racoon on fire escape

Try 311 and ACC, but I'm not sure how responsive they'll be.

As far as I know there's not a lot you can do. Daylight and no leftover food are your best defenses:

- feed only in daylight, as raccoons tend to come out between dawn and dusk (though they're pretty assertive around here!);
- put food out only at a certain time, and remove any extra as soon as the cats have fed;
- raccoons can climb, but they can't jump--and cats can--so elevated feeding stations like this one work: http://www.thewildones.net/raccoons.htm (although since you're talking about a fire escape this may not be feasible).

Also keep in mind the matter of rabies. Here's the lowdown from Neighborhood Cats:

Normally, raccoons are gentle, non-aggressive animals. However, they have been known to hunt kittens, especially when there is a shortage of food, and they can be aggressive if they feel frightened or threatened.

Of great concern is that raccoons are the largest reservoir of rabies in the Northeastern United States. They can transmit the virus to human and to
cats. In fact, most cases of rabies in cats occur in the Northeast because of the presence of raccoons. It is theoretically possible for a cat to catch rabies from a raccoon and then transmit it to a person.

Because of this very real danger, certain steps should always be taken when feral cats and raccoons co-exist in the same territory:

1. All cats should be rabies vaccinated!! Vaccinations should be kept up to date as much as reasonably possible. The cats then become a buffer between raccoon rabies and people, which is one of the great advantages of TNR.

2. The feeding of raccoons should be avoided. By feeding raccoons, you are increasing the number of raccoons which the habitat can support and you are attracting them closer to human populations. The ideal way to approach the problem is to train the cats to eat at a certain time of day (during daylight hours), then remove the food as soon as you can after they're done. Food should never be left out at night, when the raccoons are most active. If necessary, feeding containers such as the one described by Nancy of CSM Stray should be used.

Good luck, and let us know what happens!