Stupid Raccoons Tormenting My Poor Floppsy!!!!

[RockyRoad]

Hi, as you all know Floppsy lives in a hutch outside. Well, almost every night, these Raccoons come out and torture him. They try and chew their way into the cage, bang on the cage, make noises, and it scares him half to death. How do I know?? For one thing, I'M the one who has to check the cage every morning to see if they got in...and then I have to repair the cage if they dug in the wood too far. Also, at night I go out there to scare them off, and I have seen them before. One time me and my friend Jenny went out at midnight to spy on the Raccoons, and we saw them on his cage!! There was about five or six at the least, but there could have been more, we had no flashlight. My dad won't move him in the house, because he says he is happy out there. I really do not think he is. Every morning I go out there, and he is petrified of me. It takes about an hour DAILY usually to calm him down. Also, I am petrified of bugs, and there are Daddy-Long-Legs all over the cage! There was one near the water bottle holder today, and when I went to put the bottle in it, I saw it and almost dropped the water bottle on Floppsy (don't be mad at me, it was an accident!!). And you guys remember the time I wanted to go out and shut Floppsy's cage door, but was too scared because of the slugs to go out!! I am well known as the scaredy cat of the school (I like the cat part!!). Anyway, I'm going off the subject here, so what should I do?????????

[Dogz]

Poor Floppsy!!!!!!!
I am scared of bugs too. I HATE grasshoppers!!! O.K.... I am going off subjuct too.
Hmmm... I don't really know what to say... maybe if you make a trap for the raccoons (not to hurt them) just to scare them away, then maybe they wouldn't come back... but I don't know. For the bugs I have nooo clue! I just squeal. I don't really know that much about facing your fear of bugs... Sorry I can't help you. Good Luck!
About the raccoons you could get together with your 1 or 2 of your friends, and then when the raccoons come scare them away, and repete this, because then maybe they won't come back and get frightened... Good Luck! (you might need it! )

[Sam's My Baby]

We have raccoons up here too, so my dad built this hutch (when I had my rabbit) and it keeps the racoons out. There is this peice of wood that is the size of the front of his cage that goes over the wire mesh part. You can lift it up and it stays there with these two little metal things. It is hard to explain : / I also think they might have raccoon proof cages. You can try getting one of those.

[Karen]

You definitely need to either convince your Dad to let Floppsey live inside, or raccoon-proof your cage. The raccoons will NOT forget after being "scared off" a couple times, they are creatures of habit, and are pretty smart, too.

Floppsey is right to be scared. He is a prey animal, and is pretty defenseless.

Go to http://www.rabbit.org for information on bring Floppsey inside safely, and maybe the inofrmation can help convince your Dad. There is a lot to do to "rabbit proof" a room, but you might be able to keep him in just one room of the house ...

Good luck.

[RockyRoad]

Well, my dad is the worst person in the world becuase he said and I quoted him: "there is no way the rabbit is moving inside". He said he will bring him in once and awhile, but during the day, not night, when they come out. I don't understand why this is such a big deal we've had rabbits inside before, and I offered to: buy the rabbit from him, keep him in my room, assume full responsibility of him, pay for the cage and equipment, and I have been saying all this stuff for over a year now. I showed him this post, and the information from the site (thanks, Karen), but still no budge. What is coming inside for an hour in the day going to do? It's annoying!! I will not give up because I KNOW they are out there, and my dad simply said "there is no possible way they can get it". Well, bad news dad, they have before!!
In times like this I wish I was twenty-seven........

[Karen]

Did you ask your Dad, in the calmest, most reasonable tone of voice you can, why he doesn't want Floppsy inside?

[FloppsyLadySally54]

Ok, I just did that, and he said he already told me why. I do not remember him telling me why. And he is one of those short-tempered dads. Not abusive, just short-tempered, so every time I ask about it, he says "don't make me mad", and grits his teeth.

[Desert Arabian]

I have one quick question for FloppsyLadySally: Where do you put your rabbit in the winter?? You cannot tell me that you keep it outside all year round. I know New York gets some pretty harsh cold weather. Just wondering.

[FloppsyLadySally54]

We are on Long Island, not up-state where it snows so terribly. Yes, he does stay outside all year round. My mean old dad!! There is no way I can convince him, unless I save up my allowance....I will try and buy him from my dad if that's what it take to get him out of there. I get 5 bucks a week, I think 200$ outta do the trick....

[Aspen and Misty]

You need a job

[kingrattus]

I'd sudjest that u shouldn't chase off the coons, they r known to attack, & they can kill a large dog.

A friend of mine put mothballs about 6 feet around the cage to keep cats away, it worked for the cats, u can try it for coons.

At my college, they put up rows of long nails (not pointed) along the edges of the roofs & on window ledges, so birds wont land on it & poop everywhere.
You can try to make a removible one & put it around & ontop of the cage at night, the coons arn't stupid enough to jump on it, they r smart. Give it a shot & tell us if it worked.

[AdoreMyDogs]

If your parents won't let the rabbit in the house, and the racoons are threatening to kill Floppsy, then I think you should look at the quality of life that poor rabbit has and consider finding him another good home with someone who will keep him indoors where he is safe. It was one of my toughest lessions as a kid, but it's an important one.

If the racoons are hanging around now, then it's just a matter of time before they get that cage open. They are very clever animals. I don't mean to scare you, but you should open up your heart and decide what is in the best interest of Floppsy, and start looking around the phonebook for rabbit rescue organations. You could even do a "Google" search by going to www.google.com and typing in "rabbit rescue New York" and you will find some hits. Then pick up that phone and start calling. You also might get some help from some of the places.

Just my honest opinion. The rabbit is not in a safe home if what you are saying is the truth about those racoons. It's a tough lesson, but it IS an important, mature and brave decission.

[Twisterdog]

Wow ... there are raccoons on Long Island? I had no idea.

Raccoons are VERY smart animals. They can figure out how to get in some amazing places.

You can't really blame the raccons. They are just trying to survive. Wild animals have to take every opportunity they get to eat, or they will starve and die. They probably want your rabbit's food. Have you tried taking all the food out at night? Of course, that may not help ... they may want the water ... or they may want your rabbit.

Maybe you could build a "cage" around your rabbit's hutch. Get some 2 x 4's and some wire, and put a wire frame around the whole hutch, far enough out so the raccoons can't get their hands through. You'd need to put a door in, also.

And, as difficult as it must be for you to hear, I see a lot of merit in AdoreMyDog's opinion. Sometimes, no matter how much you love your animals, love doesn't solve all the problems. Sometimes the kindest way to show your love is to allow your pet to have the best life possible, even if that life is not neccesarily with you.

[Uabassoon]

I agree with AdoremyDogs too. That's what I had to do with my dog Missy. I love her so much, but at the time I was living with a girlfriend who had a big house and a yard and two other dogs. So when I moved out I realized that Missy wouldn't be happy with me. I don't have that much time and she loved her doggie friends and I didn't want to take her away from that. So because I loved her so much I wanted her to have the best life possible. I still go visit her often. Today we went out to the dog park and had lots of fun. I always joke and say I have "joint custody" of her.

[Desert Arabian]

Everything that has been said in the last 5 posts since my last one, have excellent words of wisdom in them! I too agree that the rabbit should come inside or find a new home.

Racoons are some NASTY animals. I went 'coon hunting once with my dad and his friend. He brought along his two Redbone Coonhounds. I never heard scarry spine-chilling noises come out of an animal (the racoon) before. Let's just say the racoon wanted to let us know he was p***ed about the dogs, so he left a mark big enough to require 40+ stiches in the dog. Those critters scare me sometimes. I can see them moving underneth the trees at night in our yard, and their eyes glow sometimes- it makes them look creepy. Some racoons that have been killed in Wisconsin have been over 30 pounds.

Anyhoo.... I hope everything turns out o.k. for Floppsy!!