south slopies - racoon watch

shishkab wrote: [quote=lostingreenwoodhts]Don't believe the hype!

Not so fast, Lost...

There have been three cases of rabies-infected kittens in Staten Island in 2006, the last two (July and November) resulting in people getting bitten. In both cases, the DOH acted immediately and all persons (and one family dog) exposed to these animals were treated prophylactically for the disease. There hasn't been a human case of rabies in NYC in about 50 years, thank god.

On a related, and somewhat disheartening note for those of us in the veterinary community: Staten Island had only one case of rabies-positive wildlife (a raccoon) since 1997. All of that changed in March of 2006. Besides those 3 kittens, 25 other animals (almost all of which were raccoons) tested positive. Somehow rabies is beginning to creep through the wildlife in SI. This doesn't bode well for pets (cats come to mind) that go outside on a regular basis at night.

With that said, and I cannot stress this enough, THERE ARE NO CASES OF RABIES IN BROOKLYN! However, folks should play it safe anyway and stay away from wildlife (don't play with, feed, or otherwise encourage Brooklyn raccoons, people!!!) and make certain their pets' rabies vaccinations are current. And if you know people who live in Staten Island and have indoor/outdoor or outdoor-only cats, or dogs that sleep outside, do everyone in their community a favor and STRONGLY encourage them to keep their pets INSIDE. Better an angry kitty than a dead one, and better an angry kitty than a dead one who also brings potential death to you!!

:x

Agreed, but I did not want folks to flip out over less than 100% truthful posting. Heck, I am more worried about the feral cat problem we have than the raccoons.

I live on Washington ave. near Sterling and I started spotting raccoons on my fire escape last summer, but now they've taken to staring at me through my window every day while I watch T.V. It's really kind of funny, but I wouldn't want to run across them on the street. They fight with the cats in the alley behind my building because people put cat food out for the strays. I don't think those cats are winning those fights, though. After all, those 'coons have thumbs!
http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/

....(sigh).... can't help myself.

Kmom, i think NPR is great so i would never say you need to stop listening. but i gotta ask (and jeezaloo this is going to come off as rude but i am sick and tired of going over the same material again and again with you, always you. it's been, what, at least three times with this same material already with you since i started with these boards only five months ago. i mean, i didn't go back and check but you and i have talked about this more than once on different threads, no?). do you have selective hearing, or do you thrive on panic, or perhaps do you feel the need to spread fear on these boards? there is rabies all over the BLEEPING COUNTRY. here ya go, here's a study on confirmed raccoon rabies cases in 2003 from the CDC. i hope it gives you pause since it seems that for some incomprehensible reason you won't be satisfied until you lose sleep over this:



perhaps the safest thing for you and yours to do is move to the west coast. i imagine the rabies will not reach there for another 15-20 years.

but wait, hang on, that was only a study in raccoons. what about other animals?



aw, shoot. that can't be good. perhaps europe would be better for you. there are plenty of countries to choose from. i'll even help you make a choice.



there now. don't you feel better? auf wiedersehen!

think about this for a moment before you complain that you're only trying to help, to be a good neighbor, to repeat what what you've heard so don't shoot the messenger, etc: there are ways to disseminate information and there are ways to incite panic. clearly you choose the latter method time and time again. you have demonstrated yourself to be an intelligent woman in my opinion, Kmom, so why don't you choose the higher path?

kensingtonmom, Don't believe the hype (as I have said above) and just keep a broom by the back door.

They are more scared of you, than you of them...

As always, thanks for all the info shishkab!

dept. of public health should be A LITTLE more on top of the rabies outbreak before it does become an issue here

i hear you, BUT call Dept of Health, they refer you to Animal Control who says raccoons have become part of the "flora and fauna of our great City"

I kind you not. Those exact words.

he was not moving. He had his eye on a stray cat for who knows what reason

That makes more sense since all the feral/stray cats in our area regularly do battle with the raccoons.

So perhaps he was more scared of the cat...was the cat scared of you?

I saw coyotes on my street when I lived in White Plains years ago. Spooky. Coyotes in Prospect Park might be a good thing -- maybe they'd eat the rats.

Knew this was coming...thanks, KM.

Also in the NY Times today.

Subject: Re: lions and tigers and raccoons, oh my.

cat2 wrote: I think even NPR, even BBC can get into fear mongering. And the poor animals all suffer. It ends up being ridiculous hype. Yes, rabies is something to be concerned about if it exists. But it's no where near that stage yet in NYC.

We have to learn to co-exist with wildlife and somehow take responsibility that because we have encroached on their land, they are now living closer to us! All this real estate and development comes with a 'cost' and I'd say it's animals and wildlife who suffer way more than us.

AGREED!

Well put...better than I have been able to do

kensingtonmom,

And sadly, I did stop feeding the strays because it was attracting too many raccoons.

HUH?

No wonder you have been having problems. Geeze and I thought you were just having general raccoon problems, not feeding them (and the ferral cats...don't get me started on that bad practice :evil: ) every day.

Creator of your own problem, me-thinks, no?

lostingreenwoodhts wrote: (and the ferral cats...don't get me started on that bad practice :evil: )

Sorry, but why is it a "bad practice?" "Bad" as opposed to letting them starve to death?

Finally saw my first Brooklyn racoon last night at midnight....on 11th Ave. and Prospect (Windsor Terrace).

I grew up on LI, and we had them all the time, but this is the first NYC one I saw.

I think it had a gun, but I might have been drunk :-)

It does seem unlikely that a big racoon could balance on overhead wires, but maybe these NYC racoons are more crafty

I think I saw a racoon last night walking home down Seventh Ave and Berkeley around midnight. I saw it walk right across Seventh and up Berkeley towards Eighth. I thought it was a cat for a moment, but it was definately not a cat. I've also seen racoons on Carroll St between Eight and the park, but only in summer.