You may have seen the Associated Press version of this story, but the local story from the Olympian is far more colorful.
Raccoons have killed about 10 cats in a three-block area near the Garfield Nature Trail at Harrison Avenue West and Foote Street Southwest.
[…]
The problem got so bad that residents Kari Hall and Tamara Keeton even started a Raccoon Watch after having an emotional neighborhood meeting attended by about 40 people.
[…]
It’s not just cats being attacked. Five raccoons actually ganged up on and carried off a little dog, who survived.
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“There’s one really big bad dude,” (Keeton) added.
“He was the biggest raccoon I’ve ever seen. He was a monster,” added Tony Benjamins, whose family has had two cats killed.
[…]
“We used to love the raccoons. They’d have their babies this time of year, and they were so cute. Even though we lived in the city, it was neat to have wildlife around.”
But this year, things changed.
“They went nuts,” he said of raccoons. “We got a dog” – a German shepherd-Rottweiler mix – to scare them away.
This sounds like a made-for-TV movie right there.
I grew up around racoons, and we all knew better than to mess with them. Anybody who thinks they’re cute needs a smack in the head.
Comments
Not just Washington – we lost a cat down the street to a pair of raccoons a couple of weeks ago. Suburbs west of Portland, Oregon.
The folks had the cats food on the back porch (BAD IDEA!), and, when the cat took umbrage at the raccoons eating her chow, they grabbed her, and ripped her apart in front of the kids and Mom.
Problem with surburbia is, you can just *shoot* the damn things!
Kirk
I hope that Kirkis planning on shooting the cats! Ther Raccoons were just defending their meal. Cats are the most destructive carnivorers in the urban landscape. Only cats will kill anything that moves, wheter they are hungry or not!.
Don
Are you dumb Don! Open your EYES! Read all the other articles! Take away cats and you have rodent problems….That was not their food,so who was defending their meal? Wake up people, racoons kill cats! Hell of alot more cat owners than rabies,I mean racoon owners! It needs to be dealt with, one way or another! Owner of two cats killed by racoons