A large raccoon has been eating my cat's food at night. I'm concerned for my cat. Will a light-duty cattle pro

Question

prod discourage the raccoon from visiting without harming it?

Answer 1

I work with racoons as a volunteer, and I have this same problem with raccoons and my cat. My suggestion is that you do not use the cattle prod, it is made for a three thousand pound creature and raccoons are 10 pounds at the most. The thing that we do to deter our raccoon is to only give the cat food when she is there and only the amount that she will eat right then so that at night there will not be any food left for the raccoon. Do not let ther raccoon get too confident, there are valid reports of overly cocky raccoons attacking humans. If you have to, take out the broom and swat it, hiss at it and make as many loud noises as you can. If the raccoon begins to take unfounded liberties, then the best thing you can do is call a wildlife rehabilitation center near you or animal control. I suggest the rehab, because animal control might be prone to put the raccoon down instead of trying to fix it.

Answer 2

You should be concerned--raccoons can hurt cats and even dogs. I wouldn't advise the cattle prod though, because it would put YOU within reach of the coon, and that can be dangerous for you.

The simplest and best way to keep the raccoon from eating the cat's food is to put the food somewhere the raccoon can't or won't come. This usually means putting food in the house and letting the cat in when it's dinner time.

However, if you have an indoor/outdoor cat and a cat door that remains open, you may need to put the cat food in a room away from the cat door. Of course, you can also remove the food after the cat has eaten.

Finally, you might consider using a humane animal trap to catch the coon. Once it's caught, just give the SPCA a call, and they will relocate your intruder.

Good luck.

Answer 3

While a raccoon looks cute, they're vicious when angered. Don't screw around trying to hit it with a cattle prod. Move your cat's food ... that's what the raccoon is after. It'll stop coming around after a while. You might want to think about feeding the cat inside too!

Answer 4

Raccoons come out at night, so having food out there at that time will ALWAYS draw them, regardless of hanging mothballs or anything else. The raccons also can be a danger to kittens, they attack and kill them. Do you have a garage you can put the kittens in with a bag of sand for their litter? This would keep them safe and allow you to have food out for them that won't be eaten by the wildlife. We feed the strays here too, and have to take up the food bowls at dusk because of the raccoons. All the cats adjusted quickly to knowing food was out from 7am when I leave for work till the sun goes down. You can't put the cats indoors in a bedroom? Do you have a basement?

Answer 5

I would just bring the food in at night. By taking the food away, the raccoon will learn that there isn't anything there for him and he'll go away. The last thing you want is a raccoon hanging around your house (especially if you have kids or pets). Yes, they're cute, but they aren't good guests.

Answer 6

set some food out for the raccoon in a different location than your cats food. i would feed the cat inside, or when you see him around outside, then when the raccoon goes to where his food is all the time, then leave your cats food out again. or, find something to feed the raccoon that your cat will not eat. if the raccoon seems like he has a temperment, i'd call animal control, or another shelter. otherwise, enjoy having the little creature around, give him a name and everything.

Answer 7

i agree with shalini, the prod will do nothing to deter a hungry raccoon (i have 2 as pets, raccoons that is) & my uncle even went to the extreme & set up a little shock pad (something about a car battery, a metal trash can lid, & some other stuff?) & even electrocution (which i don't recommend) didn't stop the coon..... if there are only a few problem animals, you may want to go to your local fish & game dept. & see about having the animals trapped & relocated far, far away or yeah, bring the cat food in, cause as long as there's something to eat, they will keep on coming

Answer 8

I've had this exact problem.

What I did was wait for the raccoon to appear. In order to relax it I began to play the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon" softly on the stereo. You'll know the animal is becoming hypnotized when it begins to sway to the music. (You should put your CD player on repeat so as not to break the spell)

When the raccoon is nice and relaxed I shot it with a taser gun. The little bastard didn't know what hit him! He just stood there, sort of shivering, and then fell over, knocked out.

After that it was a simple process of picking him up by the tail and taking him outside and giving him a good fling by the tail.

Never saw him again.

Answer 9

I've actually had that problem. They're so cute, but mean! My cats would get in horrible fights with them, my suggestion is to move the food somewhere where the raccoon can't get it, maybe even inside.

Answer 10

Try feeding your cats somewhere else, or feed them a little earlier and then remove the food. As to the cattle prod I just dont know a lot about them but if its safe for them then go ahead. You might even try putting some food for them a long way from the house then maybe they will leave your cats food alone. I think the only reason they are doing this is that they are hungry.