white kitten (Black: new home, subdivision, garage)

[tammie2]

Okay, I am a bit of bleeding heart, especially when it comes to animals(I drive around with a net and boxes for rescues of all types-we had an armadillo caged in the garage once). Most of them are vet checked/treated and sent on to new homes.

So the other night I am driving up 431 right by the animal hospital here in hampton cove and I see this fluffy white kitten, oh goodness she will be hit by a car. I am sure I can find a home for it. Park the car, get out the net(people were probably driving by thinking I found a hidden fishing hole), get the box ready, here we go.

The silly thing starts running from me and I was too far to begin with, runs across the road. So, back in the car, I do a u-turn to get closer.....it is a white skunk. I had never seen such a thing. I was very lucky it didn't spray.

I had never seen a white skunk before, and I thought I had seen it all.

So the lesson here is beware of the white "kitties."

[Naturen]

Oh my gosh! That is hilarious - it's a good thing that you didn't net it. Albinoism is uncommon. It's been reported that a white moose was spotted here in Alaska last week.

[Ketabcha]

"Nice kitty, nice kitty" she said as she slowly backed away, net in hand.

[HB2HSV]

LMAO!! Great story

Tammie, be sure to share your favorite skunk recipe.

[33458]

Had a friend when I was younger that had a pet albino skunk...cute little thing, but even 'odorectified' still smelled like a dank ferret. Eh.

[Mawoods]

Tammie, We have gotten to be skunk experts practically out here. We have so many regular ones that we have named them. We too didn't realize that all skunks don't look alike. We have one that is pure black but a white tuff on head. We have one all white and several variations in between. And I am not in favor of making them pets (wild) but I understand they are very intelligent and can make good pets. We have read and learned that they really do not spray unless SEVERELY threatened - and most predators like coyotes, leave them alone. We have watched them out back and even walked up on them and they just prance away. Not even interested in us. My husband was walking around the side of the house about 8 PM last week and came up on one on our front stoop. That skunk just calmly walked down the steps and into the field. We have become skunk fans although I do not want to encourage them in my yard!!! We understand that this area is prime skunk habitat. The Flint river and low lying land and creeks are what skunks like. Last winter every time I drove out whether 72 or Little Cove I saw several dead skunks. The population is thriving I think!

[tammie2]

No pet wildlife for me. I will/have taken in injured wildife, allowed them to heal/provided veterinary care as far away from my family as possible-which in a subdivision home is typically the garage. Then they are released and every time my kids see that type of animal in a 50 mile radius they insist it was "theirs."

We used to feed the raccoons in TX, it started with one who lost her mother and morphed into 50+ lbs of dog food each week. It kept them out of the garbage and away from the homes(our home faced a forest). We knew most of them by sight and they were all different just like your skunks!

[caution]

reminds me of that lost kitten poster with a photo of a real mean, real big, real angry possum on it.

[Mawoods]

Tamie you are a person after my own heart. We rescue and help animals too. I can't even think about how I feel about animal abuse and neglect without getting very upset. About 3 weeks ago I walked up on a mom raccoon and her two kittens. They were so cute but they ran away as fast as they could . I guess that is healthy and the way it should be.
Every pet we have had has been a rescue and we think one of our missions in life is to take in neurotic, abused animals that no one else would want. However, we have decided that we have the last one as we are now older and want to travel more and not worry about care. LOL

[milledj]

That is funny! At Lakeside, there was a HUGE White with a BLACK stripped skunk that we saw on a regular basis. I can't recall any perfectly white ones, but it is a good thing you didn't catch it! (Okay, I admit, it could have been me, too!)