Will raccoons attack/kill my barn cats?

[McChooky]

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?

They'll fight a momma cat to get their kittens

 

[DuckDuckSook]

They'll fight a momma cat to get their kittens

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.

 

[McChooky]

Cats don't roam like dogs.They'll typically stay within a couple blocks when neutered or spayed. The coons likely frightened her. She may be too afraid to come home if she was scared bad enough.

 

[addctd2plnts]

Raccoons may be a threat to the cats in an unexpected way. Distemper routinely runs its course through wildlife and raccoons are a big carrier. If you can capture and vaccinate the barn cats yearly, to vaccinate against Distemper, it's the only way to protect them. If you do catch them to vaccinate, have the vet deworm them for all worms including tape worms, and treat for fleas if they have them. It will go a long way towards keeping them more healthy.

You may be surprised to see your missing barn cat again. The barn cats in our area sometimes rotate barns. They meet a kitty friend and decide to shack up at the new friend's barn for awhile. Then, just as mysteriously, they show up back at home LOL

 

[bill3607]

I have tons of raccoons. I usually leave my live trap out just to see what I can catch. I have caught a bit of everything. Skunk a couple of times, but the majority of the time it is coons. If I bait it I could probably catch a coon every night and sometimes catch them without any bait. One time I caught 3 teenage coons at the same time in the same trap.

I have 2 outdoor cats and the raccoons regularly eat from the cats food out on the carport. The cats will just be lying around a few feet from the coons while they eat. They do not mind, and doesn't seem to bother the coons a bit either.

 

[McChooky]

Raccoons may be a threat to the cats in an unexpected way. Distemper routinely runs its course through wildlife and raccoons are a big carrier. If you can capture and vaccinate the barn cats yearly, to vaccinate against Distemper, it's the only way to protect them. If you do catch them to vaccinate, have the vet deworm them for all worms including tape worms, and treat for fleas if they have them. It will go a long way towards keeping them more healthy.

You may be surprised to see your missing barn cat again. The barn cats in our area sometimes rotate barns. They meet a kitty friend and decide to shack up at the new friend's barn for awhile. Then, just as mysteriously, they show up back at home LOL

We've got a feral that shows up to eat .He doesn't bother any of the outside cats but he could.(20 lbs.) He doesn't stay any longer than it takes for him to eat then he'll run off. I don't have a clue where he goes or sleeps but he's been around for years. I caught him on my game camera once running after a wild rat or a weasel by the chicken coop.He must have killed it because I haven't seen it since.

 

[bill3607]

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.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

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

So....what was his weather prediction? LOL.

LofMc

 

[bill3607]

So....what was his weather prediction? LOL.

LofMc

Early Spring!

 

[McChooky]

They never bothered any cats at other places we've lived but we've never seen any here. We had a family of them at one place that would peck on the glass if we didn't have any cat food out .I'm glad we don't have any here .