waltappel 1 #1 December 20, 2005 A little over four months ago, I started a thread about an injured racoon I was trying to help. I see her quite often, but usually don't have a camera with me. Tonight I took one out there and got a couple of pics--one of Melissa the evil racoon and another of one of the other racoons. I feed them about 75 feet or so from my apartment. Even if they are vicious little creatures, racoons rock! Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #2 December 20, 2005 wait, so are you sure that "melissa" is that same raccoon you helped? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 35 #3 December 20, 2005 Quotewait, so are you sure that "melissa" is that same raccoon you helped? Take a look at the front limb on the right... yup... the same one he posted about before..."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #4 December 20, 2005 Quotewait, so are you sure that "melissa" is that same raccoon you helped? Yep. I see that malicious little beast all the time and it is the same racoon. They have different personalities and I would immediately know if there was an impostor. At least I like to think I would. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #5 December 20, 2005 so, did her supposed children get released into the same area? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #6 December 20, 2005 Quoteso, did her supposed children get released into the same area? It turned out they were not hers. The baby racoons are still around, but they are not babies any more. One of them is a really vicious alpha that my cat had a funny confrontation with. My cat is a seal point Siamese and, in both her view and mine, is royalty. As such, she likes to show other creatures who is boss. I don't like her being around the racoons when I am feeding them, but she learned that racoons are very skittish and she can spook them very easily. She started making a practice of walking very close to them when they are feeding, just to mess with their heads. One night she was walking right behind a few racoons as they were feeding. None of them liked it, but the little alpha got really upset. The racoon was snarling like a Tasmanian Devil and approached my cat by creeping up a slope toward her. My cat, Zoe, was thoroughly unimpressed. She sat there giving the racoon a very smug look. Suddenly, it was screaming critters and flying claws and fangs. Most people have seen the ritual that cats can go through when fighting. They will confront each other with a loud, mournful howl and suddenly let the claws fly. They don't necessarily make contact, but it looks pretty bad. That's what Zoe and the racoon did. They didn't make contact, but it looked bad and sounded much worse. After a few moments of that posturing, the poor racoon lost its footing and tumbled down the slope it was on. It came back and had another round of posturing with Zoe and finally gave up. Zoe was quite pleased with herself and finally wandered off, satisfied that the racoons knew who the boss is. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charmsdroppop 0 #7 December 20, 2005 You have a good heart. I love racoons. Must be that nocturnal thing. I fed one to health in Yorba Linda Cali. and they are so awesome and smarter than...................nevermind. That's for SP's corner. We got more than enuf battles goin' on. Cheers Always..........Paquitais it dark yet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #8 December 20, 2005 QuoteYou have a good heart. I love racoons. Must be that nocturnal thing. I fed one to health in Yorba Linda Cali. and they are so awesome and smarter than...................nevermind. That's for SP's corner. We got more than enuf battles goin' on. Cheers Always..........Paquita PM me with an e-mail address and I'll send you an article I wrote on it. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charmsdroppop 0 #9 December 20, 2005 Oh yeah My email address is Charmsdroppop@yahoo.com. People don't understand it but the ones who really know me ....know that I have earned this I.D. term.is it dark yet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charmsdroppop 0 #10 December 20, 2005 Dummsky me that was suppose to be a PM. About the email address. Duh!!!!is it dark yet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACMESkydiver 0 #11 December 20, 2005 I really don't like cats or racoons at all...but that Zoe is beautiful! An' it looks like ol' stumpy is getting along, as viscious as ever! ~Jaye Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #12 December 20, 2005 QuoteI really don't like cats or racoons at all...but that Zoe is beautiful! An' it looks like ol' stumpy is getting along, as viscious as ever! Zoe really is gorgeous and it's kind of odd how she came into my life. An ex-girlfriend and I were driving down a dark residential street at night when we saw a cat sitting in the middle of the road. The cat was just sitting there and would not move. We stopped, and I got out of the car to see what the deal was. The cat's chest was covered in blood and she was knocked senseless. Apparently she had been hit by a car. I took the cat home and cleaned her up so I could take her to the emergency clinic. It looked like all the blood had come from a single laceration under her chin, and that had stopped bleeding. The cat started purring, so I decided to wait until the next day to get her checked out. That night I put up flyers all over the area where I found her. The flyers had a picture of her, the area where I found her, and my phone number. The next day I took her to the vet and he could not find any injuries. This was a really lucky cat! I called every veterinarian in the area asking if any of their clients had told them they lost a seal point Siamese. No luck. No luck with the Lost Pet ads in the paper either. I couldn't believe somebody with such a beautiful, sweet cat would not make significant effort to find her, but apparently that was the case. I have had her since. Oh, and the story behind her name. My ex-girfriend and her family are all serious dog-lovers. I think of them more as dog worshipers. They love their dogs. My ex got a dog and named her Paxil, which is a popular antidepressant, claiming that having a dog is the best antidepressant there is. When we got the cat, she named the cat Zoloft, another antidepressant, and called her Zoe for short. Here's a pic of me asleep with Paxil and Zoe. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #13 December 20, 2005 Walt, Why does one raccoon get a name and the others don't. I think they must feel slighted, thus showing their ornery side, almost like a red headed step child. I had a siamese cat when I was younger. I remember my friends would call on the phone and say, "Why is that baby crying so loud?" I told them that wasn't a baby that was my cat meowing! Her name was Gumby, not sure why. Her eyes, blue as blue could be, were slightly crossed, but she was a beautiful cat too. She too, was a piece of work. BobbiA miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #14 December 20, 2005 QuoteWalt, Why does one raccoon get a name and the others don't. I think they must feel slighted, thus showing their ornery side, almost like a red headed step child. I had a siamese cat when I was younger. I remember my friends would call on the phone and say, "Why is that baby crying so loud?" I told them that wasn't a baby that was my cat meowing! Her name was Gumby, not sure why. Her eyes, blue as blue could be, were slightly crossed, but she was a beautiful cat too. She too, was a piece of work. Bobbi Personally, I'm not into naming wild animals. My tendency is more toward thinking stuff like, "That fuckin' 3-legged raccoon with the attitude" or "The three baby raccoons with the really shy mama.", and that kind of thing. Women seem to go for the naming thing, though, and when I had that thread on the injured raccoon the question of the raccoon's name came up. When I asked for suggestions, the response was, "Well, I've always been partial to the name Melissa". That of course, came from a woman named Melissa. I don't think the other raccoons feel too slighted. And I don't think Melissa feels all that special. All they want is the food. They would be quite happy if I would just put the food out for them and then disappear. They would like it even more if Zoe the cat did not go out there. Being royalty, Zoe thinks those are her raccoons and she wants to keep them in line. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDuck 0 #15 December 20, 2005 That cat is gorgeous! Is she a talker?Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #16 December 20, 2005 Ok so the warm fuzzy feeling is pushed out the door along with the nameless raccoons. BobbiA miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dumpster 0 #17 December 20, 2005 Zoe definitely has that "I am Queen of all I survey" look about her! You probably already know this, but raccoons have a nasty way of carrying nasty little maladies like rabies - Might want to keep Zoe clear, just in case! Easy Does It Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #18 December 20, 2005 QuoteThat cat is gorgeous! Is she a talker? Kinda' sorta. She meows when she wants something. I think most siamese cats, though, are quite vocal with their "rasps". A rasp is a sound they make that's kind of half way between a purr and a meow. It really is cute. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #19 December 20, 2005 QuoteOk so the warm fuzzy feeling is pushed out the door along with the nameless raccoons. Bobbi Oh c'mon. I love those raccoons but I can't tell most of them apart, so I don't name them. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #20 December 20, 2005 Yeah yeah...like I said....red headed step child. Hey! What its face! Get away from that dumpster!!!! BobbiA miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDuck 0 #21 December 20, 2005 That Simpson's episode where they get relocated because of Sideshow Bob stalking them just came to mind: "I call the big one 'Bitey'." It was possums, but still a tad appropriate. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #22 December 20, 2005 Quote Zoe definitely has that "I am Queen of all I survey" look about her! You probably already know this, but raccoons have a nasty way of carrying nasty little maladies like rabies - Might want to keep Zoe clear, just in case! Yes, I know about raccoons and rabies. I used to really cringe at the thought of Zoe going anywhere near the raccoons, but they now seem to have developed a certain respect for each other so I don't think there will be a problem. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #23 December 20, 2005 QuoteThat Simpson's episode where they get relocated because of Sideshow Bob stalking them just came to mind: "I call the big one 'Bitey'." It was possums, but still a tad appropriate. That's a good one. I've got two large opossums too. Here's a pic. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDuck 0 #24 December 20, 2005 How cool is the area you live in?? Opossums AND racoons? All I've got is an owl and a fox. the latter is nocturnal (thank goodness), so I'm generally not prepared to take pictures of her when I see her. That's incredibly cool that you have so many critters in your area.Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waltappel 1 #25 December 20, 2005 QuoteHow cool is the area you live in?? Opossums AND racoons? All I've got is an owl and a fox. the latter is nocturnal (thank goodness), so I'm generally not prepared to take pictures of her when I see her. That's incredibly cool that you have so many critters in your area. It really is cool here. What's bizarre, though, is that most people around here either don't know about the wildlife or they consider the animals to be a nuisance. Here's a pic of me and my favorite armadillo. Walt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
