Nuisance aminals

[DarcyInOregon]

How do raccoons kill cats? I've lived here for 30 years, on 50 acres, growing trees, so I have lots of wildlife because my land is forested. When I look outside, the raccoons and my cats are on the porch, totally indifferent to each other, within a few feet of each other. Now I've had stray un-neutered tom cats come by and attack my cats and try to kill them, but never a raccoon. I had a couger cut open a dog from scrotum to throat. I had a nutria kill a cat, about 28 years ago; the vet identified the killer as a nutria from the spit left on my cat. I had an eagle kill a cat by swooping down and breaking its neck. I've had coyotes kill and carry off some cats and so I now have an Anatolian to keep the predators away. I would say the most benign critter on my property is the raccoon.

I should add I haven't lost a cat since I got my Anatolian. And for the kitty lovers, yes my precious kitties are inside, but some of them are dumped cats who are shy and don't want to live inside, and those are the ones who got killed in the past years, the ones who refused to live inside.

Darcy

[Eden]

Sorry Darcy, you're just not going to convert me to a racoon lover. I live in the city - and I've been seeing racoons out during the day around here recently - with people around and everything so I'm thinking they are getting much more bold. Maybe out in the country where there are lots of other opportunities to eat they are not a dangerous nuisance, but around here they've started to decide that pets are fair game..... (oh and don't talk to the people who try to keep koi ponds...)
I live a 15 min walk from downtown Seattle, so we don't have the big predators... (though I have heard rumors that someone saw a coyote a few blocks from my house) so I can be pretty sure cougars aren't killing all the cats - still an unbelievable number went missing this spring.