I used to live in a house that once bordered a golf course, where lots
wild animals made their homes in the wooded areas around the perimeter of
the course.  We discovered this fact when the golf course was consumed by
a development of ugly condos, so the woods was razed, and suddenly all
the raccoons, possums, skunks, and who-knows-who-else had nowhere to go.
One huge female raccoon decided that her new home was under the eaves of
my roof.  Every spring she tore a hole in the shingles and dug a doorway
into the eaves.  We kept trying to patch the hole, but it was no use, she
always got back in.
 
So every spring there was a litter of baby raccoons prancing around on
the rooftop in the moonlight, right under my bedroom window.  It was so
hard to resist the temptation to open the window and let them in - they
were so cute and curious!  One night I woke up to a loud, pathetic
screaming down by the driveway.  I ran out and saw that one of the babies
had fallen off the roof or out of a tree and was scared witless.  Just
then the mother raccoon came to the rescue, saw me, and came after me,
hissing and baring her teeth!  I ran back to the porch and slammed the
door, then watched from there while she ran back to her baby and checked
him over.
 
I had two cats a the time, one of which was the neighborhood "roof
patrol." He was always up on my roof or one of my neighbor's roofs,
surveying the world below.  So I started to worry about him up there
with this big "vicious" mother raccoon.  Well, one night I drove into my
driveway and saw mama raccoon crossing the beam of my headlights - a not
uncommon sight.  Then came a baby trotting behind her.  But then, to my
amazement, came my cat!  He was following the mother and baby raccoon!
Then came another baby raccoon, and another... This procession of wild
raccoons included one very domestic black cat!  I couldn't believe that
the mother raccoon would tolerate him with her babies, but then I
realized that they had probably become acquainted when she first "moved
in" and had obviously become friends.  Amazing, huh?
 
Nancy and critters
[Posted in FML issue 4501]