Posted on 01/26/2019 7:07:07 PM PST by EinNYC
I’ll bet the Dogs thought it was The Best Night Ever...
Oposums are nocturnal, and like meat (carnivors)
Squirrels nest with nuts (Herbavores)
Raccoons have invaded urban areas (omnivores)
Or possibly rats (omnivores)
The best tale-tell is by fecal droppings
An acquaintance of mine had similar circumstance in Texas,
and found the problem was 'roof rats'.
If so, it's exterminator time...
I can’t get up there myself. There is no stair that folds down. There is just a square opening in the hall ceiling, with a piece of painted plywood resting in the opening. To get up there, you need a full sized ladder, which I don’t have. I asked my very large, karate instructor neighbor to go up there and check it out, but he was afraid to do it! He helped me toss the bags of mothballs up there, but he would only move the plywood an inch or so to admit his hand before tossing the bag.
This is his job.
If he brings you a rat or squirrel, that is what is was.
If your Maine is killed, then it was a coon.
Put the traps back and check them a couple times a day if you are worried about starvation.
Throw the cat up in the attic for a few hours. If you find a dead squirrel then you know. If you find a dead cat then you will know too.
There was a guy I know that had a guy living in his attic for some time. The entrance was in the garage...guy was helping himself to food stored out there.
BADA-BOOM!
Game cameras.
Had a squirrel problem in an attic apartment once, many years ago, with them nesting under the floor boards in a closet. The squirrels made the first horrible sound in this video over and over again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6y3moxAtXQ
Do you think that maybe borrowing a hound dog for the task might yield an answer?
Being NYC I am assuming you are in some kind of multi family
type structure. If so has others heard anything?
When I’ve heard this animal at 3 a.m., I heard it scurrying around and scratching. It sounded cat sized. It didn’t sound like a mouse. And the animal that went THUNK as it came through the exterior opening (wherever that is) and then dropped down to the floor was no mouse. That was a considerable THUNK. Considering it was 5 p.m. tonight and already dark, does that help with the I.D.? The maintenance men said they didn’t see any poop. I think they just didn’t want to be bothered, that’s what I think. So they were telling me whatever it took to fob me off. All they wanted to do was put that squirrel sized Havahart trap with the peanut butter in there and leave. After a week, nothing was caught in that trap, so I’d just as soon not have something go into it and then starve. That’s why I insisted they remove it. They didn’t want to, but I put on quite a demonstration of “I don’t want that thing up there!” and they finally relented.
yep
I dunno. I had a chance to get a Maine Coon one time. Owners were getting rid of it because it killed the neighbor’s dog. Didn’t think my cat would appreciate it, though.
What a wimp. Rent a feral cat, put him up there, problem gone in a day. A friend did this in his business and solved the problem. They are nasty critters, spit in your face when approached. Just a thought but there are many other approaches.
Coons ramble at night and squirrels don’t.
Borrowing a hound dog to visit the attack would yield some entertainment, too, if there’s a critter up there. Just be sure to turn the breakers off before letting it up there (because, wires and the like).
IIRC, she lives in Queens.
I’ve lived rural in WV now for 17 years and although I’ve seen plenty as road kill, I tell ya I’ve seen more ‘possum in the wild in Queens than I’ve seen here in WV.
EinNYC...Pls excuse the sentence composition. I’m not as sharp after sundown.
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