Cats in the cradle, raccoons in the kitchen

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm house-sitting for M., one of my upper managers. I leave the cat door open during the day so that the two outdoor cats can get in and eat whenever they need to. However, I put the cat door cover on at night because M. mentioned that they've been dealing with an ornery cat in the neighborhood and they don't want him wandering in through the cat door at night. So, this has been my SOP for the last week and so far I've had no issues.

Tonight (or rather very early this morning), I hear a big commotion downstairs. I hear cat bowls rattling around and dry cat food going everywhere. So, I high-tail it down the stairs and see the cat door cover across the room and a huge mess in the kitchen. Then one of the indoor cats wanders down the stairs, so I realize that he is not one of the ones making the mess.

When I turn on the outdoor light and look on the deck, I see a ginormous raccoon staring back at me. I don't think that I would have been more surprised to see a Yeti standing out there. I'm not sure why the raccoon was such a surprise to me. Afterall, we see them over on the eastside pretty frequently (usually as roadkill, but you know...), but this is friggin' Seattle. Based on the raccoon's current girth, he does quite well for himself in these parts...a real yuppy raccoon. Not long after, another one peeks around the corner.

So, I think to myself, "shit". Or maybe I said that aloud. Either way, the situation isn't good. These guys are huge and the plastic cat door cover was obviously a mere hocky puck standing in the way of tasty chicken livers and tuna treats. I quickly put the cover back on to assuage any thoughts of immediate return, and then assess the situation. Being a stranger in this home, I'm not familiar with all of the heavy objects which would make good cat door cover securers. So, I place a big brick in front of the cover, and then maneuver the portable (albeit not on wheels) kitchen island behind it for reinforcement.

I then go about the business of mopping up soggy cat food and water from the cabinets and floor. As I look around, I realize that there is another cat door that goes into the finished basement, and I pray that none of the raccoons made their way down those stairs, only to return again once I've finished cleaning up the mess. Luckily, one of the indoor cats plods through to use the cat box and since I hear no growling or anything, I am relieved that there doesn't appear to be a raccoon in the basement.

So, I finish the cleaning up and then refill all of the bowls with water and the various foods, and then trot upstairs again. However, I'm not rattled enough that I can't fall back asleep, so I decide to blog and IM with a friend who is clear across the globe right now. I briefly hear some attempts at the door, but then when I head back downstairs they stop. So, now that I'm finally getting sleepy again, I'm hoping that they decide to give up so that I can get some shut-eye. Here's to hoping that my raccoon adventures are over for the duration of this house-sitting gig!