How to Protect Cats from Raccoons

If you live a rural area or urban area that is close to woodlands, raccoons are probably familiar to you. Most likely, they are familiar to you in a bad way. They make a mess out of your backyard, and may cause injure your pets, especially cats.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

How to Protect Cats from Raccoons

1. Tightly secure trash can lids. The first thing a raccoon will go for is all that garbage that you put out for the garbage collector. If you eliminate the raccoon's food source, he probably won’t come around. You can buy garbage cans with tight lids at any home improvement store, or you can use weights or bungee chords to tie down the lid.
2. Feed the cat indoors. Feeding your cat outside not only provides food for your pet, but also provides food for whatever neighborhood animal decides to drop in for dinner. If this is inconvenient for you, just bring the cat food in at dusk. Raccoons are nocturnal.
3. Block off any areas of your house and garden where the raccoon may find himself comfortable. If the raccoon doesn’t have a nest nearby, it won’t visit your house as often. Seal up chimneys and eliminate open holes around your house to prevent a raccoon from making a den.
4. Bring your cat inside at night. There are probably plenty of cold nights when your cat is begging to come in, although there are still the very frisky felines that feel the need to hunt at night. Cats are nocturnal too, which puts them on a collision course with the raccoons. Unfortunately, the raccoon is bigger, and usually comes out the winner from any cat/raccoon encounter.
5. Call pest control if the raccoon has become too much of a nuisance. While you may hate the fact that they invade and ruin your garden occasionally, you should also consider that they’ve been living where your home is much longer than you have.