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A rabid raccoon is actually pretty rare! I'd see if I could get the magnetic doors. I think they have one that has a "key" you put on the cats collar so the door only opens for them! Unless the raccoon steals the collar! Then you should call the cops & report A masked bandit! Lol we have a few that take the whole cat food bowl off the porch to go eat in private & they get the lid of our trash can off which, I might add, we have put a bungee cord over and go through our trash to get what they want!
I have a similar issue in that I live in an apt and no screen door. I like to leave the door open to get air when its nice out and racoons (and opossums) will just come in. My cat food is in a galvanized mini trash can behind the door and they know right where it is. I just shoo them out but then I have to close the door which sucks. The worst time of year is spring/early summer when moms are hungry with babies in a nest nearby and then they come around with their young. Sometimes they will beat on the closed door (which has glass) and its a bit comical.
I also have a cat door and so far the racoons haven't figure it out. Its in a window that is a couple of feet off the ground. I have one of those rubbermaid deck storage containers under it, its just the right height. The cats jump on that, go through the door to a chair on the other side. I've had this for over 5 years. Once I had a racoon out there sitting on his haunches patting all around the area with his front "hands". Clearly he knew something was going on and was trying to figure it out. I scared him off and he never came back (unusual). Recently I had a couple of young racoons up on the rubbermaind thing in the middle of the night but I think they were just clambering around being youngsters. It is a worry though. When I go on vacation I lock the cats out of the room, inside, and hire someone to feed them everyday. If racoons discover it while I'm gone at least its just one room and the cats are safe.
You wouldn't think it is so cute to have them living in close proximity if you saw the neurological damage done to a horse that has contracted EPM.
I have thrown out entire (and very expensive) bales of hay when I have found coon or 'possum droppings on it-------
I have seen distempered (different from rabies) raccoon in my lifetime and I shot them. Then I had to bury them deep with lime over the grave because the Game Commission told me I was on my own, they didn't have time to retrieve the carcass and dispose of it. That was in the last century --- mehbee things have changed in that regard.
I have a similar issue in that I live in an apt and no screen door. I like to leave the door open to get air when its nice out and racoons (and opossums) will just come in. My cat food is in a galvanized mini trash can behind the door and they know right where it is. I just shoo them out but then I have to close the door which sucks. The worst time of year is spring/early summer when moms are hungry with babies in a nest nearby and then they come around with their young. Sometimes they will beat on the closed door (which has glass) and its a bit comical.
I also have a cat door and so far the racoons haven't figure it out. Its in a window that is a couple of feet off the ground. I have one of those rubbermaid deck storage containers under it, its just the right height. The cats jump on that, go through the door to a chair on the other side. I've had this for over 5 years. Once I had a racoon out there sitting on his haunches patting all around the area with his front "hands". Clearly he knew something was going on and was trying to figure it out. I scared him off and he never came back (unusual). Recently I had a couple of young racoons up on the rubbermaind thing in the middle of the night but I think they were just clambering around being youngsters. It is a worry though. When I go on vacation I lock the cats out of the room, inside, and hire someone to feed them everyday. If racoons discover it while I'm gone at least its just one room and the cats are safe.
Why not build or have built an insert for the door with no screen? Something that you set in the doorframe that is solid, smooth, with the top rim higher than the coons/opossums can reach? You can leave the door open for air, but block the wildlife. I don't have cats...but do they need food available all the time? Can't they be taught to eat at a limited time as dogs can? That way no food left out to attract wildlife. What about putting the FOOD in an enclosed space only the cats can access? Don't leave food out in the house itself. Once the food isn't available the wildlife may stop trying to get in.
Maybe for awhile, you could put the cat food in another room for the cats, and then create a "fake bowl of food" for the raccoons.
A friend of mine was dealing with a raccoon that was stealing food on his property out in the country. So, one evening, he left out a jar of peanut butter that he added pepper sauce to. It worked. The raccoon got into the peanut butter-pepper sauce concoction, and of course it was hot, and the raccoon ran off screaming into the night.
Usually they put the animals down. Rarely do they relocate them. If you want to relocate an animal safely, best to do it yourself.
It is illegal to relocate animals in many states. One should check their state laws first.
I do agree with getting rid of the cat door. Cats do not belong outside. They kill off our wild birds: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...study/1873871/. Nobody, that lets their cats 'play' outside, should be called an 'animal lover'! All birds, with only two exceptions, are protected in the US. Cats do not distinguish between protected, unprotected, or endangered. Anybody that shoots an endangered bird could end up in jail or at least have very heavy fines. For some reason we do not go after cat owner; but we should!
It is illegal to relocate animals in many states. One should check their state laws first.
I do agree with getting rid of the cat door. Cats do not belong outside. They kill off our wild birds: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...study/1873871/. Nobody, that lets their cats 'play' outside, should be called an 'animal lover'! All birds, with only two exceptions, are protected in the US. Cats do not distinguish between protected, unprotected, or endangered. Anybody that shoots an endangered bird could end up in jail or at least have very heavy fines. For some reason we do not go after cat owner; but we should!
Good advice Relocation of wild animals may or may not be legal in individual states/jurisdictions.
I have 2 indoor cats and fully agree that cats should be kept indoors. Numerous studies have shown that even well-fed cats continue to hunt and have contributed to the decline of many native songbird species. It's also just better for the cat to stay inside--no danger from traffic, injuries from other cats/animals and less chance of contracting illness.
I have a raccoon prob also. They actually steal the entire bird feeders if given the chance. Some I"ve found around in the woods, some I haven't. They're here because we've always fed the birds. We used to have dogs which kept them away but none at this time. I bought a havahart trap but hubby passed before we could use it. No way could I pick that thing up with the coons in it at their size and relocate on my own (legal here and I live in a Nat'l forest). So I still have a brand new havahart in the box never opened.
I've tried half the deterrents listed. Wolf and coyote urine don't phase them in the least. They actually chewed the paper towels that I soaked in ammonia and placed around the seed bin. I have gone after them with the bb gun and they actually stopped and started sniffing around them thinking I was throwing food at them.
I considered shooting them with the shotgun but couldn't bring myself to do it.
At this point your main option is to secure the pet door or eliminate it. You have to cut off their food source. Or trap and relocate if able to. I don't necessarily go along with the idea that you can take cats that have been free to come and go at will and suddenly lock them indoors. I've tried it and after a while I wanted to kill the cat!
I had a pack of coyotes in my yard the other day (not the first time) and you would think they would have taken care of the raccoons by now!
I have a raccoon prob also. They actually steal the entire bird feeders if given the chance. Some I"ve found around in the woods, some I haven't. They're here because we've always fed the birds. We used to have dogs which kept them away but none at this time. I bought a havahart trap but hubby passed before we could use it. No way could I pick that thing up with the coons in it at their size and relocate on my own (legal here and I live in a Nat'l forest). So I still have a brand new havahart in the box never opened.
I've tried half the deterrents listed. Wolf and coyote urine don't phase them in the least. They actually chewed the paper towels that I soaked in ammonia and placed around the seed bin. I have gone after them with the bb gun and they actually stopped and started sniffing around them thinking I was throwing food at them.
I considered shooting them with the shotgun but couldn't bring myself to do it.
At this point your main option is to secure the pet door or eliminate it. You have to cut off their food source. Or trap and relocate if able to. I don't necessarily go along with the idea that you can take cats that have been free to come and go at will and suddenly lock them indoors. I've tried it and after a while I wanted to kill the cat!
I had a pack of coyotes in my yard the other day (not the first time) and you would think they would have taken care of the raccoons by now!
Years ago we played that 'feed the wildlife' game. We found out that everyone loved the black oily sunflower seeds and we kept all of our birdfeeders well stocked. But we were having problems with the bird seed disappearing overnight. My wife thought it was nocturnal squirrels but I was pretty sure it was raccoons. So I set up a proximity sensor facing the birdfeeders and when it ran we got up and checked. At one time we counted nine different raccoons coming in. They were not the only creatures; my wife even started a blog with the pictures we shot out the window (we never physically touched any of the wildlife): Marie's Raccoons.
By the way; the raccoons we observed did not damage any of our feeders. Squirrels did more damage than the raccoons - especially to wooden feeders. Bear are great at grabbing the feeders and taking them for a walk and twisting them into a pile of scrap. Once we found out there were bear around our feeding days were over. It is illegal in our state to feed bear. Supposedly bear can smell a teaspoon of black oily sunflower seeds one mile away.
The only true way to control the animals outside is not to feed. Like you state: "You have to cut off their food source." It does not take them long to find another free meal!
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Relocation of wild animals may or may not be legal in individual states/jurisdictions. 
