CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One Dilworth family awoke to find a few unwanted guests in the downstairs portion of their home early Thursday. Now the house's pet door will not longer be a secret entrance for neighborhood raccoons, like the ones who invaded the Ritter's home on Lennox Avenue.

"I'm shutting that cat door," said Marlene Ritter. "For good."

During the early morning hours, at least four raccoons running around inside the home work up the young couple and their 2-year-old son.

"I ran upstairs to make sure my son's door was shut," Ritter said.

Her husband locked the critters in the bathroom and the family called police for help.

Shelter veterinarian Mary Blinn said Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Control had to kill the animals.

"Raccoons are very territorial; you can't relocate them -- they might not survive," she explained.

The cat food these repeat offenders were looking for isn't just around the corner either.

"They knew exactly where to go; they didn't touch anything in the kitchen," Ritter said.

Although the Ritters may not have seen them inside before, their next-door neighbor said the raccoons were in her home just last week.

Neighbors like Phil Herrera said they've seen the family of raccoons climbing through yards and grabbing food wherever they can.

"They were walking, one after another, into the dumpster. As soon as it gets dark, they start coming out," Herrera said.

Ritter said later Thursday morning she saw the raccoon mother hanging around her house looking for her cubs. With a toddler who seems to admire the wild animal, Ritter just hopes the anxious mother doesn't find another way inside.

Animal control workers said the animals can be dangerous if backed into a corner. Ritter said she tried to scare the raccoons away a few weeks ago and they lunged at her.