These past few months we noticed that Kitten, our beautiful long-haired cat, has significantly increased her food intake without any apparent weight gain. This is something I have been hoping would happen in my life for years! How I would love to eat the pound bag of peanut M&M's without having to purchase jeans a size larger. In addition to the new appetite we noticed she was "frolicking" in the back yard during the evening, often tipping over her food dish, water bowl and deck plants. This behavior is very unusual for a cat that likes to lay around like a couch potato most of her life. Well.. a few evenings ago, as Mike and I were snoozing in our TV room, we were abruptly awakened by noises on our deck. Flying to the window to see what was causing the commotion, we spotted two raccoons sauntering around the deck checking out Kitten's food bowl. Mike grabbed a flashlight and went outside to get a closer view of Rocky and his wife. Instead of running in fear, they give him a look like , "Hey buster, get some chow in this bowl pronto, we're hungry". Well, we love animals but Biskit, Cookie, and Kitten are more than enough for our home and budget. After getting advice from various people and web-sites, Mike headed to Home Depot to purchase a "Have-a-hart" trap. This apparatus is baited with food and after the animal enters it to feast a door closes trapping him without harm. We were disappointed after the first unsuccessful night. We woke to an empty cage still full of food. The second night, however, we hit the jack-pot and captured both Rocky and his Mrs. We relocated them a few miles away in a woodsy area near the lake. They will have to begin a new "natural" diet...bugs, fish, and vegetation since Purina will no longer be available served in a cute bowl!
