They are amazing little critters. I have a screened in porch off the kitchen, with french doors that open up to the porch. Sometimes, at night, I'll leave one of the french doors open so my two Maine Coons can have 'an evening on the porch'.
Apparently there was an opening in the screening, and one night I was standing in the kitchen, turned to look at the doorway, and there was a huge racoon starting to just mosey into my kitchen.
In my infinite wisdom, I said to the racoon "You have to go. You can't come in here." (Thankfully, no one else was in the house with me but the cats, so there are no witnesses.)
I kid you not - the racoon looked at me after I said this, and apparently decided I wasn't stable enough for him to visit, so he turned around and calmly walked out.
Sometimes I wonder about myself.