I don’t know if it is her exposure to all the kittens and cats here at the house, or her natural curiousity that gets Gretchen into trouble every year when the “black and white” babies return home.
Years ago, a mama skunk was hit on the road outside our home. Her babies were in the weeds running in circles and making these really high pitched squeals. I was afraid they were going to be hit by cars, so I grabbed several burlap sacks and scooped them up.
There were four of them, and I hand-raised them- what an adventure that was! LOL I learned quickly that before they spray, they warn you by lowering their heads and stamping their back feet.
They were released when they were old enough to fend for themselves, but no one told me that they return to their place of nuturing every year. So every year, we have had litters of skunks born under our home- PHEW!
Gretchen met one of the skunks two days ago. My husband is so dense right now (to many pills I think) He lets Gretchen in the house and shouts “Hey Mary Anne, does Gretchen smell like a skunk to you?”
Two years ago, I stumbled across a skunk at night, actually brushed it with my leg as I was going to the pasture around midnight. At first, I thought it was one of my barn cats, and when I reached down to “apologize” I got directly sprayed in the face, neck and chest. If anyone has ever been sprayed by a skunk, you can imagine how that felt. The spray is oily and the only thing that saved my eyes were my glasses.
I ran into the house and jumped into the shower. I hurled several times for the next couple of days. Now when I smell a skunk, my stomach rolls and I lose my lunch.
So Gretchen is now in kennel protection. If we are outside, she can come out and join us. But if we are not, she stays in her kennel. She isn’t happy as she loves to play in the long grasses in the pasture. But it is for her protection as well as mine. No more skunk encounters!
Thank God for Nature’s Miracle Skunk-off takes the odor right out of her coat!
I wrote about my skunk encounter here:
It wasn’t funny at the time, but it sure is funny to read about.
We have oppossums and raccoons who visit our deck in the evening, looking for something to eat. We take in the cat food before dark so there is little for them to find except a few tidbits of dry food lodged in the cracks between the boards of the deck.
One evening I was putting out fresh water for the cats and had not turned on the outside light. A body approached me and I thought it was one of the cats and I reached toward it to pet it — then realized it was NOT one of the cats but a ‘possum! I jumped back quickly and scooted into the house… I assume I would have been bitten and probably would have had to have rabies shots. I’m much more careful now and always turn on the light if I have to go out after dark.
In Colorado we had a family of skunks that visited our deck — a mama and her four little babies. They ate cat food with the cats and never sprayed even once that summer. The cats accepted them and were never aggressive toward them… I have photos of the cats and the skunks eating out of dishes side-by-side. Only later did I find out that skunks are well-known for carrying rabies…