Trapped! The masked burglar that came in through the cat f lap
MISCHIEVOUS, fluffy and with a stripe across their face that looks like a comic- book burglar’s mask, raccoons appear to be rather cute.
But a family saw their less appealing side when one got into their home through the cat flap and began to trash it.
The aggressive raccoon, which was teeming with fleas, scared off their pet cat, opened doors, rifled through drawers and raided a handbag before they could trap it.
Father- of- one Marek Chapanionek, said it even managed to throw off a washing basket he used to try to capture it.
Raccoons have become increasingly popular as pets but can grow to 60lbs, can bite and are known to carry diseases such as West Nile virus and canine distemper, which can kill dogs.
Mr Chapanionek was at home in Horton, Northamptonshire, at 11.30pm on Monday when he heard banging upstairs. He assumed it was the family’s cat, Dotty, up to no good – but then he heard her bolt out of the catflap.
Mr Chapanionek’s wife Caroline, 47, was already in bed and their daughter Katherine, 19, was away at university.
He went upstairs and saw the raccoon sitting on the landing. ‘He was looking through my wife’s bag,’ he said. ‘He had these big eyes, and was looking straight at me.
‘Eventually he took out a Nutri- Grain bar, and rushed into Katherine’s bedroom. Then he started rummaging around in the drawers, pulling out clothes and making a mess. I tried to shoo him away, but he just hissed back. He was very aggressive.’ Mr Chapanionek finally managed to tempt it into a cat box and it was collected by the RSPCA the next day.
The account manager said he had not realised raccoons carry diseases, but said this one ‘definitely had fleas’, adding: ‘We could see them. My wife had to hoover the house top to bottom.’ Although it is legal to have raccoons as pets, it is illegal to release them. Experts warn that if they get a foothold in the wild here it could have a devastating impact on native wildlife.