Some time ago, there was a discussion in one of these groups about
feeding raccoons. I didn't much participate, because it seemed to be
getting rather heated. However, my experience here in the rural
backwater of Wisconsin is that the 'coons were pretty aggressive toward
our barn cats, chasing them away if they tried to eat while the raccoons
were present.

I began to chase the raccoons away whenever I saw them.

Well, now raccoons in at least one location have gotten so brave, they
have killed 10 cats and attacked dogs and people.

If you think about it, aggression makes perfect sense to the raccoons,
who may be caring for young while food is scarce and competition from
other species is high. Inviting wild animals to eat food left for other
animals defeats natural population controls and opens the door to this
kind of disaster:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14558651/