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Animals in my house!

I just heard it scratching at the door again! I can't figure out what it is, though, because it hides every time it hears me coming near.
 
Or a large rodent. :crazy:
We can rule that out. Rodents don't scratch on doors. They are very stealthy and quiet animals.
My initial thought was raccoon or possum
that sounds more likely. Both would also play around with an old cat collar if they found one.
I'm more concerned with how it got into the basement in the first place.
A window, not properly closed. Or it sneaked in through the door behind your back.

You say it keeps scratching at the door. Did it leave scratch marks? Could you please take a photo of them (preferably with a ruler or a coin so that we get an idea of the size)?
This might give us a clue as to what species it is.

The poor thing will be terribly thirsty by now and obviousely can't get out (if it could it'd already have done so). Please, do leave it a bowl of water. Even wild animals can survive only 3-4 days without water and you surely don't want a dead animal in your basement.
Some cat food would be nice but isn't as urgent as the water.
 
I once had a mystery creature in my house and set up a live trap baited with some of the dog food. Turned out it was a woodchuck. To this day I have no idea how it got in my house.
 
young animals are often more curious than is good for them. Quite like teenagers. They never listen to their parents but go out and conquer the world :)
Had a number of bats over the years, a rabbit, several hedgehogs and a tawny owl.
 
Rodents don't scratch on doors.
But they will chew through them.

Been staying at my sister house while she on vacation, just in the last week my cat has killed three big mice. For reasons I don't understand he feels the need to leave them on the kitchen counter where I'll find them in the morning.

If you don't want poison or traps in the house have you considered borrowing someones dog? Terriers are great for cleaning out a house and will (usually) stay away from cats.

Bull Terriers will kill up through their own weight (about 35 kilos).

:)
 
I left some food and water out for it this evening. I haven't heard it in a while, but I don't want it to starve to death in my basement if it truly is trapped down there. I'm getting a live trap tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to catch it and find out what it is!

I feel like it isn't a rat. We've had the occasional mouse wander through the house, but I don't know of anybody that's had rat problems around here. The raccoons and possums in my neighborhood are all over the place, though.

Would I be able to hear it making noises? My cat gets trapped behind a door, and she meows. Do raccoons and possums make any kind of noticeable sounds?
 
Why would you call animal control? Disease? Or could it actually be a bear?

Because I don't want wildlife in my house.

Why wouldn't I call animal control?

My local animal control was extremely lazy when we had a cat in our attic. I eventually convinced them to let us use their cage traps so we could catch it ourselves and let it outside.
 
I actually looked into the animal control thing. Apparently my county only staffs one animal control officer. So unless it's an emergency, they don't really do much.
 
Well, could it also be a deer or possibly a horse or a mule? From your description of scattered food from the cat bowl, it also sounds like it might be a pachyderm.
 
So...it was a raccoon. A fucking giant raccoon.

1620555_806231778222_698740804_n.jpg
 
They're highly intelligent little buggers. Good thing he didn't find your bank card and do some online shopping while you were asleep.
 
I feel like such a weenie right now. Every time I get close to the cage, the raccoon growls at me! I don't know what to do!
 
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