Will raccoons attack/kill my barn cats?

[Aunt Angus]

Wow! Jeez. Okay. Well, we don't have kittens. All of the barn cats we have and have ever had are spayed females that we adopted from a semi-feral barn cat adoption organization. I'm still not sure what happened to my missing kitty. Part of me is hoping she just found a home she likes better, but in my heart, I have a feeling that something got her.

I had a cat disappear for 9 months. Then he just showed up again like it was no big deal. Cats are interesting, resourceful creatures.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Off topic, but I trapped a ground hog for a girl I work with last week. I think what happened was back last fall she was having a new HVAC unit put in. While they had the existing unit removed and before they put the new one in the crawlspace to her house was open. So a couple of weeks ago she heard some noise and went outside to investigate. The groundhog had busted through some sheet metal where they had taped it to the unit.

She had no idea what it was but had a fuzzy picture of its head sticking out looking around. I thought it looked like a groundhog. So, groundhogs hibernate from about Oct. (around the time the unit was being removed) then around March come out of hibernation. I think he found his new den while it was open. Then, when he woke up from his nap he knew the way he had come in, but had to bust out.

So, I read that cantaloupe was a good bait. Took a few days but I got him. It was the first time I ever caught a groundhog, so that was pretty cool.

Cute, chubby little guy.View attachment 3042852

He is cute! Lil butterball

 

[bill3607]

He is cute! Lil butterball

I wanted to keep him for awhile lol He seemed friendly. I fed him out of my hand through the cage. But, he did have some big ole teeth And, he needed to be free.

 

[PastyButtsMom]

Any way you could feed the cats where the raccoons can't get to? Maybe somewhere that a cat can climb/jump to but a raccoon likely cannot....

 

[RiverOtter]

Raccoons will rarely go after cats, but should they ... it was the single worst thing I'd ever seen in decades of farming. And I have worked on a lot of places and seen a lot of things. I'm not telling the story, I already told a top 5 story this week, that was nightmares enough.

Also, coons will reach through wire, grab a bird, pull it to them and eat whatever they can. If the bird (or rabbit) is very, very lucky, it will die of a heart attack. They are not often lucky.

Don't leave cat or dog food out at night. Feed your barn cats just before sunset, lock them somewhere safe like a feed or tack room, and put away whatever they don't finish. Anything that will take a wild rabbit will kill a cat.
And trap the coons,. Sweetcorn or marshmallows will get coons and not draw other things to the traps.

 

[ashcons]

Coons absolutely can kill adult cats and small dogs. As long as they have a food source and aren't diseased, they won't normally try.

DP traps work great for raccoons IME, but make sure you check the traps frequently. I dispatch predators, but wouldn't want to leave one trapped longer than necessary. Live traps will work, but raccoons seem far less wary about sticking their grubby paws into a small hole to grab food than walking into an enclosed space.

 

[JudyGee]

I didn't think of owls. We do live in an area that includes several wooded spots. I've never seen or heard an owl, but I'm sure they are out there. We do have plenty of hawks (red tailed, red shouldered, etc.). Would they go after a full grown cat? I didn't think so but maybe?

One of the best photos I didn't get was my grown top cat jumping into the air to get a harrier hawk that was swooping down to get him. Both aborted their attempt at the last second!

 

[lagrange chicks]

We had a stray cat around the yard for a good 7 to 8 months. I would see him go to the stump I put scraps out for the crows. I would try to give him a snack at times when I would see him but he would never let me get to close. One day I see him at the stump so I go out with some meat scraps and this time he keeps his distance but came for the meal I left for him. I went back out with another snack for him and was surprised he came right to me this time and that's when I noticed 1 of his eyes was missing and looked fresh with a lot of draining. Not sure how he lost it. He ended up following me around the yard for a day or so before I caught him and took him to a animal shelter for treatment of his wound. The person at the shelter said he was neutered and 11/2 years old and covered in ticks. I am sure he was a drop off by someone who didn't want him anymore which is sad, if he wouldn't of had the eye issue we would of kept him. My wife named him twinkie since he was orange and white.