Rocky Raccoon

Rocky Raccoon

We saw a lean Abyssinian cat wandering across our backyard a couple of times not long ago.  He (or she?) didn't seem to be leery of people, for he once got close to Kirk and rubbed against his legs.  The cat looked troublingly thin, as if life in the wild did not suit him.  Though it is common wisdom that "once you feed a cat, you own it," I decided to put out some cat food and water by the Sunroom door and hoped that the cat might stumble on them at night while hunting for food.  The food was untouched after it was left outside during the first night, but, on the second night the bowls were licked clean.  We weren't sure what or who actually ate the food, but somebody enjoyed it, that much we knew.  I filled the bowls and left them out again and nothing happened on the third night.  The mystery, however, was solved last night - we got home a little after 10 p.m. from a concert and after switching on the kitchen lights we discovered a pair of black-ringed eyes staring at us from the other side of the glass doors!  There he was, a small raccoon rudely disturbed while having his repast.  He appeared to be annoyed but continued his mastication in leisure while we tried to capture him--on film.  Though my attempt to rescue a cat has come to naught, I don't think I should try to domesticate a raccoon.