Conference misery::feline_v1

	Perhaps you could catch the racoon in a Havahart-type trap and trans-
port her somewhere else.
	I don't know if this will ruin her life; I'm not too sure about the
house-building habits of raccoons.
		<_Jym_>

I thought about the Havahart trap, but I think we have an entire family
to worry about.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Coon update:

  The raccoon just knocked on the window.  I rushed over with the mustard
laced cat food (she loves cat food).  She took two bites and looked at me
with a "What are you feeding me this shit for?  Give me an apple!" type
look.  What can I say, I gave her an apple.  Back to the drawing board.
I think I'll call the animal shelter and see if they can catch the whole 
family.

New ideas welcome.

Denise

When I die and come back as a cat, Denise, can I be one of yours? You sound 
like the perfect soft touch!

Sure.  Any non-violent animals are welcome.  If I had a farm, I'd have
a million creatures.  I haven't even mentioned how much of a sucker I am.
If I have a roast beef sub, I eat the lettuce and tomato and the gang
bilks me out of all the roast beef (It's those eyes!).  The raccoon
even knocked on the window when I was home.  His eyes are enough to
soften even the hardest heart (actually, HER eyes),


The raccoon now seems to be gone.  The raccoon family was living in the
roof over the screened porch.  My landlord was told to try putting
mothballs up into the roof.  He did so and I haven't seen a raccoon for
about a week and a half.  I guess they hate the moth balls enough to
get up and move.

I do miss the raccoon.  We had a good rapport.

    I have a question, but there's a lot of background to supply before I can
    ask.
    
    A year ago this May, my husband and I moved to an *old* farmhouse
    in Southboro, MA, where 2 female cats were already living in the
    many barns.
    
    To my delight, one of the cats had a litter of five males:  Pumpkin
    (Punks), Traveller ('cause he was all over the place at a very young
    age), Ozzie (yes, Ozzie Osbourne), Tiger and Socrates (we call him
    Sox).  They all live outside and are very happy.  (Well, except
    for Tiger and Punks.  Tiger was recently killed by a car, and Punks
    has been MIA ever since.  I miss them dearly.)
    
    This past September, Mom (who is now "broken") had yet another litter.
    This time one male, David Bowie, and three females, Mischief, Screaming
    Mimi and Peach (two of which are calico, like Mom).  We gave Peach
    away, when she was old enough, and my husband and I were so miserable
    without her that we swore that we wouldn't give any more away. 
    
    We took them all inside for the winter under the impression that we
    were going to put them out when Spring rolled around.
    
    It's springtime now.  Mischief and David Bowie have both been out
    and love it.  Mimi would rather stay inside.  She went out once,
    briefly, but only because I was outside and she knew I would pet
    her if she came to me.
    
    Here's my question:
    
    Now that Mischief has been outside with her male half-brothers,
    when she comes inside, Mimi (here full sister) and Mom (her Mom),
    hiss at her and want nothing to do with her.  They used to cuddle
    together and clean each other.  Why are they so mean to her now
    that she has been deflowered?  Jealously, perhaps?
    
    This probably sounds really stupid, but if anyone has had similar
    experiences, I would really like to know why this is, and what,
    if anything, I can do to make them a happy family again.
    
    Oh yeah, David Bowie has taken it upon himself to also nail Mischief
    whenever she lets him.  If they're outside, he won't let any of
    the other cats near her.  What a life!
    
    (Thanks for this notes file, I think it's great!)
    
    JMS
    
    
     

    Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to your question, but I am
    wondering about the state of health of future kittens as it seems
    they will be the result of a lot of inbreeding?  Possibly some of
    these cats should be altered?  Not to mention that if they aren't,
    you will soon be facing gigantico vet bills for vaccinations for
    them and future generations.
    

    Re .6: It's pretty common for cats to get upset if one of their
    buddies comes home smelling different. (See the "back from the vet"
    notes for more examples of this.) The indoor cats can scent the
    outdoor cats on the half-and-half cat (still following me?), and
    they are annoyed at this new, potentially hostile presence.
    
    What to do: Keep the indoor cats in and the outdoor cats out, I
    guess, or else risk further upsets when the one that's in transition
    goes back and forth. 
    
    -b

    Re. 7:  I understand your concern for these kitties, and believe
    me, I nearly went to the poorhouse trying to care for their every
    need.
    
    Forturnately, my landlords are animal lovers and when each litter
    reaches eight weeks old, they make the rounds to the barns and
    innoculate them.
    
    As far as I know, this will be the first generation of inbred cats.
    (The mother came as a stray to the barn about 6 months before we
    moved in; we were told this by our landlords).  I'm not as concerned
    about this only because I had a first generation inbred cat for
    thirteen years and she was a wonderful kitty.  Don't get me wrong, I'm
    not going to sit by and watch them multiply by the thousands, I know
    they will if they are "allowed" to.  (I can barely afford the catfood
    bill as it is!)
    
    Even though I cannot take care of them all, as far as feline leukemia
    vaccines and all the other stuff that you would normally do for
    your pet (if you had just one or two) I really enjoy them and I
    don't feel that they are being mistreated in any way.
    
    Anyway, the cats aren't hissing at each other anymore.  There is
    a new cat in town, though.  I think he's a troublemaker.  Nobody
    likes him (except me, of course, he's real friendly), and there
    is a lot of tension among the cats and kittens when he's around.
    But, he is new to the crowd, maybe they just have to get to know
    him.  
    
    I guess with cats, you just have to wait and see what's going to
    happen.
    
    Re .8:  I would love to keep them inside, but they are just getting
    too big and they are really ripping the place up (my shower curtain
    liners are in shreds).  Last night was the first night we slept
    in the house alone since we've been there (it was really weird).
    I guess I'll have to get used to it, but I really do miss them cuddling
    up with us.  I'm going to try to keep one in the house at night,
    but it breaks my heart when the others are crying at the door to
    come in.
    
    I'm just an old softy, I guess, which is why I have so many of them
    in the first place.
    
    Thanks for your comments.
    
    JMS
    

    It appears that you really care for your kitties!  I encourage you
    to consider having them spayed and neutered before too many more
    kittens are born.  There are low-cost spay and neuter certificates
    that you can get from various organizations.  I'm sure someone can
    refer you to the notes in this conference which give more details.
    
    Enjoy your little friends!