baby raccoons

It was dark outside, and I heard rattling of the feeding bowls, meant for the cats.  I knew the raccoons are here.  Raccoons seem to be surreptitious, nocturnal animals.  They are rotund, and wobble a great deal when whooshing all over the place in my backyard.  They ARE fast, but not as flexible as cats, meaning -- not much of a leaper.

I pulled the curtain apart and peered into the darkness.  I could make out their outlines pretty well.  There were five of them.  The day before yesterday, I saw eight.  New kits have been born this year.  The babies are like little round fur balls, following their mother, huddling over the feeding bowls. 

I don't normally leave food for raccoons, I let them scavenge whatever is left by the cats.  And usually, there is some leftover for them. 

I know how I feel about cats.  They make suitable pets and companions.  But Im not sure how I should feel towards raccoons.  I think they are cute, but they are not easily domesticated.  When I saw the baby kits huddling eagerly over the little scraps of catfood, butting heads, I knew they plucked my heartstring.  But I also know too many of them can become an infestation.

This evokes a long time gnawing dilemma of mine.  Our relationship with animals.  I suppose its become especially relevant to me since the day I decided to quit meat, most types of meat.  Do I have a position on this?  Sure.  Am I entirely happy with where I stand?  Not really, but for now, this will have to do.

I quit meat for a number of reasons, the one I'm most reluctant to mention is that I found it harder and harder to take bites into animals that I would like to pet/caress/hug.  So I stopped eating beef, veal, pork and birds.  I mean, how do we find it in ourselves to exclaim how cute calfs, piglets and lambs are and then serve their pa and ma on our dinner tables? 

But then again, where exactly DO you draw the line between the edible and the pitiable?  Thats why I found it hard to condemn the Japanese for eating dolphins, because what makes people think cows, sheeps, pigs (maybe not so much birds) don't have the same level of sensitivities and intelligence?  Is it really justified for one group to be pointing finger at another? 

So, yes, I'm starving, more or less, the raccoons, and spoiling the cats.  And these are just some of the decisions I have to consciously make.