Tonight everything went pretty smoothly, nothing much of special interest to report except:
(1) The group arrived early. I learned of their arrival when I heard Kitty who was inside at the time issue a low, guttural sound. I could tell she was in the kitchen, so I figured she had found Heidi at the back door.
(2) I had expected Precious to be sweet and timid. Not saying she isn't sweet, but that one has personality to spare. She's quite the clown. Not timid. I was trying to make sense of her behavior tonight. I think she might be a tiny bit spoiled. Since I haven't had time to spoil her, it looks like Heidi and the other siblings must have done so when she was so tiny and frail and helpless.
Instead of just giving them more food, I let their food run down forcing them to pick up the bits scattered in the grass. Most of them stayed in place and did just that. Quite a bit of kibble was buried in the grass. Heidi went over to the other adult and grunted, "I'm taking your food now. Move over." More on that later. Precious came over to me to see if I would give her a cookie, walking over the straw bales on her way to get past the other who were eating there. When I gave her more cat food (up near me where she had come for the cookie), she ate a bite or two and then wandered around the area sampling the food from the others, all except Heidi. The yearlings didn't try to stop her. She didn't try that stuff with Heidi who will quickly tell her to "beat it" if she even tries to get too close. Eventually she went to the pool for a while. She was clearly not hungry anymore. During that interval she reminded me of the mischievous kid in 1st grade, the one who walks across the tops of desks for attention when the teacher leaves the room. She also called to mind stories of young Helen Keller eating from the plates of others.
(4) Heidi really wasn't low on food yet. Unlike the others she doesn't eat on grass. Don't know why she did it, maybe to be sure the other adult understood her power. Don't know. But some 3/4 through her meal Heidi walked over to the other adult, grunted and sidled up to her clearly saying, "Get over. I'm taking this food." The other adult didn't argue with Heidi. She moved over a bit still eating from her food but also permitting Heidi to join her. I tossed some more food over there for Heidi just to be sure she/they weren't running out. Heidi stayed over there eating with the other adult for a while before returning to her own food. I noticed, however, that she had chosen this other adult for this exercise not any of the yearlings who were also there.
Wow. Don't know what happened, but Firefox got hung up in the netherworld when I was almost finished typing this post. This sort of thing rarely happens on the Mac, but it did. After trying everything else and failing, I had to 'kill' Firefox and reopen it. Incredibly it came back up with my unfinished post still in it! Yay! Now that's a good browser!
Heidi Chronicles: Heidi's BACK!
it is just so fascinating how Heidi does that with the others in the group, and picking one specific other female [i'm assuming] to 'teach' them .... that she is boss??
but fascinating....
Yep, now that I got FF I love it too, especialyl when things jam and you have to reboot, your posts come back, It great!
I know who I was wondering if they would be back this year and that is your star quaterback. Have images running through my head of past pics of Jerry, arms in air ready for the catch. : )
ahhhhhhhhhh... the other one was Ursula. wasn't it? in the Crulela group?
I have to admit... i didnt pay a lot of attention last year. busy summer and plus, i have to admit, i dont like reading about injured / possibly dying animals... so with Precious - i missed most of her story line and that one that really got hurt... **shutters** i skimmed thru most of that too.
Ya, Ursala, that was other the other name too I was thinking about when wondering if that could possibly be the LT.
Terese,
I'm just guessing here, of course, but I figure Heidi wanted to make sure that other female, who I'm certain is one of Heidi's older daughters (either Julie or the one last year who kept leaving her babies for me to babysit them, can't seem to recall her name), knows that she is there at Heidi's 'pleasure'. That other adult always behaves in a manner that indicates she knows her place and isn't trying to cross Heidi.
The other one who was so badly injured last year was Bast. Sorry if that was difficult for you. It was a rough situation I'll admit, but, as with every new thing that happens out there, I learned a great deal. For me it was a story of tenacity, inner strength, and of triumph. Bast did ultimately get better, BTW. By the end of the year she was back on all 4's and fending for herself once more.
Yes, Ursula was part of Cruella's group. Ursula, we found, could go either way. When under Cruella's command, she was mean, but w/o Cruella around she behaved much better. Heidi booted Cruella out but allowed Ursula to stay that year as long as she behaved herself. Heidi would test her from time to time.
Starlight,
No, I haven't seen Jerry, the 'original' quaterback, or Echo who was named for copying Jerry. Although I miss all of them, I'm hoping they don't return. I just can't afford that huge crowd out there this year. Each year at a minimum, Heidi allows her yearlings to stay. Heidi + the 4 yearlings makes 5 and that's a nice, manageable number for me. So far she is also allowing the one older daughter to stay, something I believe she does so she has a backup when fighting off interlopers and such. That makes 6 raccoons at the buffet, and that's quite enough especially when you consider that later we will be adding all of their kits.
No sign of our old friends, but hopefully we will learn to love and enjoy the antics of the 09 yearlings.
No the Lt is not Ursula. It is definitely one of Heidi's yearlings from last year. I think I may have given you the wrong idea about the Lt. Although she tries at times to boss her siblings around after Heidi leaves, she is not mean like Cruella and Ursula were, and her siblings don't even pay her any attention. She's more humorous than anything. She reminds me of all of those people at work (any job) who want to be in charge but aren't.
Precious has a lot of personality now, more than I would have expected for such a little 1/2 pint. She and the Lt are the only ones who come over to me looking for a cookie. Sometimes Precious will stand upright in front of me when seeking a cookie.
Starlight,
I get it now. You are conflating the yearling I'm referring to as Heidi's 2nd Lieutenant, because she tried a few times to boss her siblings around w/o success, with Ursula because I used to refer to Ursula as Cruella's 1st Lieutenant. Ursula came in as part of Cruella's group of interlopers and trouble makers. At the time she appeared to be 2nd in command in that group.
I see the connection now, but the two are different. This year's Lt is one of Heidi's grown kids who wants to be the boss in Heidi's absence - but isn't.
Sometimes we see some of those old favorites from prior years sneak back for a little while during Heidi's vulnerable time, the last week or so of pregnancy until the kits are old enough to be left for a few minutes for battle. The gutsy ones will often recognize this time as an opportunity to return to the buffet however briefly. Heidi will eventually boot them out again, but that vulnerable time is about a 3mo window.
You wrote "(either Julie or the one last year who kept leaving her babies for me to babysit them, can't seem to recall her name), "
ROFLOL Think it time for you to get that raccoon family tree going now , not only for us but for you too. : )
Good idea, starlight!
Terese,
With respect to your comment about last year, I really think things peaked in the 2nd year, summer of 2007. That was the year that I was able to make a lot of progress in getting to know the raccoons especially Heidi's kits. It was the year when baby Dennis and Cissy were standing at my knees for treats; the year when Dennis reached out with her velvet soft hand to feel my finger. It was the year of sweet, little baby raccoons and great discoveries. Back then there was great tension as we all waited on pins and needles to see what each day would bring and what would happen next.
Now I've made friends with the raccoons. Pretty much anything they do is expected, so we no longer have that 'tension' [as with a mystery novel]. The other major factor, I think, is that 2007 was the last year that the group, which at that time was just Heidi and her older daughter Julie, was small enough for Heidi to feel comfortable letting the babies run around freely playing in the pool and interacting with me. By 2008 the buffet was bursting at the seams with all of the 07 yearlings wanting to stay and raise their babies there and others from outside trying to sneak in.
Once the group got so large, Heidi kept her kits away until they were older and all of the kits were sent over into the flowers and weeds to play while their moms ate. I didn't get to see them very much or interact with them at all until they were much older than the 2007 kits. The kits haven't even been able to play in the pool in recent years, not until they are much older.
Overcrowding at the buffet has had a huge, negative effect on my ability to interact with any one raccoon and has eliminated my contact with the very young babies. It has even made it difficult for me to take photos of the raccoons doing cute things. It's just impossible to single one out to get a decent photo. (That's not the case right now but for the past few years has been the case by the time the babies show up.) Because of all of these things, it has also made it more and more difficult with each successive year for us to get to know the individuals amidst the crowds. Overcrowding plus the inevitable 'been there, done that' effect has, in my opinion greatly diminished the story in recent years.
Tonight only Heidi and 3 yearlings were there. Only 2 yearlings for a while and then as seems to be the norm, Precious finally showed up. The Lt tried to cut her off on arrival, but Precious ran around the group and the straw bales to come up on my right side. I tossed her some food over there where she was separated from the others by the pine straw bales.
Everybody ate peacefully and uneventfully. When they were almost through and one yearling had already left, I took out the only 2 cookies I had, broke them in half, and gave 2 halves each to the Lt and Precious who were still separated by distance, Heidi, and 2 bales of straw. Each of them came to me, the Lt approaching from the front and Precious from the side, to receive their respective treats. All was still well except that from the time the cookies came out I could see that the Lt was now obsessed with having all of the cookies and jealous of Precious' spot so close to me on the right side - this even though the cookies (I only had 2) were now gone leaving only cat food.
Heidi left a few minutes later. Unable to accept that there were no more cookies, Precious kept walking up to me to stand up and beg. I kept telling her "No". She would go back to her spot, nibble some more, and then return once more to ask for a cookie. Where raccoons are concerned, cookies seem to be the root of all evil. Despite the fact that there were no more cookies for anyone to get, the Lt became very jealous, apparently fearing that Precious would eventually get another cookie from me. Finally, the Lt told Precious to stay back (from me), and when Precious did not listen, the Lt ran over there and jumped Precious.
The two were the only ones there at the time. They were down on the grown wrestling. I didn't hear any screaming, so I don't think the Lt was actually hurting Precious. It was more like a sibling spat. I made that "shhht!" sound The Dog Whisperer makes. That worked to get their attention and break up the argument. They went back to eating after that and I left.
Cookies are the root of all raccoon evil.
You are the "Raccoon Whisperer" ^_^
Cookies = raccoon crack
Just kidding, I joke all the time about my cats' favorite catfood and call it kitty crack! Oh, I had found some Spicy Micey in the town with the spay/neuter clinic. I gave one to the kittens, who loved it and tried one on my Wilma...who loved it. I have to look for both of them now...think I might know where the indoor one is. The secret seems to be it's really good catnip. I grow catnip for my cats...have to keep it in a cage and they can reach in to get pieces of it. Otherwise, they kill the plants. The black kitten is back with the other kittens. While in the shed she realized that rather than just taking her place when feeding occurs, she can just meow loudly when she sees me and is hungry. Oh great!
I have two kitties in recovery from spaying right now, in the basement half-bath. I have two more females to bring in, and then the three males, and all will be well in Kitty City!
Good for you! Ah...Kitty City, sounds like this place! One cat disappeared in the neighborhood and the cats from next door seem really afraid. The rooster from next door has been missing for weeks.
Uh oh, are there coyotes around? Do you have cougars in that area? Sad.
Good job, KyWoods!
Sounds like you have it under control. Very good. I hope you are able to get the rest of the group soon.
On that note, and I mention this just to clear up prior misinformation and possibly help others who read this now and in the future, NOT to advise you. With those results, I can see that you don't need advice on trapping. :-)
Anyhow, you had recommended sardines once. I reported at the time that I didn't have success with them. The other day I learned that I was using the wrong type of sardines. I was shopping at Publix at the time, and they only had imported, oil packed sardines. I didn't see any 'cheap' sardines there. My landscaper was telling me sardines work well but only if you use the water-packed ones and preferably the cheaper type as those have a stronger fish smell. So, again, just clarifying. Definitely not trying to give you advice. Sounds like whatever you are using is working great.
Sorry to hear that, Linda,
From time to time a pet around here gets snatched by the gators. In summer they come out of the ponds to lie on the grassy banks and sun themselves. Many houses around the perimeter of the ponds have little or no backyard as they are right on the edge of the pond. Consequently, they essentially have gators in their backyards in summer making those yards/homes dangerous for pets and small children - and adults and anything alive.
So, in your area is it wolves or coyotes?
Linda,
I agree with you about the Spicy Micey. It's the quality of the catnip. I think the catnip is fresher than the old 'dead' stuff that comes with most cat toys. They mice are pretty routine. nothing special about them. My cats only really show that extreme interest in the mice for a short time after I take the mice out of the catnip. By the next day, they are no longer noticing those mice - until I put the mice back in the catnip to revive them. I think when the mice are lost or destroyed, I'll try putting other small, plush toys in the catnip and/or put that good quality catnip in the refillable toy that came with regular, 'yucky' catnip. Do you put the mice back in the catnip container in between play sessions?
The other day when I was out there Kitty was playing with one of the Spicy Micey. She doesn't play often. That's the only time I've seen her play outside. I had just taken the mice out of the catnip and tossed them on the walkway. Kitty was rolling on her back on the walkway when she suddenly grabbed one and started thrashing it. She not only played with it enthusiastically but continued to go at it for quite a while.
Do you dry some of your catnip trimmings? Seems like that would be a great idea. Cut them back, which only serves to make them grow faster, hang the cuttings to dry, crush, and store. Poof. You've got your own high quality, 'fresh' dried catnip. Maybe I'll grow some, too - someday when I get time.
June,
Awwwhhhh. Thank you. : )
The other morning I let Widget out in the fenced backyard as usual. When through with his morning routine he always returns to sit on the narrow door facing where he waits [impatiently] to be readmitted to the house. I had just let Widget out and gotten back down the hall a short way when I heard a strange tapping sound which repeated at irregular intervals. At 1st I thought the sound was coming from inside the house perhaps signaling the death knell of some appliance.
As I followed the sound back to its origin it took me right back to the patio door to see not only Widget sitting on the narrow facing board but now Kitty sitting there with him, Widget on one end of the board, Kitty on the other, their heads and faces overlapping in the middle. Widget was clearly not enjoying this opportunity to 'hug' Kitty. Neither he nor Kitty would give up their spot. The tapping sound was the metal ring on Widget's harness tapping against the Window as he tried to hold onto his seat while simultaneously trying to avoid Kitty's attempts to rub faces with him.
You probably had to be there, but it was too adorable for words, Widget unwilling to move from the facing board lest he loose the power struggle, Kitty sitting on the other side of the board equally unwilling to move and pestering him, even attempting to 'kiss' him - just because she could. LOL, that cat is a genius. Poor Widget. He is so outsmarted. 1st Dennis and now Kitty.
Coyotes might be around, although I don't ever see them. Quite a few pets were disappearing a couple years back. There is a large former ranch next to the subdivision. It was bought by a developer years ago...they wanted to build a town and put effluent from a waste water treatment plant in the creek. And there's only limited quantities of low quality water available. So...long story, lawsuit and court stuff, settled recently. In the meantime, a large amount of land has sat there, not occupied, nobody much doing anything over there about predator species. I did put the two mice back in the container a couple of times...now I can't find them. The other two mice haven't been used yet. I haven't dried my catnip...just let the cats have the fresh stuff. I used to buy it dried sometimes...cats like it either way.
Cheryl... re- catnip. I grew some last year and had one pot that never got planted.... every now and then, Charlie would grab a bit and play with it. It sat out all winter and this spring, Charlie grabbed the last dried stalk, played with it, crunched it up and rolled in it. It was so comical to watch.
OH, at the end of the season, i took the leaves and crunched them up and have them in a baggie -- he loves the stuff.
I'm all out of seeds so i hope my plants from last year come back.
Too funny with Miss Kitty sharing Widget's spot.
ya gotta wonder if she's trying to 'make friends' or just harass him in her own playful way.
Linda,
Hmm. So, no telling what's over there on that property. Hope your kitties stay safe. I'm missing a few mice right now, too. The usually show up in time. I put them back whenever I see them (outside) and they are dry. I like the red ones best because they are much easier to see outside. The Marinated Mice are gray and sometimes white. Those are much harder to find again after playtime is over.
I was thinking it would be good to deadhead the catnip a time or two in summer, and hang the cuttings in handfuls upside down to dry. The plants should grow back very rapidly, only thicker, leaving plenty for the cats to play in at the time. Then in winter you would have the dried stuff for them. Just put the dried bunches in a large plastic bag and crush. I'm going to have to try that myself.
Terese,
From what I've read catnip effects cats like a drug. It makes them high, but apparently in a safe way and such that the effect doesn't last long. That's why they are so funny when playing with/in the stuff. They're stoned.
As for Kitty and Widget, I've wondered the same thing for a while, and after watching her for a while, have come to the conclusion that both are true. I think she would actually like to be friends. I think maybe she had a good relationship with the dog in her former home and would like to show Widget the possibilities. Frequently, she walks up to him and tries to rub against him, and most of the time I think she is actually trying to be friendly.
Widget, on the other hand, hates her. He is very jealous and wants nothing to do with her. I'm hoping in time he will get a clue, but for now he refuses and rebuffs her every attempt at friendship. Then at times and probably in part because of the way he constantly rebuffs her coupled with the realization that she can get away with it, I think she actually 'messes' with him just to aggravate him and rub his nose in the fact that he can't do anything about it.
So, I believe both are true. This morning when she was sitting with him on the facing board, I think she was intentionally aggravating him. Sometimes when she rubs against my leg and the table and then Widget, I think she's sincerely being friendly. However, Widget's reaction at those times is like that of a 5yr old boy who rubs the yuckiness off his lips after a little girl catches him off guard and kisses him.
ROFL Reminds me of the Peanuts cartoon when Lucy gets kissed by Snoopy, and says, "EEEEW, DOG germs!" Only Widget is refusing cat germs, lol.
Oh, now the personalities are starting to reveal themselves at the buffet.
Heidi was there with 3 kits. After everyone else was eating, along came Precious. (getting to be a routine) They all choose there own spot at the table. I toss the food where they 'sit' - except for Heidi who is always served 1st and always just in front of me, center front.
The others had chosen spots around and behind Heidi. When Precious arrived she went around everything to come up on my right side with the straw bales between her and them like before. I'm starting to think Precious is anything but disabled. She's starting to appear pretty smart. She chooses that spot up by me, I think, because that puts her in a good spot to get treats if I have any.
The Lt gets mad with Precious, but the Lt usually arrives 1st along with Heidi. She has the option to take the spot beside me but doesn't. Then when the goodies come out, she gets mad when she sees Precious there so close to me. And tonight was almost comical...
I had 2 eggs and 3 cookies. I gave Heidi an egg. Then, having only the one egg left, I decided to give it to Precious. I figured, being so small, she could use the nutrition. Frankly, I wasn't even sure if she would want it, but I gave it a try. I chipped it 1st just in case. Since she had chosen that spot to my right, it was also easy to roll the egg over to her with no one else in the way.
Precious grabbed that egg and started eating immediately. She was thrilled and beaming all over. I heard all this crunching over there. By the time she had finished, she had eaten the egg and 1/2 the shell; her back legs were all shiny from egg whites; and she had little bits of egg shell stuck to her nose. Yep, she definitely need to work on technique, but she thoroughly enjoyed that egg! (another camera moment lost.)
As soon as I gave Precious the 2nd egg, the Lt came to me. She wanted an egg, too. As there were no more, I gave her a cookie instead. Then I split a cookie giving each of the other 2 yearlings 1/2 and gave the last cookie to Precious.
When Precious came over to get her cookie, the Lt got mad all over again. The Lt came back up in front of me wanting something. Now I had nothing left. With so much going on up there in front of me, Heidi moved back and bounced the other adult taking her spot (again). This left Heidi's spot, her food, AND her egg alone and unprotected.
Once she realized I wasn't going to give her anything else, the Lt backed up to Heidi's spot. She sniffed around briefly and with the care of one who knows this is the Queen's stuff and she isn't welcome to touch it. You could tell she wanted that egg. She even sniffed it from a few inches away, but she didn't touch it. Obediently following the rules, the Lt stepped away from the egg and walked back to her spot to continue eating.
About a minute later, Precious walked back over to me to check again if I would give her something else, as she had done several times since I gave her that cookie. Like all the other times, I told her there were no more cookies, and then just as she was about to walk back to her place as she had so many times before, that unattended egg caught Precious eye - and that little 'rat' ran over there, snatched up Heidi's egg, and ran over behind the straw bales to enjoy it.
I had to laugh at her moxie! She's going to be the one to watch. Mark my word, that little one is going to be a handful because she's got attitude. When she grabbed the egg, Heidi grunted at her very lightly, obviously just a perfunctory effort, but didn't make any real attempt to stop her. Again, I wondered if this was a pattern, if the entire family had been going out of its way all along to overlook Precious' behavior and give in to her. Now, for the 1st time, I wondered if this might be the source of the Lt frustrations and animosity against her little sister.
Regardless, as she watched Precious steal the egg and run off to eat it, you can probably imagine how furious the Lt was. While Precious was over there crunching on the egg, the Lt came back to me to ask for an egg. She really, really wanted one. Then she went over to Precious' spot where she sniffed the remains of shell left from the 1st egg. About that time, Precious, now through with her 2nd egg, started on a path back across the buffet area toward me, no doubt to ask for more goodies. In a rage, the Lt ran over the top of the 2 bales of pine straw and jumped on Precious like a cougar jumping off a rock face onto prey.
Heidi was still there. I don't know if that may have had anything to do with it, but w/o any fighting, the Lt let Precious go and stormed off. The Lt ran all the way to the fence and stood there for a few minutes before she finally returned to finish eating. She wasn't frightened by anything. She ran over there like a guy who's trying to walk off the urge to beat the heck out of someone. After that, everybody went back to eating as normal. There were no more treats, nothing left but cat food which everyone had equally, so there was no reason to argue.
ROTFLOL, KyWoods!
It is exactly like that! Good one.
Oh how wonderful to enjoy the return of your racoon antics. I am so looking forward to your book. And by the way Where are the pictures?? Your description of Precious with the egg whites odripping on her legs and the bits of shell on her nose were just so vivid I could actually picture them. We must figure out a third arm for you + a camera button digit...perhaps coming out of your right shoulder or somewhere thereabouts (assuming you're right handed)?
All smiles here and awaiting more coon tails from our very own racoon whisperer!!
Sheri
Hi Sheri,
Thank you VERY much!
Oh, and I think I'm going to like this 3rd arm and button design. I've needed that for a while now. ;-)
i'm thinking of one sort of on the line of those harmonica neck stands that guitarists use. Havn't quite figuted out the shutter release button part yet though. ;-)
g'nite..er morning... friend!
Funny stuff about Widget and Kitty. I hate to say it, but cats seem to be smarter than dogs or at least better at getting what they want. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the Lt and Precious works out. Sounds like they both know just about how far they can push it with Heidi and not get into trouble. Hope the Lt doesn't decide to take it out on Precious someday when Heidi isn't around. I have to wonder if Heidi has selected the Lt to accompany her so that she can train her or if the Lt. has decided to stay close to Heidi to learn what it takes to be the Head of the Household. Maybe a little of both?
Susan
totally OT here...
I've talked quite about Charlie, our cat - who we 'adopted' last winter when Sheri [jsweld] found him in her garage.
anyhoo... he LOVES to play ping pong in my bathtub when i'm trying to sleep...
i video'd it this morning... there are 2 two minute clips -- some slow spots as i dont think he likes being watched, but a hoot none the less.
http://www.youtube.com/user/tcs1366
Back to your originally scheduled program....
LOL! That's a great video, Therese!!! Our cats like playing with balls, too. They carry them into the dining room or kitchen and then slap and pounce them until they lose it in the corners. Then they go get another one... Everytime I sweep, I find half a dozen balls hiding in the corners. LOL
I took in a male feral kitty to the spay/neuter clinic today. Two of his sisters are doing well in the 'recovery room', eating, drinking and they even figured out what the litter box is for!
One more female kitten and her mom, and two males to go...
Love the Charlie video. Looks like he's playing pool.
Most cats learn quickly on the litterbox! And nice video! The male kitten that I've already had neutered is black and white like that one, but smaller. The one that really likes his human. He follows me around wanting petting, does the "flop" for petting and sometimes the "belly-up"! And occasionally I get to pick him up, which he tolerates very briefly just to humor me, then wants down. I call him Casey. It's obvious he doesn't want to be feral.