Heidi Chronicles: Episode #9064 - ish

I call this "An Evening In Pictures" or "My Giant Raccoon Picture Book"

Timba eating melon (from earier in sequence)

****Warning! The following set of photos may be difficult to deal with - they certainly have been so for me. If today is not a good day for you to view images of a disturbing nature you may want to skip the next few posts. I will post an ****End Warning message to let you know when it's safe to resume reading/viewing.

As I mentioned recently, Fraidy really isn't looking at all good now. Her wounds have healed nicely, but she is perilously thin. When I view her photos I cannot help but be reminded of pictures I've seen of Holocaust survivors. She is totally emaciated, and I feel that she will not likely survive unless I can get some food in her ASAP.

See how her fur is rumpled up like the folds in a fur coat. It's not supposed to be like that. That's loose skin hanging off bones.

Here she is trying to keep Timba from Stealing her spot. Timba just wanted the melon while Fraidy wanted the cat food. There really was no conflict except for the proximity between them.

See she is just a bag of bones in a giant fur coat that no longer fits her. Poor thing. She also has a relatively benign sore on her hip. This was not from the original injury. She has had a few of these things that look like bites from fighting with the others out there in the forest.

Her biggest problem now seems to be that she can't walk very fast or fight very well yet, so she can't defend herself or her food. When she comes for dinner she nibbles just enough to stay alive and then leaves as soon as the others start to bother her.

Last night I even went back to the house just to get food for her, cat food. I left it in the overturned bucket and called her over to me to eat it so that I could keep the others away from her. She ate a little, but got anxious when the late shifters started to show up. Soon after she disappeared into the night without making much of a dent in the food I had brought her.

Close up of the sore. I'm sure this will heal. Her true risk is in not eating enough. Don't even ask me to explain that position she's in.

fraidy drinking water

Poor Fraidy... It's so sad to see her failing like this. Even sadder for you, I'm sure. (((((((((((Cheryl and Fraidy))))))))))

***End Warning. That's the end of the disturbing images for now. It should now be safe to resume viewing.

Thank you, Marylyn,

I awoke this morning trying to figure out how I might try to get more food into Fraidy. I had long since run out of the pricey kitten food I'd purchased for Heidi when she 1st had those kits. Fraidy was eating that pretty nicely but will not eat eggs, peanuts, watermelon, etc. Thinking better and more concentrated food might be the answer, I went out to a little pet food store down the street. I asked for something to put weight on a cat emaciated by injury as fast as possible. I paid $20 for a jar of organic coconut oil (no trans fats, not hydrogenated) to add to food at rate of one teaspoon per 15lb body weight along with a bag of Evo kitten food made primarily from chicken with rice and fish oils. The 1st 5 ingredients are all meat an fish, no by-products. It has no soy, wheat, corn, or non-meat protein. I bought a 20lb bag of it. I'm going to try to get her to come over near me where I can feed her this stuff and keep the others away from her. I'm going out in a little while to put out clean water and try to set up a barricade in hopes of making her feel safer in the area near my seat. If I can keep the others from taking her food and help her to realize that she is safe eating there beside me plus get the best quality and highest energy food sources down her, maybe she might still have a chance. She is really getting to the edge now I think, the point where she will have organ damage if she doesn't get some food in her fast. But I'm not going to give up until/unless she gives up.

I guess I will have to give heidi and Denni the Evo food, too. I can't imagine Heidi being willing for me to feed the best food to Fraidy and not her.

So, when I ran out this afternoon to pick up food for Fraidy, expecting to come right back home...it was 102F in the shade, actual temp. The heat indexed temp was close to 115F - and when I got back in my car after buying the food, the car was dead. Argh! That's what I get for trying to do something good. Soon I started 'raining' on everything as sweat poured off me like I was in a t-storm or something. I walked over to a nearby Subway for a drink and to cool down. The guy who runs the place came out and helped me with my car. I had a dead battery. He had me back on my way in no time. Thank You, Subway Guy!

As soon as it cools down enough to go out there w/o bursting into flames, I'm going to work on cleaning the water container and trying to set things up for Fraidy...and hope and pray.

Everyone, please say a little prayer for Fraidy or send a good wish if that is more your style.

It's 99° here, so I can totally understand how hot you were. Three cheers for the Subway guy!! And prayers for Fraidy. Coconut oil is very good stuff. You did good. :-)

Marylyn,

But you guys don't have the humidity, right? We have nearly 100% humidity here, so our bodies cannot cool themselves through perspiration; this means that 102F feels to our bodies like 115F. It's down right wicked out there - and only mid June. This is what we expect in late July.

Thanks. I bought the coconut oil on the shop owner's recommendation. I must admit I was a little unsure about it. I always though coconut oil was bad for us. Of course, we usually get it in its hydrogenated form - which this is not. It's good to hear that others also think it will be good for her.

I'm trying my best - and feeling very helpless.

Cheryl, I saw your post on Ranch Rehab. If anyone can help, I hope she does. Don't know about a note to Palm Bob...he may have learned something in Vet school.

I was going to say fresh chicken and high protien products, but sounds you have that covered. What about eggs? And a boild egg even?

As far as feeding the others, Dennis and Heidi the good stuff...make theirs half and half if you really think the need be. That way it will stretch the good stuff further for Fraidy. I am seriously worried....and the excessive water drinking worries me greatly. The only other explanation I can think....she has Kits and they are sucking every ounce of energy and fat off her...trying to care for herself also.

Debbie

Yep, we get the humidity, too. Our weather is VERY similar to yours. We get 50+ inches of rain every year, and the humidity is normally in the 90+% range, too. Currently we're under drought conditions, so although it is hot, it's really dry. Right now the humidity is only at 41%, we haven't had any rain for 3 weeks (and aren't supposed to get any next week either, as far as anyone can tell!) and our grass is turning brown and crunchy. And I don't wanna talk about my garden. :-( This dryness is very weird for Houston!! Normally we get 6-7 inches of rain in June as the Gulf warms up. Hopefully we'll get back to our regular weather patterns soon... if a hurricane popped through now, we'd be in big trouble. The ground is too dry to soak up a hard rain very quickly, and we would have even worse flooding than usual - and since Houston is built on a swamp, and is only 50 feet above sea level, our "usual" flooding is pretty bad!

Cold pressed coconut oil is not hydrogenated and has no trans fats. It's good stuff! :-)

Awwwwwwwww. Saying littl eprayer s for fraidy. I knwo thinsgahppen in the wild just as they do to people, and it hard when ya los e one, but if she keeps gettign thes ewound s and so thina dn sickly, hope her end come s fast and merciful.

If you do get Fraidy to come up by you, be careful. With he r beign so ill and hurt and in pain, he r actions may not be th enorm for th efraidy ya know an dlove, she may accidently lash out if anybody gets to clos e or somethign thinkign sh eha s to defend herself.

I hope she don't have kits somewher e if she still havign trouble tryign to get food for herself.

I ha d to laug at the Heidi watermellon pics, that oen she remidne d me of a pic of an old washer woman, wih he r stanch and hands like that. ha d the look of a mother s work is never done.

Oh dear...I saw your other post about a sick raccoon...not your little Fraidy...she has fought so hard to survive....that is just so sad....


I have lurked but not posted for awhile here...beautiful photos Cheryl!

Hi Debbie,

I hope the pictures of Fraidy didn't upset you today. I started to wait to post them, but...well, I just needed to address it, and who knows if I'll have the time tomorrow. I've been surprised to find that rehabbers seem to know more about raccoons than veterinarians do.

Since she came back sick, Fraidy has consistently refused eggs. She didn't show any interest in chicken any of the times I had that either before or recently. The only 2 things I've been able to get her to eat reliably are cat/dog food and vanilla sandwich cookies. Right now, as skinny as she is, I don't feel too bad about giving her cookies, anything to fatten he up. She doesn't stay long or eat much, hardly enough to keep a bird alive, so I figure I need to give her the most calorie dense food possible.

Today I was thinking about how difficult it is for Fraidy to eat things. She can't easily stand on her back legs to free up her hands to do the things that raccoons normally do. This may be one reason she won't eat some things. She can pick cat food up off the ground with her mouth fairly easily. This maybe the problem with eggs, too. She needs to hold the egg with her hands to bite a hole in the shell and then hold it between or hands while sucking out the inside - or she could take a page from Dennis' book and smash the thing till it pops, but even that requires the use of her hands. I'm out of eggs now, but when I get more, I may try breaking one for her if I can figure out the logistics of getting it to her. Maybe I'll just throw an egg beside her letting it break as it lands.

As for whether or not to give any to Heidi, LOL, that is a moot point now. I went out there, gave Heidi and Dennis the regular cat food, then opened a baggie of the good stuff to feed Fraidy. While I was busy dealing with Fraidy on my left, I felt something gently touching my right knee and turned back to find Ms Heidi there at my right knee letting me know that she would like some of that stuff in the baggie. LOL. There is no fooling Heidi. As the saying goes, the nose knows. Dennis is back to eating cookies, unfortunately, but I ended up having to give Heidi the good cat food. When she came to my knee that way, I tossed her a handful and continued dealing with Fraidy. A minute or so later, Heidi was back at my knee to say that she had finished that handful and needed more, so I gave her a dish of the stuff. After Dennis ate a half dozen or so cookies, Heidi ordered her to leave - and so she did.

Thank you, nanny!

Most of the time when I get out and wander about DG reading things, I'm a lurker too, so I totally understand. Nice to hear from you though.

Marylyn,

Oh, my condolences to you then. I really thought you guys had the dry air like Arizona and the West Coast. I had forgotten that once before we had discovered how similar our weather is, yours and mine. About that same time I had found that Sunset has a zone map which puts Charleston, SC in the same zone with Houston and the SE quadrant of TX.

We are at sea level and in some places a bit below, but for some reason we usually only get relatively minor street flooding in the downtown area, not the kind of flooding that damages houses. I have on rare occasion seen mall parking lots go under water after a heavy rain, even far enough to float some cars and toss them around.

Here's hoping that all of the hurricanes this year will turn and go out to sea.

starlight,

Fraidy was eating beside me in Dennis' spot when she 1st came back all hurt up. I reached down and petted her back several times that 1st night, and she was totally fine with me touching her. At the time with her so close and me looking down on her back I had no idea she was even hurt. I had stroked her neck and back, my hand going near the wound on her neck w/o realizing it. It was only later that night as I watched her walk away dragging one leg that I realized something was wrong with her.

On subsequent nights she continued to eat beside me until a week or so later when she decided she felt safer over near the brush area where she could duck for cover if a fight broke out. While she was eating beside me, after I realized she was injured, I used to reach down right in front of her mouth to put a little pile of kitten food down for her. My hand would be just an inch or so from her mouth. She could easily have bitten me, but she seemed to understand that I was trying to help. I was doing that because I noticed that it was easier for her if the food was all together in a little pile where she didn't have to walk around looking for the tiny pieces. Often the raccoon use their hands to pick the pieces up, and she couldn't use her hands because she needed to stand on them. When I dropped food it would scatter, so I put my hand down in front of her face to put a little pile of food right there so she wouldn't have to move.

oh, starlight,

I went back and looked at the pic of Heidi and I had to laugh. I see what you mean. She just needs a feed sack dress, a white apron, and either a scarf to tie up her hair or one of those white 'cleaning woman' hats with the ruffled elastic around the edges, the kind the hair gets tucked up under.

Well, you can see where that notion of raccoon washin food comes from.

Well, now I'm totally, totally confused. Tonight didn't go so well. More on that later. And I think Heidi's annoyed with me for not giving her the good stuff 1st. Either that or she was in a grumpy mood. Fraidy ate a fair amount of the good food and 3 s/w cookies and then left abruptly.

Early in the night I was able to call Fraidy over to me. When she was standing there facing me, her body 'lined up' before me it suddenly became very clear that something is very wrong with her. Now she has a giant lump on her back and shoulder on the same side where the neck wound had been. She looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dam. I'm at a loss to make the hump fit in with the rest of this picture. This brings me back around to where I was when she 1st got injured - and I suppressed my 1st instinct about what might have been wrong with her leg. So I'll ask it now. Could she have been bitten by Mr Copperhead by any chance? Could that have been the cause of her original injuries, the 2 holes on her neck, the hump now, the swollen leg she couldn't walk on, the red spot on her foot, etc? It's quite the puzzle, but seeing that hump she's carrying around would seem to explain her poor appetite. Maybe she isn't eating well because she's still not feeling well. Maybe it's not the others keeping her from eating after all.

I would say Cheryl the hump is an abcess of sorts under the skin, full of an infection.

IF she got bit by a copperhead....I have no doubt she would not be here now. They can kill a man...never mind a small raccoon. It is possible it is from another type snake...not so poisoness....that she got bit after her initial injury also.

Cheryl, what other type wildlife do you have? Wolves? Coyotes? I worry more about one of those.....even an alligator....which wouldn't be rabid...but would have serious bacteria for infection.

I would consider the antibiotic link I sent to you earlier. I think at this point, it wouldn't do any more harm. Has she sat upright...that you can see her mammaries?

Good to hear she did get a good meal. Don't worry about Heidi, she will get over it. She seems forgiving although she will hold quite a snoot for a bit! LOL

Debbie

Debbie,

We don't have a lot of large predators here. No wolves, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, etc. We have fox(es?) and Bob Cats although I've not seen the latter anywhere in the city. I think they are more inclined to stay deeper in the forest. We have lots of alligators even right here in the community ponds - like across the street. Recently, when I saw a pic taken by someone in FL of a gator walking through an open field I realized (for the 1st time) that the gators in those ponds don't just stay in the ponds. There is marsh behind me, so there's a good chance the gators travel between the ponds and that area. The other night when I went out to feed the raccoons I'm pretty sure the sound I was hearing was gators and it sure sounded like it was coming from back here in the forest. I'm sure glad I have a 6ft privacy fence around the back yard. Otherwise, I might be afraid to walk around back there for fear of finding a big gator. Most people don't realize it, but even on land they can outrun the best Olympic sprinter - so I wouldn't stand a chance. That's about it for predators here except for eagles, owls, and other large birds.

I will get some of those antibiotics and try to see if I can get her to eat some (on food).

Oh, I knew I forgot something. One night when she was sitting down over by the tractor scoot I looked at her belly/chest with my flashlight. That's when I saw that she had a healed over wound there too. Thankfully, I didn't see any sign of pregnancy, teats, or swollen mammary glands. That's not 100%, but I don't think she has kits, and I sure hope not for the sake of all involved.

Not to start any controversial conversations, but just to give credit where credit is due...the young man, a total stranger except that I see him periodically when I pick up a sandwich, who left the comfort of the A/C to go out into the sweltering 102F (115F with heat index) parking lot to fix my car today without even being asked was clearly of middle eastern descent. Today while he was helping me I asked where he was from (after he opened the topic by mentioning 'when I was in my country') and he said Egypt. As people from that region have often gotten a bad rap in recent years, I thought that I would tell you that this young man who was so willing to go out there where the air was so thick and hot you could practically choke on it and do so to help a total stranger was from Egypt.

I even told him (when he offered to help) that I was planning to call AAA. I was going to call AAA to tow my car over to the Honda dealership where it would stay the weekend and hopefully get fixed on Monday. I was going to call a friend to take me to get a rental car. What's that $80 or more a day (x 3 days minimum for Sat, Sun, Mon) by the time they add in all the extras like the fee for tires (kidding).Then I would have to take time off from work to pick up my car and take the rental back. But he was determined to go out there and see if he could get the car going again, and he did. He didn't give up easily either.

I was very impressed. More people should be so nice.

I am so sad about Fraidy. I sure hope you can get her to eat for you.

=^..^=

Thank you, Susan!

What about taking a yougart cup, not sur e if Fraidy like s yougart, so many racoons with so many liek sand dislikes, and either f eedign her ayougart cup or emtiying one out and giving the yougart to somebody else and puttign a bunch of cracke d ra w eegs ina cup for Friady fow when she sits by you.

Ya means lot s mro eggs i sure, cuz you would have to have enough to keep dennis and Heidi occupied while tryign to let Friady have hers. If she didn't show up ya could always give it to one of the other gang. Would be away to get some anitbiotic s too maybe in to the food for her.

starlight,

That 'who likes what' thing gets even more complicated because even though they like something they may not eat it under certain circumstances. Like Heidi won't eat watermelon, grapes, and peanuts when she's pregnant, but loves them the rest of the year. Heidi loves eggs when she's nursing but often fails to eat them later in the summer. I think I need play book for this.

To be honest, I don't remember whether Fraidy likes eggs at all. I was just thinking of trying ready cracked eggs to see if she is turning them down due to the problem of trying to crack them when she can't use her hands right now. I like your idea of using a yogurt container and will try it as soon as I get more eggs and yogurt; however, all of these things, including trying to use the coconut oil on her food, are complicated by the fact that right now she strongly prefers to eat over by the brush area. I haven't had much success getting her to come back over near me to eat. Last night I was able to get her to come up beside me on the left, but shortly after I gave her a bowl of food and some water, she left and went back over to her favorite spot. I just think she feels uncomfortable there beside me where she feels exposed and where there is so much activity. She can't defend herself very well right now, so she tries to stay clear of the others. Having Dennis running around me acting like a spoiled kid may also be part of the problem. Anyhow, since I haven't been able yet to solve the problem of getting Fraidy to eat beside me again like she did when she 1st came back, it's difficult for me to give her things in a container.

She won't even walk over to me if I hold the container out to her. The others will, but she won't probably because she doesn't want to walk if she can avoid it. If she has food, she will stay over there. As long a she stays over there, I can't even control precisely which spots she eats from. She may start out in one spot and end up moving elsewhere (in the same general area) when other raccoons take her food. If I could convince her to come over and eat by me it would make things so much easier and solve a host of problems, but for now I haven't accomplished that.

Cheryl, that young man that came out to help you....wonderful! He sounds like a wonderful person.

I am starting to think Fraidy tangled with a young gator, never would have made it out with a larger one. I don't really think a fox would have messed with her, they usually go after smaller prey like mice and rabbits. Talons of a large bird can do quite a bit of damage as can the beak...have heard of them taking small dogs. Regardless, our girl is in trouble.

Good luck with finding the antibiotics. They sometimes have them in the fish area....or the bird area. AND...if by chance you have a farming center....might find antibiotics the farmers use for cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, etc....and be more reliable for weight issues. Right now, will take what you can find.

Good luck....and stay cooled off.

Debbie

Hi Debbie,

I mentioned raptors just to thorough, but I rather doubt that a predatory bird would go after a healthy adult raccoon (as she was prior to the injury). I could see them snatching up a kit if it got t far from its mom, but I would think an adult raccoon would be likely to gravely injure the bird in the scuffle. Predators have to be wary of such things because an injured predator is as good as dead in the wild.

I really doubt that even an adult raccoon could get away from a gator, even a young one. I could be wrong, of course, but I say that because of the way alligators work. Once they get any part of their prey in there powerful jaws, they aren't going to let go (well, unless an angry granny comes along). They drag the prey back to the water and drown it. Gator hide is so tough that I doubt raccoon claws and teeth would even penetrate it, so all of the raccoons usual defenses would be nullified.

I still think it is most probable that she had a run in with a very large dog, probably one of the large dogs (small ponies) in the fenced yard a few houses down. A while back I noticed that a bunch of the raccoons were showing up with that same wound pattern on their back, the one that Cissy had that time, the one that looked as though a dog had grabbed them on the upper back, just behind the shoulders and they had fought and gotten free. Then I noticed that every one of the raccoons who showed up with that wound this year was one of the outsiders, members of the group who are not permitted at the buffet, the ones who sometimes show up late to search for crumbs after the 1st shift leaves. I figured since these raccoons were not allowed to eat at the buffet, they were more desperate to find food and were probably sneaking into the fenced backyard a few houses down to try to steal the dog's food perhaps while he is asleep. If you think about it, most of them have at one time or other eaten dog food here. Then when they get run off from the buffet and are wandering around hungry in search of food, they smell more dog food a few doors down and...

I know Fraidy's wounds were much worse that the others, but maybe she had a harder time getting free from the dog or dogs. Currently, dogs and cars are the top predators of raccoons.

I found some Tetracycline and Erythromycin BTW - for fish as you said. I also found some other antibiotics for cats. The fact that I can't get her to stay over by me and eat presents some logistics probs in trying to get the meds on her food. I might have to give everybody a dose.

Heidi was mad with me last night, BTW. more on that later. She's not enjoying this change where Fraidy is getting more attention than she is - I mean why do you think she moved her spot to be right in front of me - so she and her kits will get all of the attention. And now Fraidy is getting in the way.

One other scenario I considered for Fraidy's injury came out of Ruth's suggestion that the wounds looked almost like those of a cat caught sleeping on a car engine when someone starts it and the fan gets them. I can't imagine a raccoon choosing to sleep in the front yard, where the cars are located as we are strictly forbidden to drive in the back yard. Furthermore, at the time when this happened it was already very hot here, too hot for any creature to be looking for a warm place to sleep, not to mention that raccoons primarily sleep during the day.

Anyhow thinking about where else one might find a fan, particularly on the back yards which is where the raccoons 'play' at night, I thought about the large fans on the A/C units which are all located behind the houses. Normally, the units are enclosed so that nothing as large as a raccoon could get in there; however, recall that I had to get both of mine replaced last summer. Most of the houses along this street were built the same year as mine or close to it. That would mean that all of them are due to need A/C units any time now. Someone with a handy guy around the house may have been having A/C probs, may have gone out and removed the cover to troubleshoot and maybe add Freon. Then if they left the cover either off or loose while waiting to see if the problem returns or the Freon leaked out again, then a raccoon could get in possibly in search of water to drink. A/C's 'produce' water, and recall that at the time Fraidy was not allowed to come here to eat and drink. It was very hot and dry here at that time - my grass made a crunchy sound when I walked on it - so I could see her maybe looking for water...and then the fan came on and...

I guess we will never know for sure just what happened to Fraidy. Poor baby! I hope you can find a way to get the meds into her and that along with your loving care gets her to healing and putting on weight.

Yeah Miss Heidi is probably a bit confused by your giving Fraidy more attention. I hope she behaves herself but as you say her main concern is her babies and herself. Do be careful as it seems things are in a bit of turmoil at the buffet and that makes things ripe for unexpected things to happen.

Judy

Sheryl, I am really sorry to hear about Fraidy, I will be keeping her in my God Box

Heidi may be a little jealous at this time but Im sure she knows Fraidy really needs the help

Your doing all you can to help her out which is more than she would get in the wild alone

Hope Fraidy springs back...she hasent given up know matter what her condition has been so there is some survivor left in her and hopfully enough to pull her through with your help.

I been showing my trinnie the pics of the raccoons and when I sit down to check out and check in she says "nana show me the one with the watermelon" she loves the one with heidi eating the melon .......I can see her now when I leave Texas getting her mom to show her the raccoon eating...lol

Hi Jeanie,

Glad to hear that you are having such a great time with Trinnie. I love the image of her asking to see the raccoon with the watermelon. : )

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes for Fraidy.