sick raccoon that needs to be trapped

[Maya]

Hi I'm just wondering if anyone could offer tips for catching a raccoon. I tried this evening to get this guy into a big cage (lent by SPCA) They suggested putting food in and closing door behind him. This didn't work because he wouldn't go all the way in. When he was quite far in my boyfriend said something and I got startled and started to shut the door which tapped him on the back and rather than turning around he backed out very quickley. I'm quite upset that I have lost my chance because I think he will be even more reluctant to go all the way in now when and if he comes back. He or she looks to be totally blind and doesn't have use of front paw. I'm worried he won't last to much longer
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[coonlover]

Keep trying to catch him, if he knows where the food is he will probably come back, they seem to like peanut butter, maybe try putting some on a piece of bread, sor if you have some cat food (Canned) warm it up so he will smell it, please try to catch him, if hes limping he must be hurt and if he is blind he wont have much of a chance, doesnt the trap close automatically? Please let us know how it goes and good luck with the little fella.

[Maya]

Thanks so much for the reply. The cage is just a big dog cage with those latches that need to be squeezed down at the middle so the door will fit after you push and release. I don't think he has use of his front leg at all I'll keep trying.

[maddoxies]

What about leaving a bit of a trail of the bread/peanut butter up to and into the cage, with the canned cat food at the back of the cage. This would coax him into the back of the cage, give you that extra second to get the door close.

I so hope you catch this little guy, so he can be helped

[chico2]

Poor coon,I feed mine peanuts,but they will eat just about anything....does your HS not have humane traps,that close on their own???
It will be the humane thing to have him/her put down,they can overcome just about any disability,but blindness is probably not one they can survive with.
Good luck,it must be heartbreaking to watch :sad

[tyr]

I had a pet Raccoon when I was a little girl. This really breaks my heart....

Putting him/her down would be best if you were going to release him/her back into the wild. Although, if the vet took a look at him/her, and he/she was healthy I would suggest, either keeping him/her as a pet or bringing him/her to a local zoo or sanctuary. At least in a zoo or sanctuary he/she is put in a large area with other raccoons and would most likely do very well there.

He/she would never survive if put back into the wild to fend for his/her self.

This is just my humble opinion.....

Have you had any luck at all?

[chico2]

Tyr,I think you missunderstood,what I gather,it's a wild raccoon,blind and lame in one leg.....unless there is a sanctuary somewhere,the best is to have him put down,humanely.

[coonlover]

Chico, do your little friends still come by to visit? Do you ever feed them by hand?

[chico2]

Coonlover,I had two young ones for a while,it seems they'd lost their mom,because she used to come too earlier,but they were able to manage on their own.

Unfortunately one day I found the smallest dead on the road and a few days later the bigger one :sad:
I say every spring,I am not going to feed the coons anymore,since I have enough to feed already,but in the spring it's especially hard not to,the babies are soooo cute and fun to watch.
I do not feed them by hand,I put the food out on my deck and we(my cats and I)watch them from inside....people say they are destructive,but in all the years I've had coons here,no damage has been done....

[coonlover]

I dont blame you for wanting to feed them, they are so darn cute especially the babies, I hate it when i see them on the road its very sad. when we go camping we usually end up buying huge bags of peanuts and raisins for them and we sit by the fire and feed them, alot of times by hand, I think the campground we go to the raccoons are very used to people and come right up to our chairs sometimes put their front feet on our laps to see what we have, its kinda scary because they can be unpredictable. Last summer when we were camping we had a mother and her 3 babies coming every night to see us the mom was so friendly with us by the 4th night we were there she would walk up to my bfs chair and lean on his leg, I think thats when he first fell in love with raccoons, we ran out of nuts so he was making mini peanut butter sandwiches for them and put out a small tub of water for them to drink insted of drinking it they would get right in and looked like they were having a bath, the one baby had enough to eat and went to sit against a tree a seemed to discover her toes she just sat there and played with her little feet. I cant wait for winter to be over so I can pack up the van and head to the campground

[Maya]

Haven't seen him again since yesterday. The SPCA said that they will re-release him in the area if the leg doesn't need to be amputated, because they don't rely on thier eyes much, mostly their hands, and also because he is familiar with the location. That way he will have a better chance. I'm hoping yesterday's dinner kept him going and that I'll get another chance today. If I can't get him in this cage again, I think I will call the SPCA once more and see if I can get a humane trapping cage. Thanks everyone for the advice and questions it really helps to have the support with this!

[chico2]

Maya,thank's for caring....please keep us posted,if this one has a lame fron-paw,he probably would not be able to eat peanuts,bread with peanut-butter would be better and cat-food of course,if you have any. Last summer though,any HS catching raccoons had to kill them,babies or grown-ups and they killed several thousands on the order of the Ministry of Natural Rescources,but maybe this year it's different.
Coonlover,when I saw my first raccoon I was elated,we don't have raccoons in Sweden where I come from and I had no idea what they would eat,but they seemed to favor peanuts.I think they are wonderful creatures and so much fun to watch.
I've had them sleeping in a big tree I have in my backyard,sometimes they get caught in the day-light and climb up the nearest tree until dark.
my cats have seen them in the tree but they don't bother.
I also have possums,ground-hogs and skunks and I actually love them all,even the skunks,although on summer-nights the smell can be a little overwhelming
Many people think of the wild animals as pests,but they were put on this earth to share it with us and I for one thouroughly enjoy them.
I have a lot of friends who love coons,one couple even let them come in to the kitchen and eat....big misstake,at one point they had 18 raccoons,young and old coming inside

[lilith_rizel]

Get some corn on the cob. They love that. My family and I were camping once, and had 2 paper bags full of corn on the cob in our picnic tent, and we were all sitting by the camp fire, when a bunch of racoons came our of the woods, and stole all of it. Of course we just sat there watching them. We really didn't care that they took $15 worth of food. We thought it was cute.

[CyberKitten]

I once trapped a racoon on my front lawn with a Have a Heart trap and used nuts - he was more than happy with the nuts. He somehow got lost in a residential area. I called Natural Resources and they told me how to release him to the wild after having him checked out by a vet. I'd have loved to have had him as a pet but it would not have been fair.

This fellow sounds like he neesds to be trapped (and maybe the HS or natural Resouces could help you there?) and seen by a vet. Then a determination can be made about his future. (hopefully a positive one!)

[Maya]

Well just an update. He seems to be fighting with three other racoons for this area. There were just some awful noises growls and squeeks and he took off across the street. It's really sad I used to see him with another one but I think that may be one he is fighting with now and an additional one or new pair. I've tied some cat food that he likes in a toilet paper roll with slits to the back of the cage so he can get at it but not pull it out to eat it. The animal control guy who is suposed to pick him up after I catch him said I should get a trap but that they are very expensive to rent. If the next chance I have to lure him in doesn't work I'll see if I can get a trap.

[Spurby]

I think i may know someone with a trap, i will let you know asap if they do.

Glad to see people caring about these guys, i just love them myself :love: I just wish people would apreciate them for what they are. Little buggers!!! But soo cute!!

[LL1]

I love them too.Beautful critters.A sad story happened recently with a rescue/sanctuaty near Ottawa,with a rabies scare they went into foster homes and killed all the foster coons that people had been hand feeding and rehabbing in some cases for months.Don't trust MNR or the govt or AC to do the right thing.

[Spurby]

How about the wildlife sanctuary in toronto? in the west end? Are they good? maybe they can help? I hear they are getting busy more and more helping deer as well, i know i have seen 3 myself where i walk Natis in the don valley here in toronto.

[LL1]

Heard of them but don't know them personally,ask onlist,I am sure some people know them.

[Maya]

I'm on the West Coast by the way....

[chico2]

Iggette knows all about what happened last summer to thousands of raccoons,no sanctuary or rescue were allowed to help,they all had to be euthanized on order from the MNR and it was found 99,9% were healthy animals.
I was hoping she would come on here and show you some of her wonderful pics of Chico,the only surviving baby-coon from a litter of 7,whom she took care of like a baby and he grew up to be a beautiful coon,now in hibernation somewhere.Here is a pic of Iggettes Chico,the lucky raccoon.

[Maya]

Awww so cute and fluffy having dinner

[Maya]

The SPCA here called Wild ARC assured me they would do whatever was best for this guy, either treat him and let him go or have him put to sleep. I didn't realize racoons were considered such pests. I've always felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to see them and enjoy what amazing creatures they are. I guess there is just a lack of compassion for life, I don't really get it.

[chico2]

I suppose some people see them as pests,if they tear garbage-bags,rummage in gardens and the forever excuse of rabies.
I am not religious in any way,but to me no animal is a pest...they were put on this earth for a purpose ,I do know many people who are real pests,though
Our government or the MNR(ministry of natural resources)were on a killing-spree last spring/summer,killed 13.000 coons and foxes and 3.000+ Cormorants.Maybe they were in the fur-business

[Shamrock]

Wow, those are great pics of the litttle critters, Chico!

I find raccoons fascinating, and watching them is so interesting...
I must admit though I discourage them from my yard for two reasons.
They pry open the garbage cans, make a mess. In past summer evenings, we have found them right in the house -chowing down on the pets food.

The far bigger concern is that they worry me as a threat to my animals (if they were cornered and/or feeling threatened)
My dog is five pounds.. I'm afraid he may trigger a violent reaction in a raccoon in the yard?
Plus, six years ago, I was devastated to lose a beautiful adult cat to some type of wild animal. I will never know what killed it - only that it was gruesome and fierce struggle.
I thought it was a coyote, but as the (partial) remains were left behind.. The SPCA told me that it was more likely a raccoon..

Since then..as much as I admire these lovely creatures.. I send them gently on their way.
I just dont want to take any chances...

[chico2]

Shamrock,I understand your concern,my cats are never out at night and in the daytime only with me.
With your cat :sad: it more than likely was a coyote,I've seen the aftermath of a coyote/****zu encounter,the ****zu(sp?)had half his face bitten off,but survived,actually a chihuahua alerted the owner and they chased the coyote away.
I take precautions with garbage-bins etc..I keep the bags in a deck-storagebin,birdseeds and stuff in my shed,with a pad-lock
I have a huge perennial garden and so far the coons have not destroyed anything..In the spring,the babies are a little more energetic,climb up on tables,try to swim in my birdbath and they are not afraid of people,unlike the mature coons.
I don't want a raccoon as a pet,I just think they are sooo much fun to watch.

[happycats]

Shamrock sorry to hear about your cat, but I don't believe it was a racoon,
probably coyote, or fox. I say this because we have a trailer up north with many resident cats and racoons, and they actually get along just fine, they will growl and snap at each other over food, ,but never in all the years I have been going there has a racoon ever attacked a cat. (we have been feeding them for years because as Chico2 said they are great fun watching, and so are the skunks!

One year a couple of cats as well as the owners 5 rabbits, were lying all over the yard. dead and badly mangled, it was horrible. But after looking at the tracks left behind, a local native man said they were killed by red fox, ,and that fox quite often will kill everything in sight, he also said that when a fox gets in a chicken coop they will also kill all the chickens, and maybe only take one away with them, no one seems to know why they do this.

[chico2]

Happycat,that's what I think too,I don't think coons are generally vicious unless cornered and when they fight among themselves it sounds terrible but they usually do no harm,just a lot of noise.
I used to have a huge male coming by and this tiny female had him running away with his tail between his legs.....

[happycats]

At the trailer we watch cats, coons and skunks interact nightly, and it is fun and peaceful, everyone seems to know thier place.
The skunks are the funniest ! racoon or cats gets close to the food, and the bum goes in the face, that's usually enough to back them off!

We have seen a skunk head butt a cat to get a hotdog off of him !!

Last season the regular racoon we called Rocky showed up with 7 babies !! We have never seen that many young with 1 mom before, we now call her rockette !! my hubby hand feeds her marshmellows!!

[chico2]

Happycats,last spring a little female brought 8 babies on to my deck,day by day she had less and at the end of the summer,there were only 2 left.
One day only the two babies came,mom probably killed by a car....then one week after the other I found the two young ones on the road,I cried buckets over these two little guys :sad: But this spring I am sure I'll have a new family visiting...the little ones are sooo cute,you just want to pick them up,but of course I don't.
I had a couple of skunks too,but they stayed by the bird-feeders,I suppose they were eating seeds....and I've had possums here all winter,they seem to like peanuts too,they are sooo ugly they are cute
The backyard seems to come alive at night,I have a pair of nightvision binoculars to watch them,better than TV