Furry Babies!

The other day I was sitting at my desk.

It was late in the day but still daytime.

Then something caught my eye out the window.

Oh.

Oh!

OH!

Scampering past was a mother raccoon and SIX babies! SIX!

It is unusual seeing them during daylight hours but with SIX babies to nurse I assumed the mom was starving, and heading for my front porch where I leave food out for the stray cats in the neighborhood.

So I, too, scampered to the front porch.

But no raccoons.

Then…then…mom crept up from under the porch deck and started eating the few bits of cat food remaining from the morning. I assumed the six babies were under the deck.

Oh! What to do? What do do?

I ran to get more cat food, and then gently opened the front door. Mom, as expected, darted under the deck. I then poured cat food between the deck boards, and could see as seven raccoon heads weaved in and out of sight through the thin spaces between the boards, all devouring the food.

Squee!

An hour ago I was sitting at my desk.

It was late in the day but still daytime.

Then something caught my eye out the window.

Mom raccoon and her SIX babies!

I raced to the front porch…and waited…and waited…and waited.

At last, Mom hauled herself onto the porch and started furiously eating the cat niblets.

I waited…and waited…and waited.

Then one baby clumsily hauled itself onto the porch.

I waited some more…and then a second baby, a third, and a fourth!!!!!!!!

But #5 and #6 never appeared from under the deck. These two are, presumably, shy.

The five deck coons soon finished off the food, so then I gently came out with more food. The family scurried back under the deck, and I again poured food between the cracks of the deck boards to all seven could properly dine.

Then I filled the water bowl to maximum.

 

Five of seven.

 

 

15 Comments

  1. Betsy on July 7, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    Careful Ross, raccoons kill cats. No they really do

    • Ross on July 7, 2017 at 8:15 pm

      All my cats, and all the strays, seem well aware of this!

      They give any raccoon a VERY wide berth.

  2. Kelly on July 7, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    It would be so hard to not feed a momma and her babies. But if a cat got in their face or mess with their babies, yeah…would not be good for the cat. Poor raccoons, they are so freaking cute but vicious!

  3. Carla on July 7, 2017 at 10:44 pm

    ❤️ I have no words.

  4. Barb Sanford on July 7, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    You have a kind, kind heart.

  5. Sandra Lee on July 7, 2017 at 11:09 pm

    Very kind heart indeed.

  6. Cory on July 8, 2017 at 6:27 am

    Awww so cute!

  7. ANSC on July 8, 2017 at 9:17 am

    You are a sweetheart!

  8. B. Davis on July 8, 2017 at 10:16 am

    Your heart is in the right place, but feeding wild animals….not good idea. We’re plagued by raccoons here, and they’re very destructive. They look cute but they are vicious and very clever. They can open garbage cans, peel back beautiful lawns and definitely kill cats without a second thought. I read your story as if it were a Disney scene with all the beauty of well meaning intention But…. you’ll likely never rid of her now. AND they tell two friends…

    • Ross on July 8, 2017 at 11:28 am

      Whaaaaaaaaaat?

      You mean that wild beasts aren’t just like those in a Disney movie????????

    • Mary Kathline Idriss on July 11, 2017 at 1:06 am

      I am with you on this one. You do not want to do this Ross. You think squirrels are bad. Raccoons can do worse and have no problem staying in your house even if you try to coax them out. They will set up house in your beautiful home. You won’t be saying how cute they are then. Do Not Do This.
      Mary from Georgia

  9. Rhonda@Homer Ridge on July 8, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    B. Davis is so right! And among other diseases, raccoons are well known for spreading rabies, distemper and parvo to pets, so encouraging them to eat where you are feeding feral cats is really not recommended, bless your soft hearted soul! And they are hard to take off of freeloader status once started on easy street, so they become pests rapidly.

  10. Seth Hoffman on July 8, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    I encountered a large family of raccoons in our new garage. I think I’ll need to patch some holes. As cute as they are, I prefer to keep their destructive little paws put of my tools and supplies.

    A friend of mine calls them “Trash Pandas”.

  11. Gabi on July 10, 2017 at 7:40 am

    They destroy my bird feeders too.

  12. Mary on July 13, 2017 at 5:54 am

    You are a sweetheart! I have yo say as others did. Do NOT encourage them to stay. Most people have to pay someone to get
    Rid of raccoons from under the porch. We had a groundhog family under our porch and my husband thought they were cute. I have an outdoor cat and ahe would no longer sleep on our back porch let alone eat there once the groundhogs moved in. My husband finally closed up the space they were getting in at, so then they just dig the ground around it to get back in. It took a while! Big hassle

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