THE RACCOON WHO SUB-RENTED

I was lying in bed one night not too long ago and had just turned out my light when I heard what seemed like a herd of animals running over my head. I was terrified and couldn't imagine what it was. I thought that maybe it was something running on the roof, but it really sounded like some things running in my attic. I was too
scared to look either place. It was too late to call my son-in-luv Sachio so I waited until the next day, I did however sleep fitfully with the light on aware that the

door to the attic was just outside my bedroom in the hallway! Sachio couldn't come over that day, but said that he would the day after and reassured me saying that he was sure it was rats in the attic and that he would set traps. The next night-the same thing happened , I was not quite so startled (but still frightened) and was prepared with a flash light. So I went outside and flashed the light on the roof and nothing was there so I knew the sounds were coming from the attic INSIDE THE HOUSE. I also knew that it was too big to be rats. I kept thinking about the night raccoon(s) got into the garage and took the screw on tight lid off the cat food and hoped that if it was raccoon(s) they would not figure our how to move aside the unlocked lid from my attic leading to the hallway just outside my bedroom! Sachio came over the next day and set rat traps in the attic and noticed a hole where plumbing pipes were running from the garage attic, which was accessible to the cats and anything else that went into the garage attic. He patched the hole and I hoped that he didn't trap anything on the house side that couldn't escape. I didn't want anything to die up there either. After that we then went into the garage and he took a broom handle and pounded on the ceiling which was the under side of the garage attic floor. Just as he did this Stacey came into the garage when a huge raccoon looked down at us from the garage attic opening. Stacey screamed and ran back in the house because all she saw was it's big glowing eyes.

 I saw the full creature and hoped that it wouldn't jump down at us knowing their reputation for aggression.

It didn't.

I took the cats and their food out of the garage and closed it up for 2 days and on the 3rd opened the garage door after dark for a short time and I think hunger drove the thing out! When I do bring the cats back into the garage for the winter I will need to be very careful NEVER to leave access to the inside of the garage after dark thus inviting my boarder to return. He must have been up there for quite while even before he figured out the access to the house attic because one night I had left Rexy in the closed garage with the other cats while I was out and when I came home late and let him in he was hysterical hissing and growling and screaming at me for two day so bad that I had to take him to the Vet because he had caused his throat to inflame and swell up and could barely breathe. After exams and X-rays and meds I paid a $330 bill for him. AND I NEVER GOT ONE DIME FROM THAT FREE LOADING RACCOON!!!