Apparently one of the feral cats I've been feeding is dressing up, early, for Halloween

[Siwsan]

I set up a camera on the back of the house, mainly to see if I could see any kittens. Welp, not exactly. (Not the best quality photo but it is just a 'Blink' camera and the tubby fur ball never stopped moving. I have a little 'spot light' on the back of the house so I might leave that on, tonight, to see if my new little buddy comes by, again.

[packman]

1. Looking for a cat until I saw the stripped tail

Rocky the Racoon?

[Siwsan]

3. I've seen raccoon prints in the veg garden, before, but not every year

I spotted this one the other night, but I'm using a very basic security camera so I wasn't positive what I was looking at. The shape just wasn't feline but then it could have been a very pregnant cat. Once I suspected it was a fat raccoon I stopped putting out the dry cat food, but it has come back for the past two nights.

My mother used to feed the raccoons, and it turned into a real situation. I'll be keeping an eye on tracks in the snow, this Winter, to see if the neighborhood is having a racoon population explosion.

[Rorey]

2. Thieves

I had to raccoon-proof my cat doors so the raccoons couldn't get in. It was a real challenge, but I finally figured it out. These neighborhood raccoons are a real pain in the butt.

My daughter, who lives in her own house, has a big raccoon problem. We're planning to build some raccoon-proof cat feeders for some ferals she feeds.

[Siwsan]

4. I'm definitely not going to risk becoming a raccoon hot spot.

They are cute as can be, but I know how problematic they can become.

My cat is a 100% indoor cat, so no cat doors to worry about. However, I'm going to google 'racoon proof cat feeders'.

[Rorey]

5. I'd prefer if mine didn't go out, but it's too late now

Three of the four are feral. I kept them in for about a month when I caught them when they were two months old while I was waiting for their spay/neuter appointment. We played with them for hours every day to no avail. They won't be touched. After they were fixed I had enough and let them go. They're about 2 1/2 years old now. They come in to eat, and they're in when it's cold out. Their mom is as sweet as can be, and loves to snuggle. The "kittens" are amazed by that, but I guess it's just the way it is at this point.

I also feed a cat that I suspect got left behind when someone moved away. He pretty much comes like clockwork now, so I try to make sure that there's no food out when dark comes. I guess he could just be somebody's outside cat.

[Siwsan]

6. Mine was a rescue from a drug addicts house who was also a hoarder

She spent most of the first 6 months of her life burrowing into the collection of trash, and eating when and if there was food available. I won't even go into the littler box situation.

I tried taking her outside on a leash to just sit on my lap and enjoy nature. Turns out she's TERRIFIED of nature.

The feral cats I'm seeing want nothing to do with humans. However, they did take care of the ground hog problem I was having.

[Rorey]

7. My neighbor is happy to have mine around

She's got a wood pile in her back yard that she never uses, and I'm pretty sure that's where mine are catching mice. They're very good hunters, though I don't always appreciate what they catch.

I'm sure your cat is perfectly happy and content staying inside. Poor baby, having to live in that hoarder situation.

[Siwsan]

8. Sophie Stinky Toes is now the Queen of the house.

She even regulates how much political television I watch.

[Rorey]

10. Looks like she owns the remote!

And it kinda looks like she's deciding no television will be watched.

[Hotler]

9. I had two free range come by the house a couple of years ago.

They own me now. They can go in or out, no pet door. One has learned to rattle the screen door when he wants in. A month or so back I was working late at my desk and I heard the door rattle. I went to automatically open the door and realized that it was three young raccoons. Have they been watching my cat?

[Rorey]

11. They're pretty smart

If you left your house for long enough, they'd probably figure out how to get in.