chirring and panting and looking at me with these "please don't eat me for supper" eyes (yeah, Hubby - he's vicious alright...). At this opint, I send Hubby to get the camcorder because this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. Ultimately, I was able to slide the tree over to the front door & gently lay it down so Rocky Raccoon could run off. What an adventure!!!

Mind you, I don't live in a very wooded area! I live in one of those "cookie cutter communities" with lots of houses on zero lot lines and very little land. In 4 years here, I've never encountered a raccoon before (especially in my living room)...I can't imagine where this poor little guy lives!

So...lesson learned: I will be bringing the kitties in at night and locking the cat-door. Oy vey...

He sounds so cute (in your house... hee hee. In my house, not so cute as I'm sure I would have freaked!)! Did you take any pictures?