New Possum....on my Patio...

[BrahmaMama]

d.k :

*first one I euer saw up-close was sleeping the day away--- in the junk drawer in my kitchen in CA.. Came in up through a plumbing access from under the house-- it was liuing under the house. Pulled open the drawer to put some stuff away and EEEK!! Haha! Called ASPCA, THEY were the ones to explain that p's LOVE catfood.

Now, THAT would freak me out!

When we went to pick up our first bottle calf at the dairy, the older gentleman was excited to show my boys the milking room. As we were coming back through the barn, the boys were spotting the various barn cats around. He seemed pretty proud of his cats too

My middle son Austin was going towards one of the cats to pet it, and it jumped behind a lone straw bale sitting in a stall. Austin pulls the bale over, and yells "Mom! Mom!" I was standing a few feet away, checking the calf out, and my husband, the owner, and my FIL were talking. I look over at the "other" cat he found behind the bale, and about freaked! I thought for sure he was going to reach down and try to pet the hissing creature! And it was huge! A possum of course, lol! Luckily Austin realized something wasn't right (he's only 4 by the way) and backed away.

On the other hand, we did get to pet a possum at Grant's Farm in St. Louis last summer. They had one of their staff members walking around with something in a little tubby with pine shavings. We walk up, and I almost couldn't believe it They are kind of cute. My husband thinks I'm sick, but of course I like pet rats, mice, lizards/monitors, etc.

 

[d.k]

*yep!! Told my pastor's wife I was DONE WITH CLEANING THAT DAY-- CUZ IF THERE WAS A POSSUM IN THE KITCHEN-- THERE WAS PROBABLY A LION IN THE BEDROOM!!! HAHA!

SOMEHOW, I seem to "attract" critters. Once came out of my bedroom one morning to discover a indigo racer (snake) laying on the table soaking up the light of the ceiling fan! But he was scarder than I was!! Threw himself off the table like his tail was on fire. GOTTA STOP LEAVING THE DOOR OPEN WHEN I'M GARDENING!!

 

[rooster-red]

Possums carrying rabies is EXTREMELY RARE.

The virus doesn't live well in their blood.

 

[Agilityscots]

I can't believe how many of you think these ugly, nasty creatures are cute! And they're even less "cute" when your terriers have cornered one in a woodpile, and the nasty thing is hissing and showing off its lovely collection of fangs. Ugh. No thanks, you all can have the possums!

Amy

 

[Scrambled Egg]

LOL!! So there won't be any full cat food bowls on your front porch Amy?!

 

[d.k]

*NO cat food bowls on my porch-EVER!! & My Miss Chook sleeps IN THE TUB or a bin INDOORS --til we get her coop & run built!!

 

[d.k]

*NO cat food bowls on my porch-EVER!! & My Miss Chook sleeps IN THE TUB or a bin INDOORS --til we get her coop & run built!!

-- sorry bout the dbl/pst. Keep getting bounced offline, can't tell if it sent or not! Well, Scrambled- if nothing else we've all learnd alot about possums. Hope Fred likes the collar--. God bless.

 

[gritsar]

According to Wikipedia:

'Like raccoons, opossums can be found in urban environments, where they eat pet food, rotten fruit, and various human garbage. Though many humans mistakenly consider opossums to be rats, opossums in fact are not closely related to rodents at all, rarely transmit diseases to humans, and are surprisingly resistant to rabies, due mainly to their lower body temperatures when compared to most placental mammals.'

My cat eats outside. She has at least one visitor to her cat food, the bobcat hybrid. There may be others, but I doubt it. She keeps all the other creatures in line around here and feeding her in the house is not an option.

Scrambled, I was gonna send that collar, but I just saw one at wallyworld that was pink and had alot more BLING. I'm saving up my pennies.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

PINK??!!! Poor Fred would have an identity crisis!!!! Course who knows, with what I know about possums Fred could really be Fredricka!!! Either way, the bling would bring out those beady little eyes!!

you know I am only kidding about the collar d.k.?....without Rooster-Red (Lee) I'm not gettin too close to those double rows of really sharp looking teeth, lol!!

 

[bossynbella]

Im glad to hear im not the only one who thinks they are kinda cute. We have had a few in the garage last summer. My DH shoots them cause they eat all the cat food. We can't afford to feed them and the cats too. Our chickens are in a fenced area inside the garage and so far they havn't been bothered.

One I saw last year was So huge I didn't know how it squezed under the door.

Our dog is either to stupid or to smart to bother with them. One night we came home to one heading for the garage. After looking everywhere we lifted our riding mower and there it was It took off outside and I told Lani (our German Shep/Chow/Lab who knows what mix) to get it. She took off after one of the cats instead and the possum dissapeared up the hill.

I do think it would be cool to pet one they look so soft and fuzzy. But don't tell my DH hes always teasing me that I would keep anything as a pet!

Good luck with Fred!