On the Wild Side...Living with a Raccoon

We found the ad in the local paper for a 12-week old raccoon.  We went to see her.  She was sort of friendly and so cute.  I talked David into getting her.  Only later, I saw a 12-week old raccoon, and my pet had never looked that young --- live and learn…don’t believe everything people tell you, though I’m afraid I’m still a sucker sometimes.

We took Dizzy home – and I immediately changed her name.  She seemed to respond to her name, looking at me when I said it, so we pondered something similar and came up with Desi.  Not sure why we thought that was better, but we almost always rename our animals even today, even when they are adults when we get them.

Desi moved into our trailer house.  We really knew nothing about raccoons.  David was on his way out of town for the weekend…a trip to Lake Powell with his dad and brothers.  So I was home with a raccoon who climbed into our couch and wouldn’t come out.  Okay, so she wasn’t really friendly.  I spent the weekend enticing her with ‘junk’ food that might entice her to respond to me.  For three days that’s what I did.  I sat near the couch and gave her fruit or a cracker or a piece of cereal every time she would look out at me.  By the end of the weekend she was coming out to get treats. 

Desi on her couch
(I don't remember why the cushion was there).

 

We were told that she should get a mixture of dog and cat food.  She seemed to eat that okay, so that was what we fed her.  I found a book about having pet raccoons. It confirmed the cat food/dog food idea but other things it said bothered me, like that we should never punish her, that she would not understand…

David was happy with the progress when he came home. I could put a leash on Desi and walk her around the trailer house.  She had decided that the couch was a good place to sleep.  She was very good about using a litter box.  She liked to play in the bathtub.  I thought she was awesome.

My family was having a group campout nearby.  I decided to take Desi.  Since I don’t like to camp, she would also give me a reason to come home at nights – perfect!!  So, I took a leash and a litter box for in the car.  Desi was an excellent traveler.  She hung out on the backseat unless she got bored, then she would climb up in front with us.  I was in love.

At Oak Creek with Desi.

 

Desi was interested in the ferrets and would try to get their food (it was cat food, since there was no such thing as ferret food at the time). 

David liked to wrestle with Desi, which I didn’t think was a good idea.  I didn’t do anything that would encourage any mouthing that might lead to biting.  Later, David was sorry that he didn’t listen.  Desi loved to rough house with David – but as she got older, the biting was fierce and painful.  Lesson…Don’t do things that won’t be cute when the animal is an adult.

A wiser David playing tug-of-war with Desi.

Life with Desi was a little like living in a Disney movie with a wild animal invading your household.  Really, David was a good sport.

 Once while we were out, Desi went into the bathroom to play, I guess.  While in there, the door was shut and she pulled out all of the drawers (remember this is in a trailer house).  The drawers being pulled out made it impossible to open the door.  Desi’s little paw, that looked remarkably like a hand, was reaching under the door and she made mewing sounds wanting us to rescue her.  Luckily, the hinges were on the hallway side and David ended up taking down the door to let her out (our hero!).

Another time, we had been out and when we arrived home it was to a bloated raccoon sitting in our pantry with everything that she hadn’t managed to eat dumped onto the floor.  David wired cabinets shut. I couldn’t open them, but Desi could.

The couch became less and less comfortable as Desi made herself at home. She removed and relocated stuffing.  Also, people would freak out as her little paw reached out from between cushions to feel around….but that was funny to us.

We learned that raccoons learn many skills from their moms.  Things like getting out of trees or climbing down didn’t seem to come naturally.  Desi was interested in fish and crayfish in the water, but had no idea that she could catch them, though she did eat them if David caught them.  She did love to play in the water and would chase after things, but she was never very successful at catching things…even things that she did like to eat.

David rescuing Desi when she was afraid to climb down.

 

When David got a job in Virginia, we were told by other people that having a raccoon as a pet was illegal in some states.  I contacted Virginia and learned that they didn’t care.  So, we made a road trip from Arizona to Virginia with Desi in the backseat of the car.  At night we had a cage that we put her into.  She drew attention at every stop as we got her out for a walk and potty break.  We also had a litter-box behind the seat that she used without fail.

Ready to go....

Desi in the backseat between the ferret cages.

Wanting attention during the long trip. 
Most of the time she was great with David,
but when she decided to 'play' it could get pretty painful
(he still has scars).

 

We got a Norwegian Elkhound puppy, Tewa, and Desi loved to play with her.

Desi with Tewa.

Desi in her pool with Tewa looking on...

 

Desi went with me to the local science center and we went to some schools to talk about raccoons and what they were like as pets. 

We learned that dog food and cat food don’t have the nutrients that a raccoon needs.  Raccoons need a lot more iron than is available in such foods.  Desi ended up with an iron deficiency twice.  The first time I caught that there was something wrong and got her to the veterinarian in time.  The second time David was taking care of her and he was a lot more leery of her since she thought that attacking him was a game (that he taught her when she was young), and he didn’t catch that she was ill.  To this day, I worry about leaving my animals with someone else because I have caught things that others have missed (even veterinarians) because I know them so well.

A couple of years ago, I saw a baby raccoon that had been hand-fed.  Soooo sweet!  However, David says, “No raccoon,” and he doesn’t say no very often, so we are still raccoonless.  Maybe some day….