Ever since we've gotten rid of our dog, we've had a wild cat infestation in our backyard. I've seen 3 cats at the same time in our backyard. My wife thinks they're cute for the most part, but I step in poo a couple times a week. For a while I thought it was raccoon poo. Then someone told me that wild cats don't bury their poo cause that's how they mark their territory. I don't know why they can't just pee. Obviously, no wild cat has ever moved into a rental property where the previous owner had cats. If they had... they'd know how strong and offensive their own pee really is and maybe they'd decide that was good enough.I went to Smith and Edwards and asked the lady working in Sporting Goods if they had a Cat Trap I could purchase. With a look of shocked disgust, she replied, "A CAT trap? Um... no. But we DO have a Raccoon Trap right over there." I was a little confused over why she'd respond with such disgust. I figured she was simply a cat lover. When I saw the device, I noticed it was actually called a Live Animal Trap. Funny enough, there were three animal photos on the side of the box. A photo of a raccoon. A photo of a cat. And a photo of an armadillo or aardvark or something. I'm actually not sure what the difference is between an armadillo and aardvark. So apparently, the name of the trap changes depending on what it is you're looking to trap. The lady didn't want to think about the raccoon trap accidentally catching a cat... even though that's exactly what I was trying to catch. And since the makers of the trap decided to include the photo of the armadillo, I suppose those animals are a nuisance somewhere in the world.
So over the last three weeks I've put out this cat trap just to see if any animal would be stupid enough to walk into a metal cage just to get a chunk of hot dog. So far, 12 cats and 2 raccoons have been dumb enough. I heard two cats fighting earlier today so I know there are still at least two more up there in my trees.
14 comments:
I love hearing Betsy's voice. She is such a tender person!
What do you do with them when you catch them?
So. Moving the raccoon trap is the woman's job at your house while the man's job is to film it and follow her and tease her? Sounds about right.
Go ahead Cam, tell them what you do with them . . .
I put them to sleep, bury them in the backyard and have a nice graveside service for them.
Laura, I just reread the Family Proclamation and it doesn't say anything about Live Animal Traps. Even if it did, Betsy can't work the video function of our camera as well as I can and we all know that at the Daley house... entertainment always trumps safety.
So after Betsy lovingly carries the creatures out to the front yard, talking softly to them to calm them down, you then "put them to sleep?" Does Betsy do that too while you shoot the video?
P.S. Betsy, you are very brave.
I love Bets so much. That is so like her. She is so kind, and understanding. She is a really sweet girl. I feel bad for the poor raccoon too. Oh, and Cameron there is a very distinct difference between an armadillo and a aardvark. Arther off PBS kids is an aardvark, so apparently they have hair, and armadillos have a hard outer shell, kind of like potato bugs! LOL :D
Just for the record, I am not in agreement with trapping, putting them to sleep, or sending them to animal control. In fact, I have even been feeling very vegetarian since the trapping began because of how sad I feel about these poor little guys :(. The poo has become a problem though, so I don't really know what to do besides be super nice to them before Cameron destroys life as they know it, he's a meany! However in his defense, he has found a way to send them to heaven the best way you possibly could without the help of a vet.
Do you kill them like you killed that other rabid raccoon your dogs trapped?
I am not sure I could just take a shovel and chop their head off. Especially since I am not very strong so it would take me a couple of chops before the head was completely severed.
Maybe some tasty sweet anti-freeze.
You can take the cats to the animal shelter all you want, but I think you should let the raccoons go free...they are so cute and technically were probably on the land before you. It's the American Indian War all over again!
I have a great recipe for Raccoon stew.....
I was going to come and make a comment about how masculine it was to have your wife move the animal trap, but it looks like somebody (everybody) else beat me to it.
Hey Betsy, do you tighten the lugnuts too?
Fun with rabies? How about lice and fleas? How about this little fun fact: "Two feral cats who have not been spayed or neutered can produce around 420,000 kittens in seven years". No joke. And as for raccoons:
"A raccoon is often rabid, without showing any outward symptoms of the viral disease.They have been known to carry the raccoon roundworm, which in transmitted to humans through ingestion and inhalation of eggs passed in their feces. Preyed upon by foxes, bobcats, coyotes and owls, the common raccoon is mainly killed by cars and disease." And, you know, the end of Cam's shovel.
Or just remember the sage advice of my Uncle Bill..."Raccoons will rip your face off."
Nuff' said...be careful.
That raccoon looks like the size of a St. Bernard.
Armadillos are a nuisance in Texas, I've seen them and maybe hit one or two with my car no Live Animal Trap needed.
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