Keeping pets, especially baby animals like kittens, is a full-time job. These animals are quite vulnerable and fragile, because of this you need to be around them quite a lot.

It is recommended that if your kitten is less than four months old, they should not be left alone for more than a couple of hours. One reason for this is to keep predators away, so, do raccoons eat kittens? This article looks into it 

Yes, raccoons do eat kittens, raccoons are meat eaters and enjoy eating meat. If food sources are scarce, these animals will hunt, attack, and eat kittens. Kittens are defenseless and will not be able to fight the raccoon off 

Do raccoons eat kittens? 

Raccoons are adaptable creatures, they are not only able to live in different environments, but they are also able to eat a variety of foods.

A raccoon’s diet is determined by what’s available in its environment. If they’re living in suburban areas they will sneak into your yard and try to eat the plants in your garden, your pet food, and even your kittens. 

How raccoons are designed to catch and eat kittens:

Kittens are an easy target for raccoons, they are very small and weak compared to raccoons, and they won’t put up much of a fight if attacked.

These newly born animals aren’t able to defend themselves against raccoons who have long, strong and sharp claws as well as long, strong, and sharp teeth 

If the mother cat notices a raccoon attempting to prey on its offspring, the mother will try to defend its baby. This is not always effective as raccoons can and will kill the mother to gain access to the kitten, especially if there is a shortage of food in the area 

Raccoons will dig into both the kitten and the mother using their long and sharp teeth and claws. Raccoons tear and chew through chicken wire like its paper. They will have no issue eating a kitten.

Digesting these animals will not be a problem either. Raccoons have strong stomach acids which can digest raw meat. They are used to digesting raw meat in the wild and they will have no problem digesting kittens

Meats are very satisfying meals for raccoons. If they have the opportunity to, they will likely eat a kitten especially if it is unattended.

Then again, raccoons prefer to conserve energy, this means pursuing food sources that are easier to chase and catch. Kittens may be easy to chase and catch because they are small and weak but fighting off an adult cat requires a bit of effort.

If other food sources are available, then the raccoon will eat the other food sources. 

How to keep raccoons away from kittens? 

Raccoons enjoy eating meat, they are excellent hunters and a threat to your kittens. You as a kitten owner won’t always be available to protect your kitten but there are things you can do to keep them safe: 

Keep your cat inside:

The best way to keep raccoons from attacking your kitten is to keep the kitten inside away from raccoons. This is especially advisable during the nighttime when raccoons are mostly out and searching for food 

Close windows and doors:

Raccoons aren’t shy about coming into your home through your windows and doors if they are desperate for food. These animals will make their way into your home looking for food and if they find a kitten and no other food, they will eat her 

Keep pet food inside:

Raccoons will wander into your garden in search of food, they have a strong sense of smell and will be attracted to any food left outside, pet food included. This exposes kittens to raccoons if the kittens are outside too 

Secure your trash:

Not only will raccoons come in looking for food like pet food, but they will also be attracted to the food in your trash. To combat this, keep your trash can lids tightly secured so raccoons don’t have access to it 

Raccoon-proof fencing:

Raccoons can climb over normal fencing, you’d need to install raccoon-proof fencing to keep these animals away. This entails using a low two-wire electric fence on your property or adding some chicken wire on top of your current fence 

Do raccoons eat cats? 

Raccoons can be a danger to cats. Raccoons can transmit disease to your domesticated cat, can injure the cat, and even kill and eat them.

Generally, if a raccoon has enough food to eat, it will leave your cat alone. However, if the raccoon has nothing else to eat, it may prey on your cat.

Also, if the cat marks its territory and gives the raccoon an attitude, the two can get into a quarrel. Raccoons are larger than cats and can kill and eat them in a fight. 

However, there have been cases when the two animals get along quite well, raccoons and cats can sometimes be seen eating side by side

 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, yes raccoons do eat kittens. Kittens are small defenseless animals that raccoons can easily overpower.

If the raccoon has nothing else to eat but your kitten, then it will definitely take the chance and eat your kitten

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do raccoons eat lemons?, Do raccoons eat lizards?, Do raccoons eat Japanese beetles?