PHOENIX — We’ve had a visitor at my house: a large, hungry raccoon.
It sneaks into the cat door when it’s dark. And it's bold about it. It doesn’t mind seeing humans in the room.
It usually eats cat food and leaves, but sometimes it comes into the house and plays with different items.
My colleague, William Pitts, talked to Arizona Game and Fish about it. Apparently, it has been a boom year for raccoons.
I have a few factors working against me. Raccoons love water, and I'm near a retention basin in the Deer Valley area.
Also, I have neighbors who feed feral cats outside.
We're putting in a cat door to let our cats in, and keep everything else out. Arizona Game & Fish also recommends certain wildlife control businesses to relocate animals.