question on coons and buns

[bunnytowne]

we have lots of coons where i live.  can a coon attack and kill a rabbit? do coons eat rabbits? when I take my sweet little bun boy out I carry him and don’t put him on teh grass. the neighbors feed the cats and the coons will come at nite and eat too. the humane society keep catching coons here. and releasing the males removing the females elsewhere so I was wondering about this. i know there is an illness a bun can catch from where coons do their business and we live by woods. so I dont’ let cotton down and when I pick grass for him I wash it good. would that help keep him from getting a disease from the coons by washing his grass good and i don’t pick it from where the coons seem to travel around to get to the cat food and garbage. but can they kill and eat a rabbit. too?

[osprey]

Raccoons definitely attack rabbits, they can chew off a bunny leg if they catch one or kill it from fright.  They also carry diseases that can be transmitted to rabbits through their droppings.

[Floppy]

I was watching animal planet the other night (the Miami animal cops) and this lady totally fed the cats and the coons and soon
enough there were 40+ coons hanging around her backyard waiting for feeding time! They even started climbing onto her roof
and sneaking inside the house to get to the cat food before she can even feed them! She had to hire this professional critter catcher
guy to safely catch them and then after being checked by the vet he let them all go into another area. CRAZY!

[Gravehearted]

one of my friends lost a bunny to a raccoon during the middle of the day. she left the bun in her small enclosed side yard and came out to find him murdered it was just awful.

[Sarita]

Yes, raccoons are definitely predators. I don’t begrudge them that :~) they are what they are but none of our pets are safe around these scoundrels.

[JK]

This is exactly why we all want our bunnies inside at all times!  Remember the hawk that swooped down on someone’s bunny right at the edge of the doorway to their deck?  Very scary.

[bunnytowne]

oh how horrible I dont’ see those nasty critters in the day but I know at nite they creep about here. I am glad that animal control are trapping them I don’t see as many. they get trapped and they drag the trap they are in all over and even drug it back to the woods the animal control trapper ws looking all over for the trap and found it in the woods the coon still in it. lol. so now they have it tied up to a stake so the coon can[t drag it off. another drug it to the ladies front door who feeds the cats and it was bleeding all over  then animal control came to get it and she cleaned the porch with bleach. ohhh I dread those creatures. I dont want to be near them and another one they trapped I saw it in there and it hissed at me yikes I am not going near it. I live upstairs so I dont’ worry about them that much but I will not ever leave my bun out unattended I have not had any intentions to do so however I am giong to be more careful when I take cotton out. I am almost always holding him in my arms anyway and he likes to be petted and purrs there. when I took him to the pet store I set him on the counter and he leapt into my arms twice. and dug at me to show his dissaproval of being put down. cool bun huh? the lady at the store was amazed at him his looks and his actions lol. I dont’ take him out at nite so I don’t  foresee encountering coons but I will continue to be careful  thanks for all the info those coons are scavengers ohhh I used to have a tom cat. Jake an orange tiger.  we lived upstairs and would leave the windows open he would knock the screen out and leapt 2 floors to the ground. so determined to be out. so I compromised with him and let him come n go. I didnt’ want him getting hurt. he was soooo tough he would fight those coons downstairs at nite who came to raid the garbage thats one tough cat. he never got hurt either the neighbors praised him and were glad about him doing this he was a big ol tom. that is when my back got really bad and I couldn’t work and ex hubby wouldn’t pay to spay  him. many years ago. awe cotton is showing off this morning. let me go give him some love  ohh…. another thing the neighbors a few have small dogs too so I am careful and don’t put him down at all. one is sooo friendly she always walks up to us showing her belly to be rubbed I doubt would hurt cotton but I am taking no chances. and cotton likes being held like that I take it cuz he doesn’t complain. the other little dog the lady keeps on a leash usually and warns me be careful you just don’t know with nature and instncts I said thats a fact so I always am holding him

yesterday we went to the river and I put him on the table to groom him and he loved it. at last

awe he is playing dead in his  litterbox awe so cute licking his paws ok I am way off subject time to shut up and go

[Beka27]

i’m thinking even if you don’t see them, they are around… please be careful.

[Sage Cat]

The Raccoon’s here get up to about 20 – 25 pounds. They are huge!
When I was little our 40 pound Elk hound was attacked by a raccoon that looked to be about 15 pounds.
They can be viscous – and talk about smart.

Funny “coon” story: Back in the 1920’s when my Great Aunt came to Virginia, US from Spain (she married a US solderer), her new husband would go out coon hunting. She was completely terrified – What kind of man had she married? It was not until he brought the raccoon home that she admitted to him she thought he was out hunting Black People!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh my goodness That’s funny!!

[KatnipCrzy]

Raccoons can carry roundworms in their stool that are deadly to people.  I would not handle any grass that the coons have been in OR wash it to feed to another pet, no matter how well you wash it.

Yes, raccons can kill bunnies- my co-worker had a Flemish Giant that was killed by a raccoon.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Sage_Cat that is funny!

Also other predators to keep an eye out for other than raccoons: possum, skunk, fox, wolf, mountain lions, bobcats, feral and domestic cats, dogs, hawks, falcons, owls, badger and so on. Sage_Cat is right, the coons here are HUGE! We’ve got all the afore-mentioned predators in our locale (Denver) and oh yes early mornings driving through neighborhoods near downtown, I always see a fox.

A critter not necessarily that is going to eat your rabbit but WILL attack is the common squirrel. I’ve had to keep my eyes on the ones around here. They try to antagonize and do think about attacking my two rabbits if I put the pen on the lawn, even if I am sitting right there with them. So they aren’t allowed on the lawn anymore, they stay up on the covered porch. They’ve got teeth and any critter carries rabies, also mosquitos carry West Nile, animals can also transmit mites, lice, ticks and fleas. Indoors is really the best place for a rabbit with occasional always supervised outings in a controlled environment.

[bunnytowne]

sage cat that is hilarious.     yes we have squirrels here too. and a small wood by our house. the bums used to live there. they moved to another patch of woods since housing gave us all keys and we lock the club house and toilets up now so they can’t come in and sleep there and scare us. I feel for them but most of them put themselves there not all I know but  most. anyway when I take cotton out I always hold him and he loves it.  I have his harness on him too always when I take him out  thanks for all the advice I didn’t know coons to be so vicious. gosh. I am scared of them anyways I always thought they would bite people too if we bothered them too much and diseases yes. ok no more washed grash for my bun eeek. poor guy. when I take him outside to brush I keep his harness on and put him on the table by the river there. we have places to sit on cement like a real big patio by the club house I haven’t ever seen coons there. nasty things they sure are smart with those thumbs we got new garbage cans and lids chained to the cement wall they are kept at to cover the cans to try and keep those pests out of there. a neighbor keeps setting traps out for them and feral cats the  ferals are spneutered and ears tipped and set loose somewhere else. so lots of those things in denver too plus foxes etc. I love wolves I petted a full bred timber wolf at vets office the lady was careful not to let it near my rabbit carrier tho my bun had an appmnt. to appear b4 the vet talk about huge that wolf was huge and gorgeous. very friendly too. thanks for the info.

[Beka27]

sage cat! LOL!

[CookieLopBaby]

I had no idea that a coon would attack a bunny! AAAAGH! One of my Mom’s friends has a raccoon named bandit that she found just out in her yard only a few days old! She’s had him for about 5 yrs now. Huge! It stays in the house and acts just like a human! Eats chips and plays with her and the hubbies hair etc. He’s so kind and gentle. I never realized how mean they could be in the wild…. and the thing about the squirrel, I had one as a pet for a few yrs. But he was very sweet and got along with my Mom’s bunny fine. Even though mom didn’t keep her bun inside like I do. LOL! My mom’s had everything. Right now she has a deer and an arctic wolf! They get along great! Isn’t that hilarious! So funny how sweet animals can be to people and each other, when in the right environment. I just thought this was soooo funny. I’m gonna have to get my mom to read this thread. I can just hear her….. “not my squirrel, deer, or wolf” they like animals!” LOL

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