That's not a cat...

Last year, or maybe the year before, I was sitting at the computer one summer evening checking e-mail, when I heard Sid make a weird noise behind me. I turned to see what was going on, and saw him with his face pressed up against the open screen door. I took a second look, and saw that there was a cat on the other side of the screen.

I thought it was strange that Sid wasn't hissing, but didn't think too much about it. Then he made the same noise again. I looked, and this time was surprised to see how big the other cat was. Then it moved. I have fat cats...Sid is about 14 pounds and Zoe is about 13 pounds, but this cat was HUGE! It looked twice the size of my two.

I got up out of my chair to go get a closer look, and realized it was not a cat after all. It was a raccoon! I don't know about you, but I don't like raccoons. I grew up "in the woods" of Gig Harbor, and know how mean raccoons can be. Not only are they a nuisance, stealing food and making a racket with trash cans, but they have been known to kill cats, too. (My sister's friend's family lost more than one cat to raccoons over the years. Now they just own dogs.)

This was a BIG raccoon, too. I took some pictures that night, and then, when I saw him again the next morning, I took more pictures. It's more common to see raccoons at night, so I was surprised to see him wandering around my yard at 9:30 in the morning.

Over the last two years, we have seen this raccoon periodically throughout the neighborhood, and sometimes in our back yard. I know he visits often, though, because every time J goes to mow the back yard he has to scoop up BIG piles of raccoon poop.

We don't get much more than bugs and snakes here in the desert, so it's kind of nice to have other wildlife around. But between the raccoon and the coyotes, this reinforces our decision to keep the cats in the house.

Look how fat he is!! When he sat down, his sides bulge out like a bowling ball. When I saw him the next morning, I guesstimated that he weighs between 35-40 pounds...

These pictures I took from way across the yard. I wish I had a better zoom lens on my old camera. I sure wasn't going to try to get any closer!

Even knowing how mean and nasty raccoons can be, I still think they're pretty cute. This guy seems pretty tame, but I still won't chance anything. I did think it was odd that he came so close to the house, especially when J and I were moving around inside. He just sat with Sid, nose to nose for probably five to seven minutes before I realized what he was and shut the sliding door to protect my cats.