Well, I too had an experience w/a raccoon and my ferrets. When I was
younger (about 20 yrs ago) and had moved back home to get back on my
feet after loosing my job. My ferrets came w/me and were in a triple
decker cage that mom and I had made for them. My room was upstairs and
there was a patio door that lead out to a catwalk along the back of the
house adjoining both my room and the master bedroom patio door. There
was no stairs to the catwalk to the ground. Well, my muscular boy,
Samson (who could move bricks, sandstone slabs, open dresser drawers by
pushing them from behind the dresser, or move any other heavy obstacle
one may have tried to use to deter a curious ferret) kept opening the
screen door out onto the catwalk. If I locked the door, then he began
tearing up the carpet - thus the piece of sandstone - but then he'd
move it anyway and eventually tore a whole in the screen. We used to
take them out on the cat walk - only w/supervision so they would not
fall (the catwalk had a railing, but a ferret could easily slip thru
the bars). So we decided we'd just cut a square in the screen and sewed
a flap of screen to hang down and keep flies out so the ferrets could
go out on the catwalk when they were out. Then we went to Home Depot
and bought some black plastic netting and tacked it around the bottom
portion of the catwalk to keep a ferret from falling (or jumping!) off.
That way, if I d let them loose in my room, they could go outside if
they liked and run around on the catwalk too.

Well, one evening I let the crew out for an evening romp while I was
watching TV in my room. All of a sudden I heard a commotion on the
catwalk, and a screeching sound, then running feet and a few minutes
later, Samson came marching back into the bedroom all bristled out and
agitated! He had just run a raccoon off HIS catwalk! You should have
seen him all puffed up and marching back and forth in front of the door
and sticking his head out to make sure that raccoon didn't come back!
BOY was I surprised! I'd never thought there'd be a raccoon out there!
You could sometimes hear them up on the roof at 3 or 4 in the morning,
but never on the catwalk or that early in the evening! I'm just glad it
didn't turn out bad!

Then a few nights later, I came upstairs to bed, flipped on the light
in my room, and there was a small female raccoon IN MY ROOM EATING
FERRET FOOD FROM THEIR CABINET DRAWER!! I guess when I flipped on the
light I startled her and she made a screech - and I also screamed - and
she ran out thru the hole in the screen door! Well, I got into my pj's,
turned on the TV and switched off the light. As I was watching TV, I
kept seeing the blinds moving and I thought maybe I was seeing things.
Then after staying very still and focusing on the blinds I saw a tiny
raccoon hand pull the blinds back from the screen hole, and a small
raccoon head peeking into the room! As soon as I got up, she ran off!!
So after that, I'd lock the screen door and but a large rock in front
of the hole to keep the little thief out! But I'll tell you, for weeks
after the raccoon incident w/Samson, every time he d go out on the
catwalk he'd puff himself up and strut around there to be sure no
raccoons were invading his territory!! I'd say "Where's that raccoon
Samson!" and he strut around all puffed up like 'YEAH! I DARE that
raccoon to come back on MY catwalk!'

And then there's the tale of how Samson climbed up the patio table,
jumped to the catwalk rail and then jumped to the garage roof, then up
to the far end of the roof to where the raccoons left droppings! Oh and
the other tale of how he jumped on the rail, jumped to a tree by the
catwalk and shinnied down the tree to investigate under the deck out
back for coons or God knows what!! But then, those are tales for
another time...

I have a beautiful picture of my strong boy, Samson, perched on the
patio table w/his front paws on the catwalk railing looking out over
his domain. I put it up for anyone who'd like to see it:
http://www.fantastic-tshirts com/images/Sams_Domain.jpg
Rest in peace my sweet, bold boy...

Dawn, Socrates, Romeo, Simon and Alexander

[Posted in FML 6083]