Foo - I just had the weirdest experience. :p

I was kicked back out on the back porch about a half hour ago, enjoying the night breeze, half drowsing and I had what I thought was one of the neighborhood loose feral cats hop up in my lap like they have a habit of doing. I started petting it, and while it enjoyed it, apparently, instead of purring, it made this odd chirring sound. I opened up my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a fat black tail with a double white stripe down it and up the back. It was a frikkin' SKUNK!

I'm really happy I didn't get sprayed. :p

I can't remember the amount of times my silly dog would get sprayed by skunks.

the cats on the other hand, seem to get along well enough with the racoons, skunks and possums living in the neighbourhood.

http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/470/749/56/IM005551.JPG

ROTFLMAO!!!
Oh, for a video of that!:lol:

So what did you do once you realized its true identity? I assume you didn't chuck it as far as you could and run the other way as fast as possible.

I just kept petting it til it decided to leave. I mean, hey....it hadn't sprayed me, and it was actually pretty affectionate. If I'd freaked and went to toss it, I'd be bathing in tomato juice right about now. WTF else could I really do?


I wish I had video, as well. I think I'd have won America's Funniest Home Videos........what say ya?

I just kept petting it til it decided to leave. I mean, hey....it hadn't sprayed me, and it was actually pretty affectionate. If I'd freaked and went to toss it, I'd be bathing in tomato juice right about now. WTF else could I really do?


I wish I had video, as well. I think I'd have won America's Funniest Home Videos........what say ya?

Is that show still on, or did someone rip the whole thing and put it on YouTube?

if it was affectionate, it'll probably come back again.

just leave some dry cat food out on the porch and setup a handy cam with remote :D

One of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson, writing for a British newspaper about his experience with an overly friendly skunk.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Om2nOkBvigcC&pg=PT97&lpg=PT97&dq=%22bill+bryson%22+skunk&source=bl&ots=68uQ44faAw&sig=tqTgYInJ0xrJ0Z_TE8o4MftxyCo&hl=en&ei=0taaTIX1FMmxngf567Ed&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

The fact that you didn't smell anything makes me wonder if it is someone's de-scented pet wandering around?

The fact that you didn't smell anything makes me wonder if it is someone's de-scented pet wandering around?

They don't smell unless they spray. It's not like Pepe LePew wandering around with a stink trail behind them.

Skunks are cat-like, harmless creatures...hence their strong natural defence.

Even skunks need some love. They get such a bad rap...

I just kept petting it til it decided to leave. I mean, hey....it hadn't sprayed me, and it was actually pretty affectionate. If I'd freaked and went to toss it, I'd be bathing in tomato juice right about now. WTF else could I really do?


I wish I had video, as well. I think I'd have won America's Funniest Home Videos........what say ya?

Bingo, just what I would have done, 'cept I would have fed it, watered it, built it a small shelter and named it Pepe.

That story brought tears to my eyes. Hilarious!

Yep. Supposedly they're very sweet and make great pets, especially if raised from babies.

They don't spray unless they are threatened, and even so, they'll give you a lot of warning before they do so.

reminds me of a guy who thought he found a puppy.
turned out to be a raccoon when he raised it up.

Skunks make great pets if they are de musked. Is there a chance its a neighbors pet that got out?

My sister had 2 albino skunks that had been demusked, those things were a trip. They would lay on their backs and beg you to scratch their belly, just like a dog.

I love skunks. They're more like puppies than cats though. They have thick legs, soft thick fur and cats don't usually care for being held on their backs like skunks and puppies do. I worked at a wildlife museum/sanctuary and we had a bunch of skunks. The only one I got to hold and interact with one on one was a blonde skunk that had been sick for a while.

I was kicked back out on the back porch about a half hour ago, enjoying the night breeze, half drowsing and I had what I thought was one of the neighborhood loose feral cats hop up in my lap like they have a habit of doing. I started petting it, and while it enjoyed it, apparently, instead of purring, it made this odd chirring sound. I opened up my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a fat black tail with a double white stripe down it and up the back. It was a frikkin' SKUNK!

I'm really happy I didn't get sprayed. :p

Shouldn't you be banned for posting this outside of Foo?

Can you ban yourself?

Also, this thread stinks.

Also, this thread stinks.

It does now.

Shouldn't you be banned for posting this outside of Foo?

Can you ban yourself?
Looks like Foo up in the top of the forums.

I was kicked back out on the back porch about a half hour ago, enjoying the night breeze, half drowsing and I had what I thought was one of the neighborhood loose feral cats hop up in my lap like they have a habit of doing. I started petting it, and while it enjoyed it, apparently, instead of purring, it made this odd chirring sound. I opened up my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a fat black tail with a double white stripe down it and up the back. It was a frikkin' SKUNK!

I'm really happy I didn't get sprayed. :p

Wow! Cool ! Try a web cam set up if you can.

A friend used to put out cat food for his outside cat, and set up a web cam somehow triggered by a motion detector. It was on a deck with a few steps up to get to it, He said the short legs of the skunks kept them from being able to climb the steps. Supposedly they only went under the deck to get food that fell through the cracks.
Is he wrong? Did the skunk have to jump up to get in your lap? Bailey can jump up onto things you would think his legs would make impossible.
My friend discovered that foxes played with the outdoor cat and ate some cat food while the cat just watched. The racoons apparently were the tough guys in charge.

My cousins pet skunk bit me.

Next time you go on the porch for a nap, dress as an owl, Tom.

Looks like Foo up in the top of the forums.

Don't mind Pcad;
He sometimes wanders off and forgets where he is.:p

Don't mind Pcad;
He sometimes wanders off and forgets where he is.:p


That and he's getting crotchety in his old age. ;) No worries, I never take offense at our PCad. He's like that eccentric Uncle in the BF family.

A funny story I once heard, but sounded far-fetched:

A family had a descented pet skunk they kept in the house.
One day the wife went out to the mailbox, and as she returned, she saw the skunk out wandering around the yard.
She picked it up, scolded it for coming outdoors, and carried it back to the house.
She opened the door...and looked down to see the family skunk looking up inquisitively at the new skunk she was carrying.:lol:

A funny story I once heard, but sounded far-fetched:

A family had a descented pet skunk they kept in the house.
One day the wife went out to the mailbox, and as she returned, she saw the skunk out wandering around the yard.
She picked it up, scolded it for coming outdoors, and carried it back to the house.
She opened the door...and looked down to see the family skunk looking up inquisitively at the new skunk she was carrying.:lol:

I came across this (http://bluemountainsjournal.blogspot.com/2007/11/unexpected-visitor.html) the other day - similar joke.

"My husband had gone to bed early and I was sitting quietly watching tele, tapping away on my laptop when I saw a cat walk up the hall. The only problem is we don't have a cat."

They don't smell unless they spray. It's not like Pepe LePew wandering around with a stink trail behind them.

No, it's not like Pepe LePew, but wild animals don't typically smell... clean. And, a skunk, if it's sprayed in the past, will have some remnants of the smell still on it, so you'd smell something from a wild skunk.

I used to research skunks as I wanted one as a pet...last step was to find out that they are illegal as pets in MN.

Anyway, I think skiahh is on to something about the wild animal smell.

It's quite possible it's someone's pet, maybe abandonded as bored skunks can be a major pain in the booty with their cleverness and curiosity and the owners didn't want it around, or it snuck out (they can open doors of all types, I read in my research). Apprently, if they aren't constantly entertained...well, you asked for it.

I bet you see this skunk again!

I love skunks. They're more like puppies than cats though.


They are solitary in the wild, like cats. They also are pretty light on their feet, unlike dogs, using their tails for balance.

Once thought of as some kind of ferret or badger, they are neither. I could see one mistaken for a cat. Or as the Looney Toons wrote it....how a cat could be mistaken for a skunk.

I bet you see this skunk again!



That's what she said.

Had to have been someone's pet. What wild animal would do that?

Had to have been someone's pet. What wild animal would do that?


You would be amazed.

I have had many close encounters of the furry/scaly/feathered kind. They key is to be still and nonthreatening in every single way, i.e. unaware.


My grandmother used to rescue wild animals and nurse them. They are just like us. "Wild" is a oft misused misnomer.

If a skunk sprays into a headwind by mistake, I think they can get a little on themselves. I think that would mean some smell strongly, and others don't. I almost patted a skunk once in a vegetable garden, it did not smell at all. One also walked into my garage, when I was there with the door open. It did not smell either, it was not even remotely interested or afraid of me, it was sniffing around for food. I saw one on the bike path that smelled terrible.

They are solitary in the wild, like cats. They also are pretty light on their feet, unlike dogs, using their tails for balance.

Once thought of as some kind of ferret or badger, they are neither. I could see one mistaken for a cat. Or as the Looney Toons wrote it....how a cat could be mistaken for a skunk.

You're right but I meant as a lap animal they are more like a puppy. Wasn't really talking about their behavior but I didn't make that clear.

grill it Tom

That's funny! I've seen a skunk on my way home at night a few times the past few weeks, and it's kind of cool to watch it wander around while I wait for it to get far enough away for me to resume riding. It's pretty hard to see it at first, the black body blends in with the asphalt on the path I'm on in that part of the trip.

They are solitary in the wild, like cats. They also are pretty light on their feet, unlike dogs, using their tails for balance.

So the upright tail doesn't mean it's ready to spray?

I've heard they will always stamp their feet before spraying, as a warning.

Skunks are actually quite friendly and cuddly. My wife volunteers with a wildlife-rescue that rehabilitates injured native animals, a lot of whom are skunks. Their defense mechanism is to spray instead of fighting or running. Unfortunately, that doesn't work well with cars.

As long as you don't do anything freaky, they're quite nice. One of our cats follows a skunk around when it gets into our backyard; keeps his distance of course. This cats also hangs out with raccoons and brings them inside for snacks of dog-food. One of the dogs, however, is an idiot and chases everything while snarling, growling and barking. The skunk got him good one time and he came in with skunk juice dripping off his face.. direct hit!!!

Anyway, tomato juice actually doesn't work that well. Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and soap works a lot better. http://www.sbwildes.org/DogSprayedBySkunk.html

Reminds me of when I was a kid growing up. My brother and I were in the scouts and went to a jamboree where we slept under the starts. My brother turned in before I did and about half an hour later, a couple of guys leave and come back laughing. Apparently, my brother was in his sleeping bag and falling asleep and this skunk came out of after rooting around our stuff decided to nap on top of the warm body. Needless to say, the whole troop was trying to scare the skunk and get him to spray my brother, but only after the guys on either side grabbed their sleeping bags. Skunk eventually took off and didn't (or couldn't) spray anything.

Thanks for smile, Tom, I needed that.

I told this story to my wife and she says, "Who sits on their porch in the wild with their eyes closed? That is how these things happen!"

(She hates wild anything and doesn't relax, period, so everything in this thread is totally foreign to her.) :D

Hey wait! I see a win-win situation taking shape here! Tom can rent his new-found friend to SonataInFSharp and Sonata can intruduce the mutual friend to his smoking neighbors.

Hey wait! I see a win-win situation taking shape here! Tom can rent his new-found friend to SonataInFSharp and Sonata can intruduce the mutual friend to his smoking neighbors.yeah, milk the glands on the skunk and store it in a squirt bottle. Then he can spray them whenever needed!!!

http://www.myballard.com/images/possum_poster.jpg

Feeding orphaned baby skunk:

http://www.sbwildes.org/pictures/feeding%20time%20small.jpg

if it was affectionate, it'll probably come back again.

just leave some dry cat food out on the porch and setup a handy cam with remote :D

Just a friendly little cat (http://www.robrob8.com/rude_and_crude/*****_cat_song.htm)?

Awesome ! :thumb:

I had a mindmeld with the skunk to entice you to join PETA.
She will be working her skunkish wiles and charms on you again.......
:p

That's too funny Tom! I just sent this thread to my mom. She puts out food for deer, birds, and the occasional stray cat. We have seen both raccoons and skunks up on the patio, going after the cat food. The skunks also frequently chow down on the bird food, which can be a bit alarming when walking out the door at night!