Bette Davis Eyes

June 2011. It was a warm night so I had my bedroom windows open. My bed was against a wall with two windows on either side. The windows open out onto the roof of the porch downstairs. Stella had been home for 3 months and had settled in nicely. Rasputin was still curious and when he approached her, she would swat or hiss. She would never approach him. She just wanted to exist alone.

Around midnight, Rasputin was sitting on the night table looking out the window as usual. I was drifting off to sleep when I heard this growling coming from the floor. It was Stella next to the night table. This was odd because Stella never sought out Ras to bug him and she hadn't growled for months. So, I sat up in bed and told Stella, "No. Be nice to Ras." Then I looked up at Ras who was still transfixed looking out the window and I saw the yellow eyes.

A raccoon was on the roof and only a screen window kept him out of my bedroom! He was just a foot away from where I had laid my head to sleep. So, I hopped out of bed swearing and apologizing to Stella and telling her to growl away. My big 14lb Mainecoon, Rasputin, was completely useless. But my new tiny tortoiseshell, Stella, knew what's up. Ha! Shaking, I looked up online to see how to scare away a raccoon - noise and lights. So, I shone a flashlight into his eyes and made a huge racket with a pot and pan. He slunk away. Of course, I was too wired to go back to sleep so I showered Stella with love and praise for protecting her mama. Guess what? She started growling at the other window when the raccoon tried to come back and Ras joined her on raccoon watch. That is how I fell asleep that night with two feline guardians protecting my windows from the evil yellow eyes of a raccoon.