Opposum issue

[jenny2786]

I have been feeding a feral cat colony. However, two baby opposums have been hanging around. They are there every time I go and feed them. I now took the food away when the cats finish, before the opposums would attempt to eat. I don't know what to do. It's so gross!

 

[msaimee]

Are they coming out during the day? Opossums are nocturnal animals and generally come out at night, so if you pick up the food bowls after the cats have eaten and before it gets dark, other wildlife shouldn't get into it.

Opossums are generally harmless animals, and in my experience, co-exist fine with feral cats. I once came home from work and saw an opossum eating out of my feral's food bowl on my porch with my feral sitting calmly beside him. I freaked out and chased the opossum away. While trying to escape, he got stuck between the rails on my porch and I had to push him out with a broom. During this ordeal, my feral looked at me as though I were nuts. He did not mind sharing his food with the opossum. If the baby opossums are showing up at the feeding station without their mama, they may be orphaned and need the food. Yeah, they're kinda ugly with the long tails--but it's not their fault they're homely.  

 

[jenny2786]

Both baby opossums come out during the day. They come out with the cats around and with me around. Some of the cats will hiss at the oppossum too.

I just don't want to attract any more animals. 

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have had opposums for a few years.  Last summer I had a baby and the mom.  They would come in the evening and if there was food, they would eat a little bit.  Then this bitter cold winter, one came out shivering during the day for food.  I just let it eat what it needed.  The opposums I have coexist nicely with the ferals.  One of my ferals even touches noses with the opposum.  They are not mean animals, but I am sure if they have a baby, the mom would be protective.

Most other wild life will not come out during the day.  I would just let it eat and be sure to pick up the food at night.

 

[Kat0121]

A former co-worker of mine had 5 indoor/outdoor cats. She used to leave her back sliding glass door in the kitchen open just enough so they could go in and out at will. Their dishes were right across from the door. She went into the kitchen one night and looked down to see 6 tails at the dishes. Right in the middle of the group of cats was a possum having dinner with them. She stood and watched them eat and then they all went back outside together. I guess the cats made friends with this possum (who came into her house many times after that with the cats for dinner and never showed the least bit of aggression towards anyone) so she guessed they were out there one night and said, "Hey - we're going home for dinner, want to come?" 

I'll take a possum over a raccoon any day. If raccoons start showing up, then you need to remove the dishes after dusk for sure. I'd let the possum eat though

 

[msaimee]

If the opossums are coming out during the day time, then there's really nothing you can do about it. Other wildlife will not come out during the day. If these babies are appearing without their mama, then they are likely orphaned, or their mama took off. As others have said, opossums are gentle animals and will not attack a cat, nor does a cat want to start conflict unnecessarily with an opossum. My feral has co-existed quite nicely with opossum for several years. When he was younger, he would sometimes chase one, and it would chase him back--I think this was sort of a "tag" game between them because no one ever got hurt. So my advice is to allow the babies to eat with the cats. When winter comes, opossum will generally hibernate most of the time, and it's also possible that these babies, when they're older in a few months, will move on and claim a new territory. But I wouldn't worry that their coming out to eat is going to signal to other wildlife to come out to eat because they won't come out during the day.

 

[KelATay]

Feeding during the day is great in theory, unless you live in Georgia because 9 months out of the year, any food left out in daytime attract swarms of flies on my porch, who ruin the food. Also, I don't know a lot of true ferals who roam around during the day because of their general distrust for people, cars, and the busy-ness of the day.

Lately, I have a pesky opossum who's been regularly coming around getting into food I leave out on my porch for a couple of neighborhood ferals. I recently moved the food up onto tables, but I can tell by the horrendous mess they tend to leave when they eat, that the opossum has gotten on the table which is actually pretty high. And on the rare occasion I come outside at the right time and catch it feeding, it runs under my car or in a bush and is impossible to scare away.

Any other suggestions?

 

[keeneland]

Trap in a humane trap & release in a different area. People have different ideas on animals but to me food fed to the possum is food being taken away from the cats. Not that there is any choice in the matter when a wild animal shows at a feeding station but most Fish & Wildlife Departments have regulations against feeding any wild animal be it a bear, possum, deer etc.

 

[dustydiamond1]

I have been feeding a feral cat colony. However, two baby opposums have been hanging around. They are there every time I go and feed them. I now took the food away when the cats finish, before the opposums would attempt to eat. I don't know what to do. It's so gross!

Why are orphan or abandoned babies gross? I wouldn't begrudge a little food to keep a poor creature alive. Hopefully Fish & Wildlife don't want babies to starve either

 

[catsknowme]

I like oppossums a whole lot more now that I learned that a) they open their mouths to identify scents, not as a sign of aggression as is commonly, erroneously assumed; b) they eat all manner of creepy-crawlies. And a big "bravo" to you, for feeding the kitties!

 

[Willowy]

I know this post is a couple years old so the OP probably won't see this and has most likely figured something out by now.

Opossums are mostly harmless and get along well with cats. The young ones are on their own once they're too big to hang on their mother's back, so for a few weeks they kind of wander around looking for their own territory. I have one who comes regularly to eat the cat food, he started coming when he was just a baby and now he's huge! All that fattening cat food I guess, lol. They only live a couple years, and if you live in town they tend to move around to different food sources instead of relying on one all the time. So if you see possums often you're probably seeing several different individuals.

They do eat a lot so you might want to pick up the food at night to minimize the amount they eat. But as for being "gross" or dangerous, no. They're very clean critters, and because they trundle through the grass and attract ticks, then groom themselves and eat the ticks, they're good at reducing the tick population. And they're highly resistant to rabies (they can get it but rarely get to the point where they pass it on) because they're marsupials and have a lower body temp, so they serve as kind of a barrier species against rabies. So all in all, they aren't bad to have around.

Raccoons can be a problem, though. They can really rip everything up.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I agree. I actually love the opossum! I have one too that has been with me for two winters now. She comes 3-4x each week. I always let her have a bit of food especially when it's cold. I told her that she just couldn't tell her friends and she could definitely not tell the raccoons!! I pick up all food at night. If I ever left food out, I would have ever critter imaginable.

This year she had 4 babies. Shortly after they were born something must have been wrong. She took them out of her pouch and left them on my deck. I have wireless ip cameras and viewed her doing this. It was sad. I wonder if they were all still born or had died.

My cats touch noses with her and have even been in the feeding station with her. I love my little opossum friend.

 

[keeneland]

Sorry but living in the country on a farm I have seen another side of a possum.

Possum - Chicken Predators - How To Protect Your Chickens From Possums

 

[muffy]

I love both the raccoons and opossums. I don't mind that they come up at night and eat the cats food. I just buy extra food. I also feed the squirrels, birds, geese and a ground hog during the day. I feed them nuts and bird seed. It gets expensive but I enjoy doing it.