An Opossum?

I was walking home tonight when I noticed one of our ferals eating dinner (wet food left out by our neighbor) but there was something sitting behind her. I kept walking closer and closer, when it turned and looked at me. It was an opossum and he was huge...twice the size of the kitty. And she was COMPLETELY unphased by the gigantic opossum waiting his turn to eat just two feet away.

Maybe Im the only one that finds this really bizarre...?

I live in Calif. and it is not unusual to find them in our yards.
Treat them with respect....
they will not hurt you.
Below is a link with some info about these amazing animals.
http://pleasebekind.com/opossum.html

To a possum, cat food is yummy.

We get them in our yard all the time, and they tend to mind their own business. I haven't seen one in a while; the only visitor I've had to my backyard lately has been a very big skunk!

If they're all outside, I'd bet they'd shared food on more than one occasion... kitty food is tasty to the 'possum.

LOL!

Our ferals share their food with the opposums too. Funny thing is that one night a BABY OPPOSUM was eating with one of the ferals, I about fainted! The opposum baby was small enough for the cat to kill, but they were just eating together-off of the same plate. I just watched in amazment worrying that the kitty might turn on it, but she didn't!

We don't try to keep them away, they get along fine, and neither speicies gets hurt or anything-besides they are soooo cute and cat-like!

Originally Posted by KatKisses

LOL!

Our ferals share their food with the opposums too. Funny thing is that one night a BABY OPPOSUM was eating with one of the ferals, I about fainted! The opposum baby was small enough for the cat to kill, but they were just eating together-off of the same plate. I just watched in amazment worrying that the kitty might turn on it, but she didn't!

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Awwwwwww.



A couple of years ago, I went home to Minnesota for Christmas. Mom and I were sitting watching TV and she looked out the big doors that lead to the deck and gasped. "What's that?!??" I looked and it was a 'possum, just meandering across the deck, right in front of the windows/door! So cute! She lives by a nature center, so it must have wandered over. I was worried, since it was in the middle of the winter. Mom was sort of creeped out, but I thought it was adorable. The next morning, we found that it had dug a hole under the deck, and was probably staying in there. I called the nature center to ask if there's anything we could do, and the guy said to just leave it, it might find it's way back, or just exist as long as it could. It was freezing cold, but we put some dry food out.

We saw it for a couple of nights and then it disappeared.

Congratulations, you have an opossum friend! These are such amazing animals! Opossums are non-territorial and non-aggressive, so you don't have to be concerned about your new friend interacting with your ferals. As you've already observed, cats and opossums tend to get along just fine! I am a licensed wildlife rehabber specializing in opossums, and my precious Buddi came to me sharing her dinners with my ferals. Here is a piccie of Buddi sharing a meal with Kit-Kat!

Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

Congratulations, you have an opossum friend! These are such amazing animals! Opossums are non-territorial and non-aggressive, so you don't have to be concerned about your new friend interacting with your ferals. As you've already observed, cats and opossums tend to get along just fine! I am a licensed wildlife rehabber specializing in opossums, and my precious Buddi came to me sharing her dinners with my ferals. Here is a piccie of Buddi sharing a meal with Kit-Kat!

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Wow! Those are awesome pics! I catch glimpses of possums around here from time to time. My impression is that they are kinda shy animals... I believe they are the only marsupials in North America... I thought they were nocturnal....

When Fred was still living, he had a possum for a buddy. They would hang out on a low tree limb together. We lived in the country with no predators, so I left my door open to let the cats come and go. I came out of my kitchen one morning, and there stood the possum, like it was looking for Fred. It looked at me and just wandered out.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Wow! Those are awesome pics! I catch glimpses of possums around here from time to time. My impression is that they are kinda shy animals... I believe they are the only marsupials in North America... I thought they were nocturnal....

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All true! They are truly amazing, loving, trusting, intelligent animals!

at my fiends house recently we saw a racoon eating her cats food. 10 minutes later we realized her cat was cowering behind a chair nearby terrified to come out! I guess some cats are braver than others.

DawnofSierra those pics are ADORABLE!!!! I love their bear-like ears! Too cute.

Originally Posted by KatKisses

DawnofSierra those pics are ADORABLE!!!! I love their bear-like ears! Too cute.

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Thank you sooo much!

So I guess this is quite common! I've never seen anything like it before.

Originally Posted by Meowers

at my fiends house recently we saw a racoon eating her cats food. 10 minutes later we realized her cat was cowering behind a chair nearby terrified to come out! I guess some cats are braver than others.

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A racoon is a whole other story. They may LOOK cute, but they are fierce. I don't blame that kitty one bit!