Mum-of-five adopts orphaned raccoon who loves ‘snuggling’, sitting in shopping trolleys and eating rotisserie chicken

A mother-of-five who adopted an orphaned raccoon who loves “snuggling”, sitting in shopping trolleys, going on car journeys and eating rotisserie chicken has said the furry creature has been “an unexpected blessing” for her family and has become a social media sensation with thousands of followers.

Erin Berry, 40, who works in marketing and lives in Arkansas, USA, adopted Itty in April 2023 after she was found by pest control in a nearby property.

Erin bottle-fed the tiny creature, who used to “hang out” in her husband’s shirt pocket, with kitten replacement milk until she grew stronger, and trained her to use a litter box.

It quickly became apparent that Itty is extremely affectionate but “full of mischief”, as she loves climbing curtains, playing in plant pots and escaping into the garden.

She has effectively become Erin’s “toddler” – she is a fussy eater, wants cuddles and needs constant supervision – and she loves to sit in shopping trolleys at local stores.

The furry creature even travels in the car with Erin to pick her children up from school and is very agile, once performing a backflip while playing on the trampoline.

Erin said many view raccoons as “pests”, but she wants to change people’s perception of the animals and this led her to set up her Instagram page @itty_the_raccoon.

She posts pictures and videos of their day-to-day life, including Itty playing with toys, wearing stylish outfits and going on adventures, and she now has more than 65,000 followers.

Speaking on the most surprising part about having a pet raccoon, Erin told PA Real Life: “It’s just the level of affection that she shows.

“My son was upset one day, and she crawled up beside him and she was literally patting him on the back and curled up really close to his face.

“They’re very attentive and personable, more than just a cat or a dog – and I love cats, always have.”

Erin first fell in love with raccoons approximately a decade ago when she was offered the chance to raise a kit – a baby raccoon – after it was found in a factory.

Raccoons are legal to own as pets in the US state of Arkansas, but she had to re-home the furry creature as she was in the process of moving at the time.

Years later, in April 2023, Erin, who has two cats called Millie and Chico, spotted a post on Facebook about a pest control company removing a mother raccoon from a property.

Two days later, an update was posted saying five babies were found and they needed to be re-homed and raised and Erin jumped at the opportunity.

This led Erin to Itty, who was initially named Royce as the family thought she was male, and their relationship blossomed from there.

After learning raccoons live for around one to three years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity, it was Erin’s hope that she could give the orphaned raccoon an “awesome” life.

“She became very bonded to us and was really comfortable around humans, so we felt it was safer for her to stay with us,” Erin explained.

“Plus, we try to get her out into the wild as much as we can… to give her the best of both worlds.”

Since Itty is incredibly smart, Erin explained that potty-training her with a litter box was “super easy” – but teaching her “no” has come with its challenges.

“We’ve tried to teach her what the word ‘no’ means. She learns and listens to it sometimes, but she’s really hard-headed,” Erin said.

“If she finds something on her own that she really wants, you can’t take it from her, she will put up a fight.

“You can trade her something, but you’re not going to take something very successfully.”

While Itty is affectionate and “very loving”, she is also mischievous and has caused trouble on occasion – jumping into the rubbish bin, climbing curtains and nibbling people.

Along with making a mess of plant pots and knocking things over, including the Christmas tree, Itty loves to “play with ice” and has her own outdoor enclosure with a cat flap.

She likes to chase, spin and roll – making her look like the video game character “Sonic the Hedgehog” – and even enjoys going for car rides to pick Erin’s children up from school.

The family take her for walks on a leash and to the lake, and when it comes to sleeping, Itty, who weighs around 15lbs, has the luxury of choosing a variety of locations.

“She sleeps with us most of the time, but sometimes if she wants to be alone, she’ll get in a dresser drawer and sleep in that,” Erin said.

“Or, if she gets hot, she likes to sleep on our bathroom floor on the tiles because it’s colder and she recently started sleeping in the bathroom sink.

“I don’t know what that’s about, she lays in it like it’s a hammock, but I guess it’s just the right size for her and she knows she can get a drink out of the faucet if she needs to.”

Itty now predominantly eats cat food, along with rotisserie chicken and chicken salad and she even had her own Christmas dinner, including turkey, vegetables and gravy.

Erin said Itty was not a fan of the stuffing or vegetables, however, adding: “She is pickier than I ever imagined that a raccoon would be… but it just depends on what mood she’s in.”

Itty has developed some quirky traits, such as sucking her hand as she falls asleep, and Erin has discovered she is extremely affectionate and attentive.

She loves touching people’s faces with her “human-like hands” and “snuggling” and can even sense when someone is upset.

Erin, who is an animal lover, explained that she has seen raccoons being “burned” and “tortured for fun”, as people view them as a nuisance and she said this is heartbreaking.

Some people have even commented on her Instagram posts saying Itty should be in the wild and that it is cruel to keep her captive.

However, after learning about raccoons’ longevity in the wild versus captivity, Erin knew adopting Itty would be the best and safest option and she has tried to give Itty the best life.

Speaking about how Itty has changed her life, Erin said: “I love snuggling with her, she’s a good snuggler, and Instagram has introduced us to a lot of people.

“She’s really forced me out of my comfort zone, as I’m shy, and with Instagram, it has been a neat platform to share our family with the world.”

She added: “She has just been an unexpected blessing and brought a lot of joy to our family.”

To find out more about Itty, search @itty_the_raccoon on Instagram.