Raccoon takes cat's food: video

In this video, a cat tries to enjoy her meal, but she's interrupted several times by a brazen but peaceable raccoon who believes he's entitled to a share of the food. (Via Neatorama)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Takuan

Yup, know lots at a local park that have been trained to mooch off tourists all day and sleep at night
Ian70

Aww, the clip is gone now.
dougrogers

You techno-minded guys need to use the web for educational purposes. Hmmm… Google… raccoon… diurnal…..
Tyler

Tough cat -

Why someone would put their pet in harm’s way is beyond me.

Didn’t Lorne Greene’s wildlife show get sued for inducing aligator attacks on gazelles?
dougrogers

You techno-minded guys need to use the web for educational purposes. Hmmm… Google… raccoon… diurnal…..
Takuan

Roasted Raccoon and Yams

~ 1 raccoon, dressed
~ 2 red pepper pods
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1/4 tsp pepper
~ 1/8 tsp sage
~ 2 tbsp lemon juice
~ 4 large yams, peeled and quartered
~ 1/4 cup brown sugar
~ 1/2 cinnamon
~ 1/8 tsp ginger

Place the raccoon in a large pot with the peppers. Cover with water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove raccoon from the pot and place on a rack in a roasting pan.

Pour the lemon juice on the raccoon. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper and sage.

Place the yams in the pan around the raccoon. Add 1 cup of water.

Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger.
Sprinkle on the yams.

Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until the meat is crisp and brown.

Transfer to a serving platter.

Serve and Enjoy!
Jeff

That cat was really quite friendly. They must be on kinda good terms. I would not let a wild coon near my cat, though.
dragonfrog

Dumbasses with stomachs like you and me must die!
eih10dv65g

We have a similar problem with our two outdoor cats. Although they usually deal with the raccoon much more aggressively than did the cat in the video, sometimes they are not vigilant enough and he gets some of their food. He also uses their water bowl to wash things, which is pretty cool to watch.
Patrick Austin

#22: A raccoon doesn’t just wake up in the wild to a bulldozer one day and decide he has to go into the city in order to make a living. :)

I don’t think habitat destruction has anything to do with it. The density of raccoons in a nice suburban environment is probably (I’m sure google knows for sure) higher than it is in the few remaining “natural” habitats. Raccoons just really, really thrive on the habitat we create for them. Same for coyotes, rats, mice, sparrows, pigeons, etc. Co-evolution, symbiosis, etc…

And yeah, they’re total pests and dangerous to your pets and poultry, but….they’re SOOOO cute.
Philipshade

I hate every single person who leaves pet food unattended outside.

Attracting cute little ‘possums and racoons is a health hazard for every person and pet in the neighborhood.

Wise up people.
Saisumimen

That little bandit better not try that with my cat. I’d put a few couple copper tops right into his rabies-infested skull.

Bullets are only 12 cents each, rabies shots and and a few trips to the vet are a little more than that.
squeeziecat

we had a skunk that would do the same thing… let’s face it, they’re fearless because they’re packing nature’s own chemical warfare…who’s gonna mess with a skunk?

he/she was charming company (no-one ever got sprayed), but we made sure all the cats’ shots were up to date just to be safe.
ZippySpincycle

Rocky, boy, you’ve met your match…
Robert

Kitty probably thinks it’s another kitty in a racoon costume. A fursuiter, perhaps :)
mujadaddy

IM IN UR BUSHZ PWNING UR FUDZ
cinemajay

Poor cat. Hope he doesn’t get bit–or it’s off to the vet for rabies shots!
Kinnaird

That racoon is young when it gets a little older kitty better show some respect!
swamp yankee

Raccoons can be VERY dangerous to cats. I hope the people who made this video will quit feeding their cat where the ‘coon can get at her. It’ll turn out badly, I promise.
ill lich

That cat is a pussy.
techdeviant

The cat looks like he is really asking the owner with the video camera for some help with his food-stealing racoon buddy.
agnot

The cat was quite friendly. There is actually a lot of negotiation and mutual understanding going on there.

The cat did not go for the coon’s eyes and the coon knew it wouldn’t. The coon did not run the cat off and take everything although that would be well withing the coon’s abilities (the coon does not have the expectation of future provisions that the cat has). The coon just took one helping at a time and backed off.

They might know each other. Or the presence of a human may be mitigating the situation. But I see lots of such calculated encounters among wildlife.

It is hilarious when the cat looks at the camcorder operator and becomes resigned to Dad/Mom being entertained by the encounter rather than running the coon off.

BE FORWARNED!! Coons are big carriers of rabies and, although cute, seemingly friendly and human like in the manipulation of things, they are very strong, very fast and very unpredictable.
help i cant comfirm my username themelonbread

A raccoon active during the daylight? Such erratic behavior might be an indicator of rabies… The videographer should be careful, rabies can be spread merely by touch.
darrell

Yeah, some people are violent and carry diseases too. I should just shoot every person that comes within a certain perimeter of my home just to be sure. Can’t be too careful.
Chris

I agree with all the comments pointing out that the owner is asking for trouble if he/she permits this frequently.

I can’t help but feel a little sorry for the raccoon, though.
franko

wtf was that raccoon doing out in the daytime? aren’t they nocturnal? all the ones around our house only come out after dark, and return home before the sun rises.
matt joyce

I have to second the rabies warning… Raccoons are nocturnal animals. Where I grew up we were warned to contact your local armed hunter if you see one roaming around during the day. It’s a pretty good indication something is wrong with the raccoon.
Talia

When I was a kid, we had a raccoon who’d come out to our porch during the day, hang out and beg. He was fairly young and, we sumrised, been treated as a pet, because he just wasn’t afraid of humans at all.
We ended up feeding and petting him for a while (he suckled my fingers), before we caught him and released him in the woods far away from our gun-happy neighbors.

Dangerous they may be but by and large I think they’re just trying to get by, much as anyone else is.
oncogenesis

Coons rule! HARW!!!
Michael Brutsch

I feed around a dozen stray cats on my apartment patio, and the opossums and raccoons always come around dusk and clean out the bowls. They *lurve* the cat food.
woolie

Oh, this happens to me all the time — we have a few raccoons and possums in our neighborhood — they routinely steal our landlord’s cats food. They are somewhat friendly, and only run when we get too close. This is in an urban area, as well, so it’s interesting to see the refugee wildlife.

Here’s a pic of the cat and raccoon together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/2148607624/

Raccoon and possum together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/2263605434/

Just raccoon:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/2148606270/
Registrado

I drink your milkshake!
wangleberry

nice place
Shariys

It appears to me that the coon might possibly be the videographer’s pet as well … thus making it assumable that the critter has been vaccinated against rabies, and perhaps learned diurnal habits also. I live in the central city but also a block away from a heavily-wooded historic cemetery; and I get alot of critters that one doesn’t normally get in the city … including raccoons and possums who enjoy the cat food I put out on the porch for my own daytime-only outside kitteh as well as neighborhood strays. Yeah, the wild ones DO carry rabies. I don’t let my cat stay out at night!
Pip_R_Lagenta

Raccoons love their cat food! Here is my clip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Heh9Pwfx9k

This last week, a skunk has been coming in the cat door to eat. Two nights ago, I used my cheap digital camera to get a movie clip of the skunk. But last night while the skunk was in, two raccoons came in as well. I only got still shots of the three of them… inside my house… wait… maybe this isn’t a good idea.

Nah.
EH

My racoon’s breath smells like cat food.
KF in DC

Yes, yes, very cute. However, whoever filmed this should have all animals removed from them and be banned permanently from owning pets. Its clear they put the cat’s food out in such a way as to make such a clever film. What about the cat? This is why I hate all these home movies about pets doing funny stuff…most of the funny stuff if borderline abuse, and frankly only funny to adolescent boys who grow up to vote republican.

I’d find the film alot more funny if it was baby food and the raccon and some 8 month old were going at it for food.
Dustin Driver

If raccoons were bigger, they’d eat you. Serious.
Chevan

I cracked up at the way the raccoon just stuck his hands in and ran away.

That said, it might be a good idea to shoo him away the next time.

We have indoor cats, but we also take care of a couple cats that live on our property. We found them under our shed when they were kittens, had them fixed, and we make sure there’s always food and water on the back porch for them. We don’t get raccoons much around here, but occasionally we get opossums, and THOSE THINGS are the ugliest things you will ever see crawling around on your porch.

Fearless things, too. You nearly have to go out and throw something at them to get them to leave.
agnot

#27 posted by Pip_R_Lagenta

Eew, evidently you now have coon fleas.
agnot

#29 posted by Chevan

You nearly have to go out and throw something at them to get them to leave.

Throwing stuff never worked for me. I once wounded a coon in the head and couldn’t get a second shot to put him out of his misery until he came back a few minutes later.

My neighbor would just get out of bed and walk up to them with a baseball bat. They always stood their ground until she basically knocked their head off.

After I stopped keeping chickens I resigned to just coon-proofing the house. I also resigned to sharing my porch with one some evenings because he was so stubborn I actually slipped and hurt myself one night trying to run him off.
themindfantastic

I love the look the cat gives the person taping the video its like “WTF DUDE!!! HE’S STEALING MY FOOD! WHAT DO I KEEP YOU AROUND HERE FOR, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT MR TWO LEGS!”
dculberson

I thought raccoons did have thumbs. They don’t have opposable thumbs, but they don’t have paws. They’re able to fold their thumb across their fingers which lets them pick things up like a person.
Bionicrat2

The rabies warnings are certainly true, but it’s not that uncommon for coons to be out in the day. Growing up in the country, I found them to be a mischievous force to be reckoned with: whether they were busting into our home or just stealing our garbage. They are a fearless critter.
Songe

Can we please just enjoy this without promising to shoot raccoons? They’re just dumbasses with stomachs, like you and me.
mappo

It’s a good thing for Mr. Raccoon that that cat is de-clawed.
take me to your leader

Just reiterating what has been said here: raccoons are dangerous, and very smart. They should not be underestimated.

Sorry to make this sound like some kind of spy-thriller MacGruff the Crime Dog type of thing.
take me to your leader

Oooh, nevermind.
Jardine

A good reason to feed your cat inside.
Anonymous

@23 when humans kill off an animals natural predator or competing animals (wolves used to keep coyotes in check) and then take thier natural habitat then yes they can end up overpopulating and becoming pest it is through no fault of thier own. Humans screw everything up.
dculberson

To Mr. Raccoon: Aren’t thumbs awesome?

I love how he just kinda grabs a little handful and scurries off, as if to say “you try it, thumbless freak!”

I also concur that the cat looked to the person for help. The fact that help wasn’t forthcoming probably doesn’t bode well for the hairball count in the person’s bed.
Lydia9

When my great uncle started loosing his marbles, he started getting a little confused about how many cats he had and ended up with a house full of raccoons and possums that all followed him around and came when he called. This was out in the sticks, and there were a lot of critters around, and the neighbors were not overly thrilled about animals being taught to come into houses and get food. I was a kid, and I thought the whole thing was just delightful, though even I had the good sense to stay the hell away from a raccoon.
whoknew

@ #38 that’s sick and not even funny. An 8 month old would be in far more danger than the cat, and even if it was staged, how is that comparable to sacrificing a child a wild animal???

I wonder if this was filmed in Florida. Growing up in the north I was always told a racoon was nocturnal and was obviously sick if out during the day. I was in Florida one time, however, and saw a skinny racoon during the day, and a park ranger told me that because it is warm and food plentiful all year in Florida the racoons never bulk up or hibernate and don’t adhere to the nocturnal thing as much. Who knew!
findlayboy

I can totally hear that raccoon saying “YOINK!”
LB

I want to see what the dog barking in the background would do.
Takuan

Cute little coons! They are playful and picturesque, carry rabies, give your respiratory diseases from their feces, kill your dogs and cats, tear up your shingles, invade every point of your house they can, bite the unwary including children, strew your garbage everywhere, learn fast, are hard to get rid of,only good to eat in stew,will get blood thrown on you for wearing their fur, keep you up all night, raise your property taxes in control measures, eat song bird nestlings, … oh I could go and on!

Wild animals belong in the wild.
susannahpollvogt

Actually, raccoons don’t have thumbs. They have FIVE FINGERS!!! But he is totally showing off, I agree.
Tom

The raccoon is also perfectly capable of eating the cat if it gets hungry enough. We had chickens and turkeys taken by coons when I was growing up, although a judicious combination of dogs and firearms kept them under control. A cat would be harder for a coon to kill, although if some idiot has had the cat declawed I would put much better than even money on the coon.

Humans and wildlife don’t really mix very well, although coons and possums are generally pretty good neighbours if you live in the city. Lots of garbage to eat, so they tend to stay out of the way. In the city I’ve never seen one out in the daytime. In the country it was a rare but not really unusual occurrence.
reptiles_and_samurai

#35, I’ve checked with the National Institute of Funny and, after various scientific tests, they assured me that #28′s comment was in fact hilarious.
BIZKeT

#19 – Yea, wild animals belong in the wild. Too bad we have destroyed most of their habitat and they have no real choice but to become urban scavengers along with coyotes.
JoshuaZ

Raccoons in daytime are often sick and should be avoided. However, raccoons generally come out close to evening so it is possible that this raccoon was out at a normal time for raccoons. Furthermore, raccoons like some other animals have had their sleep schedules disrupted by human cities. Thus. I wouldn’t be surprised if in an urban environment one saw a fair number of healthy raccoons in daylight.