Roxie the raccoon who was really a “cat.”

Yup that is how I was introduced to this furball, the box read RACOON, I was so excited and sad at the same time.

See a few years back I had received a kitten barely a few weeks old, who came to my home and tore the place apart unintentionally on his first day there. Because I thought he had gotten lost under the sink wood plank. He did not but the plank was now broken. Anyway, this is for another day. I had to give him up after a year, and so I swore I would never get a pet again, it was too heartbreaking.

Move forward 10 years and here comes my husband with a pet box that reads Racoon, he picked me up at work with the kids in tow and this little pet box just two days after Thanksgiving, I was intrigued and worried. He swore it was a raccoon that needed a home. We drove home and once there I was handed the box to open and out jumps this frisky white and black furry thing that took off under the sofa. She was so scared I tried to reach for her, but she just hissed at me, so we figured we let her be for now. A couple of hours later I went to check, and she still was not ready. While I tried to befriend her, I changed her name to ROXIE RODRIGUEZ, Raccoon just did not do justice to her adorable looks. I fell in love with her on the spot though I barely caught a glimpse of her as she jumped out of the box and went under the couch, forgotten were my words of “no cats ever again”.

So, we put food and water nearby and set up the litter box too. She made home under the sofa and would come out to eat at night only, I was not able to pet her at all for a while, hubby was devastated, thinking it was the wrong type of kitty, and apologized for getting the wrong kind maybe a feral he thought, he even talked about returning her to the shelter, I reassured him that it was ok, that she just needed time, she was probably abused or abandoned, and it would be a while before she could trust again. We would never know unless we gave her time.

It took her a month to come around, By christmas we got a dog too also a rescue about 9 years old. So now she needed to warm up to another pet. In the process of getting her to feel safe, we moved her to the bathroom as it was a smaller space and she could be less disturbed, I have scars to show how difficult that was she did not want to be touched at all. Finally, about 2 months down she allowed me to pet her, and a week later to hold her, she slept inside my hoody for a good 2 hours and so did I. it had taken a long time for her to come out of her shell, but little by little we became friends, she was still a bit frisky with the rest of the family, and would make her way around the apartment silently to check out the place, one day she came into the living room and let Roscoe know that she was there first, she sniffed around his food bowl and drank his water, and lastly went to lay on the couch then they became buddies.

Life sure has changed for us all, move forward 18 months plus a pandemic that left us seeking bigger space due to work from home and another dog, one year after we got her, my son rescued Dante, we now have 3 two-year-old pets; one cat two dogs and a new house, they love it more as there is more room to roam. Today Roxie has moved into her new cat tree, and she looks down on us as we walk by to the patio, Roxie the Racoon has become my baby, sleeps at my feet at night and during the day while I’m at my desk she sleeps on the pillow just between my back and the chair. She wakes me to a soft meow for food early in the morning and goes around the house looking for windows that she can climb on, to look outside. She loves everyone and lets us all hold her when she is in a good mood which is most of the time, one of her favorite pastimes is to get brushed. The little kitty who scared my hand trying to get away now comes to groom me and gives me nose kisses, Roxie is home!