And he is making crying sounds. What should I do? He looks like he's scared. :(

Do Nothing! That's the last thing you need is a mamma racon all over ya. He's a wild animal, he'll be ok :)

Racoons will eat just about anything, but it's important that it doesn't know that it is you who are feeding it. You'll never get rid of it if it knows you are the source of food.

Understand, also that racoons are smart! They can do the most amazing things! They out-think humans everyday. So be careful.

I say just leave it alone... that's my vote. Then again, I don't mess with animals much, so maybe you know more than me

I say just leave it alone... that's my vote. Then again, I don't mess with animals much, so maybe you know more than me
I've actually never seen a live racoon. But I hope to soon!

Personally I try to help any animal in trouble. I've rescued baby birds on a regular basis and I even helped out a catapiller who was covered in ants(that scene almost made me cry)!

So, I vote do what you can. But carefully! This isn't a baby bird. This thing can get messy. It's possible it would survive if you leave it alone, but as for myself, I couldn't live with the thought of leaving it alone!

I say just leave it alone... that's my vote. Then again, I don't mess with animals much, so maybe you know more than me


I can always catch him and send him to you. Want a pet? ;)

I've actually never seen a live racoon. But I hope to soon!

Personally I try to help any animal in trouble. I've rescued baby birds on a regular basis and I even helped out a catapiller who was covered in ants(that scene almost made me cry)!

So, I vote do what you can. But carefully! This isn't a baby bird. This thing can get messy. It's possible it would survive if you leave it alone, but as for myself, I couldn't live with the thought of leaving it alone!
Yea, but baby birds and catapillers are a bit different from racoons. But like I said: i do'nt mess w/ animals, so maybe you know more than I do Jenya.

Jenya, if you send it to me, I will kill you :D ;)

I can always catch him and send him to you. Want a pet? ;)

Awww, man! That's just wrong! I want him!!!

Awww, man! That's just wrong! I want him!!!
you can HAVE him!

bring him inside and hug him and feed him and call him Al.

bring him inside and hug him and feed him and call him Al.

Al is my new pet! I'll love him like a puppy! He's going to be so cute! I'll train him to do tricks!

Jenya - if the crying continues, I'd call your local SPCA. If they won't come to check him out, they could put you in touch with the wildlife division (they all have them). If he/she is in trouble or something they'll come and get it and any babies.

Yes - don't go near it - if it does have babies it can be quite aggressive. I had one in my backyard this year I ran into while going out to vacuum the pool. They sometimes setup housekeeping in the pool shed. (He just ran off though).

If the SPCA can't help, they can at least give you some info on how to deal with it. You should be able to find them online - just google the letters and your city or suburb.

Hope this helps!

Awww, man! That's just wrong! I want him!!!


That can be arranged. :)

I don't know if the little guy has sibblings. He isn't crying anymore. I gave him a hotdog. :p

Cook'em! :D

I love baby animals. :biglove: But raccoons are rodents, right? I can't stand rodents.

Jenya - if the crying continues, I'd call your local SPCA. If they won't come to check him out, they could put you in touch with the wildlife division (they all have them). If he/she is in trouble or something they'll come and get it and any babies.

Yes - don't go near it - if it does have babies it can be quite aggressive. I had one in my backyard this year I ran into while going out to vacuum the pool. They sometimes setup housekeeping in the pool shed. (He just ran off though).

If the SPCA can't help, they can at least give you some info on how to deal with it. You should be able to find them online - just google the letters and your city or suburb.

Hope this helps!


Well the "Animal Control" office is closed for the night, but the operator told me to try and ignore him if he is not being destructive or aggressive.

If the animal is still here in the morning, they will catch it, and release him into the wild.

Why - not all rodents are bad (in my book, NONE of them are! :lol: )

They're actually HIGHLY intelligent. A childhood friend had one in the backyard. Her dad had built a cool treehouse for it. Their paws are like little black leather hands. And they LOVE ice cream sandwiches! We had a friendly one who came to our cottage EVERY night for dinner. They eat EVERYTHING.

I love raccoons, its the closest thing Canada has to its very own pandas :)...yes, a Panda is NOT a bear, its the largest member of the raccoon family....a panda is to a raccoon, as a lion is to your kitty cat! :)

Well the "Animal Control" office is closed for the night, but the operator told me to try and ignore him if he is not being destructive or aggressive.

If the animal is still here in the morning, they will catch it, and release him into the wild.


Oh good - that's what I figured they would say. Yeah, he might have only been there for a short time - its when they stay for an extended holiday they can become a pain (or if its a mama protecting her kitts).

I love baby animals. :biglove: But raccoons are rodents, right? I can't stand rodents.Raccoons are NOT RODENTS. They are CARNIVORES. Gee, we need a zoology class here. :rolleyes:

I saw a dead raccoon the other week by the side of the road, obviously hit by a car. :( There actually happen to be quite a few where I live, even in downtown Seattle (okay, up north by the Seattle Center and by Lake Union). Every once in a while, I'll see a live one.

Call his or her Mommy

Raccoons are NOT RODENTS. They are CARNIVORES. Gee, we need a zoology class here. :rolleyes:

I saw a dead raccoon the other week by the side of the road, obviously hit by a car. :( There actually happen to be quite a few where I live, even in downtown Seattle (okay, up north by the Seattle Center and by Lake Union). Every once in a while, I'll see a live one.


I thought the same thing, but when I ran a google, there were tons of sites that claim its of the rodent family. I still don't think it is though. (I didn't actually go into any of them to see if they were "properly informative" sites though).

bring him inside and hug him and feed him and call him Al. :lol:

I thought the same thing, but when I ran a google, there were tons of sites that claim its of the rodent family. I still don't think it is though. (I didn't actually go into any of them to see if they were "properly informative" sites though).I looked that up as well, and they placed the word raccoon next to rodent to indicate that it causes the same kind of damage on a farm that a rodent does. But it specified it's not a rodent.

Rodent means something having to do with its buck-teeth ("dent"). Carnivores have sharp pointy teeth. Rodents have vertical faces with eyes on either side (useful for scanning predators). Carnivores have eyes that face straight out.

Here is a mouse, a rodent. See how its eyes point away from each other? The face is rounded with eyes on either side.

http://animals.timduru.org/dirlist/mouse/mouse.jpg

Here is a raccoon, with its eyes facing foreward.

http://www.chattanature.org/raccoon%201.jpg

And he is making crying sounds. What should I do? He looks like he's scared. :(

I would kill it while you can. If you let it grow up, it will destroy everything and bring rats and disease to your neighborhood. It will eat anything and everything, including your plants and garden, it will knock over your garbage making everything easily accessible to rats, it will scratch and claw through drywall. It will be a nightmare. And they are known to be viscious. They will fight for their turf, and I have read about them attacking smaller children and causing damage that requires stitches and treatment for rabies.

There are some squirrels where I live that have decimated my garden. I have done everything to try and kill them, but every spring, they come back.

You should buy a pit bull and let him be the boss of your back yard.

well, the way I see it you got TWO options....

you could try to pacify him by singing to it, or

you could try to scare him off by starting a leper colony in your back yard.

I looked that up as well, and they placed the word raccoon next to rodent to indicate that it causes the same kind of damage on a farm that a rodent does. But it specified it's not a rodent.

Rodent means something having to do with its buck-teeth ("dent"). Carnivores have sharp pointy teeth. Rodents have vertical faces with eyes on either side (useful for scanning predators). Carnivores have eyes that face straight out.

Here is a mouse, a rodent. See how its eyes point away from each other? The face is rounded with eyes on either side.


Here is a raccoon, with its eyes facing foreward.



O.k. - that makes sense - yeah, I never thought they were part of the rodent family for the exact reasons you've pointed out. I thought I was going crazy there for a moment! ;)

I would kill it while you can. If you let it grow up, it will destroy everything and bring rats and disease to your neighborhood. It will eat anything and everything, including your plants and garden, it will knock over your garbage making everything easily accessible to rats, it will scratch and claw through drywall. It will be a nightmare. And they are known to be viscious. They will fight for their turf, and I have read about them attacking smaller children and causing damage that requires stitches and treatment for rabies.

There are some squirrels where I live that have decimated my garden. I have done everything to try and kill them, but every spring, they come back.

You should buy a pit bull and let him be the boss of your back yard.


You're crazy! :rolleyes: Why don't we just wipeout ALL wildlife because they might do some damage!! You make squirrels sound like they're gangs from East L.A.!

You're crazy! :rolleyes: Why don't we just wipeout ALL wildlife because they might do some damage!! You make squirrels sound like they're gangs from East L.A.!

They are a nuisance. Why put up with them?? They do more harm than good. Plus, no matter how hard we tried, we could not kill them all. We can only hope to force them out of areas where people live. It is better to kill them than to let a kid get rabies or to have the rat population explode.

You make squirrels sound like they're gangs from East L.A.!

I got a good laugh from that.

bring him inside and hug him and feed him and call him Al.
:lol:

They are a nuisance. Why put up with them?? They do more harm than good. Plus, no matter how hard we tried, we could not kill them all. We can only hope to force them out of areas where people live. It is better to kill them than to let a kid get rabies or to have the rat population explode.

Not with raccoons especially - let animal control handle them. Its more dangerous setting traps or putting out poison on your own - without knowing exactly what you're doing, you could seriously harm or kill a child or family pets if they were to get into the stuff. The SPCA will pick them up (including squirrels) and relocate them to more remote areas.

Remember - its humans who encroched on their territory first - they're just trying to adapt.

I have at least 10 squirrels, 4 chipmunks, I don't know how many rabbits and a raccoon living on my property, and the worst that's ever happened is I lost some tulip/daffodil bulbs that they ate and a raccoon did make a bit of a mess in the pool shed. None have ever gotten into the house or garbage or my composter (with table scraps). I even put out shelled peanuts for them. My husband gets nervous, but NOTHING has ever happened. You can happily co-exist with them. But if you can't, I wouldn't recommend trying to kill them yourself - you could harm more than just them.

They are a nuisance. Why put up with them?? They do more harm than good. Plus, no matter how hard we tried, we could not kill them all.
are we still talking about racoons or certain members of the human race?

are we still talking about racoons or certain members of the human race?


Excellent Point!!!

I don't think raccoons are willing to die for their "cause" tho! ;)