Are there any nocturnal creatures living in South Florida that look like raccoons

For a while, I have been leaving food out for the neighborhood cats. I have always loved cats, and I feel sorry for them. But the other night, when I looked out on my patio, I saw a creature that looked much like a raccoon, but didn't entirely fit the description. He was (proportionally speaking), quite large. I would say he/she was about the the size of a one year-old human baby! It was certainly much bigger than my tomcat. It stood on two feet at about 2 1/2 feet high, and had medium-light grayish fur, and a long, bushy ring-tail. But it's eyes were roundish-looking, and I don't remember
seeing any mask (like a raccoon). Maybe it had one, but I don't recall seeing one. Then again, it was pretty dark outside, even in the faded amber glow of my porch light. So maybe it did have a "mask". It scared the hell out of me! My elderly mother thought it was a really big tomcat, but it looked more like a large raccoon.What could it have been? If it is a raccoon, can I legally shoot it?
Are there Florida laws protecting raccoons?

All wildlife species native to a state and some not native are protected by law and can only be killed if damaging property or in legal seasons using legal methods.

Raccoons are native to FL and is probably what you saw. Sometimes their mask is not as obvious as it is on most individuals.

here is one with a so so mask.

http://www.gpnc.org/images/jpegs/animals…


Here is one with an obvious mask

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/species/graphi…

Raccoons do live in Florida and they have sparse fur relatively because of the climate.