Top Ten Wild Animals that Will Attack Pets

Most pet owners don't worry about letting fluffy the cat or Rover the dog out in the back yard for some free time, but the fact is it can be unsafe depending on where you live because of other wild animals.

When my sister in law brought her puppy's home, she always kept a close eye on them when they were in the back yard because she heard that Hawk's can swoop down and fly away with small puppies and kittens. Now that those puppies are grown and weigh more than 30lbs a piece, she's not so worried about that.

According to BlogHer, "Other than other cats and dogs, here are the top ten creatures that attack pets, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI):

1. Snakes
2. Coyotes
3. Raccoons
4. Squirrels
5. Scorpions
6. Javelinas
7. Porcupines
8. Groundhogs
9. Skunks
10. Rats"

What to do when your pet is attacked?

First and Foremost, keep your animal calm. You should already have a Veterinarian's phone number if you have a pet. Call them and let them know you are coming. Wrap any wounds on your animal in clean cloth and take them to the animal hospital as soon as possible.

Snakes

Snakes can get loose from their owners and slither around the neighborhood for weeks undetected, before coming across a small cat or dog and making a meal out of them.

Coyotes

While we don't see many of them here where I live, they are wild animals and they are willing to come right into a town if they know there are small animals they can easily over power and make a meal out of.

Raccoons

I like raccoons and have fed them on occasion when I lived in West Virginia. I even had a 20lb fully grown male raccoon as a pet for a while. But I soon found out they will run your house if you let them and they are smart, extremely smart. Because of pet doors, it's fairly easy for a raccoon to get right in your house.

They will eat your pets' food that is left out for them and if your smaller dog or cat gets in the way, they will bite to defend themselves. These bites can lead to infection and even broken bones. To keep raccoons from getting inside your home, you should have locks on the doggie doors that can be locked when you are away or at night when you are asleep.

Squirrels

Squirrels will use their claws as well as their teeth to get food left out in pets' food bowls for themselves. You should always feed your pets inside the house when you know you have squirrels around the neighborhood. The bite from a squirrel can be painful and serious. It can lead to infections if not taken care of and even fractures of bones if the animal is old or in bad health.

Scorpions

This is one I knew quite a bit about because I've seen them here in Las Vegas. The small tan Bark Scorpion may look harmless enough because of its size, but my sister in law had to be rushed to the E.R. when she was stung by one. If a sting from one can make a human that sick, just think about what it would do to a small animal.

When I had rats and hamsters in my home, it was always a fear of mine that somehow a bark scorpion would get in and sting one of my animals. Thankfully that never happened.

Javelinas

According to Desert USA "Collared Peccary is the only wild, native, pig-like animal found in the United States. The Collared Peccary, also known as the Javelina, Tayaussa or the Musk Hog. They are called Javelina because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear."

Javelinas can run a large dog off or use their tusks to jab them with. A small dog or cat could end up getting quite hurt from one of these animals.

Porcupines

Porcupines are an animal that will stand its ground because he kind of knows he's going to cause great pain to whatever animal dares to mess with him. If a dog picks a porcupine up in his mouth and swings from side to side like they so frequently do, the quills will get embedded into the skin.

This is extremely painful and will require a vet to look at your animal and remove the quills.

Groundhogs

Now while I myself find groundhogs to be completely adorable, they can bite and scratch a small puppy or cat and hurt it. They will chase and bite whatever animal is in their territory or trying to hurt their babies.

But what they do that a lot of farmers are mad about is their digging burrows. The leads in tunnels to these burrows are deep and dogs, horses and even human can step into a hole and stumble, breaking a leg. It's very dangerous to be in a field where groundhogs are burrowing their holes.

Skunks

I think we all know what Skunks do that is irritating to other animals. They spray them with the foulest smelling liquid; it would make me move into another town if I had to smell that scent for more a few minutes. After getting sprayed from a skunk, your pet would have to go to the vet's office and be decontaminated and given several baths.

Rats

Now I am not taking about the friendly domesticated rats that people like me have as pets. No, I'm talking about the wild roof rats and the wild brown rats that will hiss at you if they cross paths with you unexpectedly. I know from experience from raising rats that if you get bit by one, you'll know it and feel it for days to come.

If a wild rat bites your pet, you must take them to the vet's office to get checked out. Because while my domesticated pet rats don't have rabies, some wild rats might.

Sources:
http://www.blogher.com/top-ten-animals-attack-pets

http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/nov_pap/du_collpecc.html