Possum and outdoor strays. Help.

[mailynsca]

Hi. I've been feeding the strays in my neighborhood, especially the ones in my backyard, for as long as I can remember. In my almost 20 years of doing so I have never seen a possum. Ever. And the cat food is outside 24/7. Which it's why I almost had a heart attack when I saw one on the fence in my backyard tonight. I'm so scared that I didn't leave any food outside but the poor kittens that live outside are roaming around waiting for me to feed them. I'm even more scared for a momma cat that has 2 kittens about 3-4 weeks old. She has them inside my fence (there are a few boards missing so she got in there and had them). She was also waiting right by the back door for the food. I got up the courage to go outside and wait for at least her to eat but bolted as soon as I saw the possum coming back. I swear it was looking right at me. I feel bad for the other kitties. They are about 7 months old. My question is, is there any way to get rid of the possum without hurting the cats? Or the possum, really because I just can't kill anything. But I've a paralyzing fear of seeing it again. Help please!

 

[maggie101]

The possum has no interest in the kittens. And will not come near you at all. You can trap it and take it out in the woods or call someone to pick it up. They do like cat food. Possums even pick at my black oil sunflower seed and grains

Opossums are omnivores and survive by eating a variety of foods. The primary sources of sustenance are small rodents, insects, worms, slugs and snails, frogs. Additionally, opossums eat vegetables, berries, nuts, fruit, garbage, pet food and bird seed.

 

[maggie101]

I would worry more about the adult cats hunting the possum so get him caught for both their benefits. You do not want the cat kill the possum then feed it to her kittens

 

[Willowy]

They do not eat meat.

They do eat meat (cat food is meat, after all). I've put out dead rats that my snakes didn't want to eat and the possums will eat them. But most possums will not harm the kittens (I would say no possum would but I'm sure there's at least one out there to prove me wrong). They're scavengers, not hunters, and the mama cat should keep her babies safe.

They're pretty passive and harmless. They also rarely hang around one area more than a couple weeks so I don't think you have to do anything. Usually they'll leave if they hear you coming so make a lot of noise before you go out if you don't want to see it again.

You do not want the cat kill the possum then feed it to her kittens

I don't think that's much of a threat, unless it's a baby possum. They're not especially small and they emit a bad smell when they play dead to make predators think they're yucky and rotted, and cats usually like fresh meat.

Eh, I've just never had a problem with possums. They do their own thing and the cats do theirs. They don't wreck stuff like raccoons do. My mom's cats will actually eat out of the cat food pan at the same time as their possum friends.

 

[Jcatbird]

I have them here too. They have poor vision. It may not run because it is hungry and may not even see you well. My brother had one getting in his basement and woke up from a nap to find it sleeping next to him. My brother made a bit of noise to wake it and it quickly left although it is half tame. They usually just slowly lumber away. The young one that comes on my back step isn’t really scared of me and I put the broom out the door to get her to run off. I’ve even had a rescued baby one before that my Siamese cat adopted and nursed with her kittens. You don’t really want one as a close friend but honestly, they aren’t the same threat as many other wild creatures. When I fed ferals outside I found that giving the possum a fish to have away from the cats kept it away from us all. Maybe putting a bit of dry food on the other side of the fence would keep it over there. It’s probably been coming to eat there longer than you knew. They usually come after all is quiet so you missed it. Leaving food out all the time will attract others so see if you can get the kitties to eat on a regular schedule before dark and all should be well. So sorry that it scared you. I know that being surprised by an animal can really shake you up.

 

[maggie101]

I have lived at my apartment for 7 years and have only seen an opossum 3 times. You yes, they do not stay long

 

[mailynsca]

Thank you guys! I have a phobia of pretty much all backyard animals. Even the tiniest frogs send me literally shrieking into hysterics. I've also fainted a few times because of various animals. Thank god it was far away enough that I managed to run away screaming and didn't pass out. It seems that down here the only thing to be done is to set up traps but I'd have to pay and I'm afraid they'd trap the cats. I'll wait it out since I know now it won't go around trying to kill the kitties. I'll also put the food out in the morning and twice more before sundown and will stay by it until the three 7months old kittens eat, and the momma cat too. They all trust me enough to eat while next to them, although they bolt if I try to pet them. Otherwise I would just bring everyone inside.

 

[maggie101]

Most kittens will run if you walk toward them you might have to get on your ha ds and knees

 

[maggie101]

Are they fixed? The kittens are old enough to mate

 

[Jcatbird]

Even though they run from you right now there are ways to work with them so that you can gain their confidence so you can bring them in. I brought in the ones here and they were the same way or even more afraid. I started by feeding them in a large carrier. I would sit beside it on the ground but you could sit on a low stool too. After they got used to me moving closer as I could during feedings I started putting treats near me. I would finally put the dish on my lap and start hand feeding. In the end I was either able to pet them and pick them up or just closed the door as they are in the carrier. Then I brought them inside to continue socializing. I was able to socialize even the older Tom cats but kittens are the easiest. Getting them now would solve a lot of problems for you and keep the kitties safe. Inside kitties tend to live longer and healthier lives. They may not all turn out to be lap cats but most of mine became very calm and content once they felt safe inside. They play a lot more inside and I don’t have to worry about them now. It certainly makes it easier to get them vet care as needed. Maybe that would prevent you from meeting any frogs or other creatures? The kitties too.,

 

[mailynsca]

Yeah, I've slowly gotten their approval by talking to them, they now talk back and call for food. I did this when I feed them and stay near the bowl. It took a while for them to come close. Momma taught them well because they would hiss and hide but now they come running. I'm still not at the petting stage but I think they'll let me soon. One of them actually smelled my outstretched hand today. Yay! It's funny because I've never had trouble getting kittens, or even some adult strays but these 3 are being rather difficult. Funny enough, one of them sometimes waits for me in the front porch and starts meowing until I talk back then proceeds to jump the side fence, go to the backyard and call me from there. He's definitely got a personality. It would also be easier to bring them in if I didn't already have 5 cats.

 

[Jcatbird]

They sound precious. I can sympathize with the number of cats. Lol I have a bunch! The colony here was having serious troubles so I was socializing, Spay/ neutering, immunizing and getting as many adopted out as possible. All those that had health issues or did not get homes remain with me. The colony was over a hundred. 77 found homes. I guess you get the idea. The worst part was that I loved every one of the 77 and knew that I had to let them go to other homes. I was very grateful to every adopting human I could find but still miss them all. It was worth it to get them all somewhere safe though. I’m glad you are helping the ones there.

 

[moxiewild]

I’m a wildlife rehabilitator. You very little to fear, I assure you!

Opossums are incredibly docile! They can put on a pretty fierce show sometimes by hissing and lunging but it is honestly just posturing and only happens if they’re cornered. They won’t go after your cats or kittens, and opossums and cats usually live pretty harmoniously, even where food is involved. Mostly, cats either don’t care or are annoyed.

Exhibit A -

Notice how this kitty is trusting enough to turn its back on this opossum? This was the first and only time our cameras caught this particular cat with an opossum at the feeding station and she didn’t seem to mind at all. Just hung around until the opossum was done and then ate.

Opossums are also transient, so if you don’t normally have an issue with them, then you likely won’t have a problem in a few days to a few weeks from now once he/she moves on!

Opossums are also a very low vector species. Even though they are mammals, it is nearly impossible for them to contract rabies because they have a particularly low body temperature. In fact, they are well known for being immune to a whole host of diseases (and even snake venom)! So their overall ability to spread disease is relatively low.

And they prey on cockroaches and are the number one predator to ticks (and are also largely immune to tick borne diseases), so in a lot of ways, they actually help to reduce the spread of disease! So definitely no need to be concerned with a Momma cat feeding one to her babies.

You should also never relocate any wildlife anyway. It’s a death sentence for them, even if you relocate them somewhere with plenty of food, water, and shelter, and you never know if they have babies in s nest somewhere waiting for them to come home (granted, opossums are marsupials so the baby aspect is not as much of a concern for this particular species). They should only ever be relocated to an official release site by wildlife rescues or other authorities who ensure release is done properly.

Anyway, they may not be lookers, but they are really cool creatures that don’t get nearly enough of the credit they should. I love seeing them near my house.

That said, even though you haven’t had a problem yet (that you know of - I work in wildlife and even I was completely shocked by how much activity our feeding station got at night when we installed game cameras), you should really pick up the food at night! Especially when you have small kittens around.

You are increasing the risk of attracting predators to the area who WILL attack the kittens. Whether it’s a larger mammal like a fox, or smaller one like rats that then attract owls, it’s just an unnecessary risk that you shouldn’t take if you don’t have to. So leave food out during the day and just pick it up at night, water out at all times.

You seem like you have a lot of kittens around! Have you spayed and neutered the strays you’re feeding?

 

[mailynsca]

Here's the kicker, I live in a major city, two blocks away from our biggest expressway. It's all apartments and tiny houses crammed next to each other. My backyard is 30 ft x 20 ft, a fourth of that is concrete. We do have 2 trees but that's it. Most other backyards next to me are just concrete. You can begin to see how this whole thing is extremely odd.

I do get a lot of stray moms showing up to have kittens inside my fence (the one missing boards) but they hide so well I usually only see them when kitties are already running around. However, it never fails that they all, mommas included, go away right around that time. This city has a huge stray problem. I do know that the 3 7mo old kittens belong to the momma of these new 4week old kitties. I try trapping her before but it didn't work. Other strays kept trying to get in the trap. Weird, I know! I guess it was the bit of tuna I was hoping to lure her with. She disappeared for a while after that. I've kept up with trying to gain the big kitties trust and I've made a lot of progress. Then momma showed up and just saw her a few days ago coming out of the fence. I checked and that's when I saw the 2 new kitties. This time momma is actually letting me stay close to where her kitties are hidden while she feeds. Hasn't hissed at me once, unlike before. I'm hopeful this is some major progress that will help me trap her in another couple weeks. Don't want to separate her yet because sometimes the city keeps them overnight after spaying them so tiny kitties would be alone.

I've picked up lots of kittens and adults, even pregnant cats. I've even trapped a feral I managed to tame after months of hard work. She's one of my cats. This time around it's more difficult for some reason. Guessing momma had major trauma before showing up so she taught her older kitties to really watch out for themselves.

Thanks everyone for helping with me freaking out over this possum. Mom thinks it may be somebody's pet. It's just really odd nobody in our neighborhood has seen one in the 20+ years I've we've lived here. Plus the whole layout of this place. Where did it even come from? Lots of streets, practically no trees besides palms here and there. No porches ( basically just a step to houses). Just driveways and not even divided by shrubs. I swear, this is all very baffling lol.

Jcatbird I feel you. Always sad when I get cats to shelters but I know they're in good hands and will have loving homes. Still, you always do miss them. You are awesome for all you do for them.

moxiewild You have major guts. Just looking at that pic freaks me out. I guess poor things are so ugly I just can't. Plus, being city folk doesn't help. Only used to seeing strays, I guess.

 

[walli]

You probably need to ask for help to get these cats neutered, you will have much more cats!
those kittens may be young enough to adopt out but time is of the essence for those 4 week olds.
Taking the kittens will not traumatize the mom.
Is there a Rescue/Tnr group in your area?

 

[mailynsca]

You probably need to ask for help to get these cats neutered, you will have much more cats!
those kittens may be young enough to adopt out but time is of the essence for those 4 week olds.
Taking the kittens will not traumatize the mom.
Is there a Rescue/Tnr group in your area?

Unfortunately TNR is only done by people like me who just try to help with overpopulation. We don't have groups down here. Even the county's Animal Service just lends traps but I already have my own. They even stopped picking up stray cats years ago because they're always full. They've try giving cats and kittens away for free at some events but people want dogs and, even with those they have a hard time. People here are always asking/looking for purebreds. It's a problem I used to run into when I rescued stray dogs. 99% of animals I rescue I've had to take to fosters who can get them adopted or a handful of shelters I've known personally. I'm not worried about the kittens because the shelter I've been taking rescued kittens to lately receives them if they have space regardless of age. Just took 3 that another momma had and they were about 2 months. Momma left and never came back so I started getting the kittens used to me and it was easy to trap them. Knowing where I live I do believe momma was most likely killed. You see a lot of dead cats and dogs in this city. Usually hit by a car. Even with food outside for years I've rarely had cats that actually stay. They show up for a while then disappear. I'm not surprised because, for one all but one of my neighbors likes cats. We both have constant problems with the rest of our neighborhoods because they blame us for the cats being around . They try to scare them away, throw water at them, etc. Also, I'm by 2 major streets that are hard to cross, even for people. Traffic doesn't stop and more than once my nice neighbor and I have had to stop cars to grab a cat or dog or just help them cross the street safely. This city sucks.

 

[walli]

Oh! so you are doing TNR! that's great!

 

[mailynsca]

Oh! so you are doing TNR! that's great!

I used to rescue more consistently but after my mom got worse I've had to stop. She can't be left alone.

 

[jefferd18]

I’m a wildlife rehabilitator. You very little to fear, I assure you!

Opossums are incredibly docile! They can put on a pretty fierce show sometimes by hissing and lunging but it is honestly just posturing and only happens if they’re cornered. They won’t go after your cats or kittens, and opossums and cats usually live pretty harmoniously, even where food is involved. Mostly, cats either don’t care or are annoyed.

Exhibit A -

View attachment 305390

Notice how this kitty is trusting enough to turn its back on this opossum? This was the first and only time our cameras caught this particular cat with an opossum at the feeding station and she didn’t seem to mind at all. Just hung around until the opossum was done and then ate.

Opossums are also transient, so if you don’t normally have an issue with them, then you likely won’t have a problem in a few days to a few weeks from now once he/she moves on!

Opossums are also a very low vector species. Even though they are mammals, it is nearly impossible for them to contract rabies because they have a particularly low body temperature. In fact, they are well known for being immune to a whole host of diseases (and even snake venom)! So their overall ability to spread disease is relatively low.

And they prey on cockroaches and are the number one predator to ticks (and are also largely immune to tick borne diseases), so in a lot of ways, they actually help to reduce the spread of disease! So definitely no need to be concerned with a Momma cat feeding one to her babies.

You should also never relocate any wildlife anyway. It’s a death sentence for them, even if you relocate them somewhere with plenty of food, water, and shelter, and you never know if they have babies in s nest somewhere waiting for them to come home (granted, opossums are marsupials so the baby aspect is not as much of a concern for this particular species). They should only ever be relocated to an official release site by wildlife rescues or other authorities who ensure release is done properly.

Anyway, they may not be lookers, but they are really cool creatures that don’t get nearly enough of the credit they should. I love seeing them near my house.

That said, even though you haven’t had a problem yet (that you know of - I work in wildlife and even I was completely shocked by how much activity our feeding station got at night when we installed game cameras), you should really pick up the food at night! Especially when you have small kittens around.

You are increasing the risk of attracting predators to the area who WILL attack the kittens. Whether it’s a larger mammal like a fox, or smaller one like rats that then attract owls, it’s just an unnecessary risk that you shouldn’t take if you don’t have to. So leave food out during the day and just pick it up at night, water out at all times.

You seem like you have a lot of kittens around! Have you spayed and neutered the strays you’re feeding?

I’m a wildlife rehabilitator. You very little to fear, I assure you!

Opossums are incredibly docile! They can put on a pretty fierce show sometimes by hissing and lunging but it is honestly just posturing and only happens if they’re cornered. They won’t go after your cats or kittens, and opossums and cats usually live pretty harmoniously, even where food is involved. Mostly, cats either don’t care or are annoyed.

Exhibit A -

View attachment 305390

Notice how this kitty is trusting enough to turn its back on this opossum? This was the first and only time our cameras caught this particular cat with an opossum at the feeding station and she didn’t seem to mind at all. Just hung around until the opossum was done and then ate.

Opossums are also transient, so if you don’t normally have an issue with them, then you likely won’t have a problem in a few days to a few weeks from now once he/she moves on!

Opossums are also a very low vector species. Even though they are mammals, it is nearly impossible for them to contract rabies because they have a particularly low body temperature. In fact, they are well known for being immune to a whole host of diseases (and even snake venom)! So their overall ability to spread disease is relatively low.

And they prey on cockroaches and are the number one predator to ticks (and are also largely immune to tick borne diseases), so in a lot of ways, they actually help to reduce the spread of disease! So definitely no need to be concerned with a Momma cat feeding one to her babies.

You should also never relocate any wildlife anyway. It’s a death sentence for them, even if you relocate them somewhere with plenty of food, water, and shelter, and you never know if they have babies in s nest somewhere waiting for them to come home (granted, opossums are marsupials so the baby aspect is not as much of a concern for this particular species). They should only ever be relocated to an official release site by wildlife rescues or other authorities who ensure release is done properly.

Anyway, they may not be lookers, but they are really cool creatures that don’t get nearly enough of the credit they should. I love seeing them near my house.

That said, even though you haven’t had a problem yet (that you know of - I work in wildlife and even I was completely shocked by how much activity our feeding station got at night when we installed game cameras), you should really pick up the food at night! Especially when you have small kittens around.

You are increasing the risk of attracting predators to the area who WILL attack the kittens. Whether it’s a larger mammal like a fox, or smaller one like rats that then attract owls, it’s just an unnecessary risk that you shouldn’t take if you don’t have to. So leave food out during the day and just pick it up at night, water out at all times.

You seem like you have a lot of kittens around! Have you spayed and neutered the strays you’re feeding?

Thank you for the interesting information on these 'so ugly, their cute' little critters. I have always heard that possums were mainly bluff and therefore I never feared them.

Raccoons are another matter all together, yes they are adorable, and no, I would never hurt one, but I would like to know of an effective way to deter those mask bandits.

 

[fionasmom]

You are doing a great job with trying to help cats in your area! Actually, the fear of possums is not that uncommon. The local police here will often get a call from someone who has not seen one before, either a visitor or someone new to the area, because they think they are in danger from a prehistoric wild animal. The sad fact here is that a lot of them die in the street as they just do not move quickly enough to get out of the way of cars.

My first dog was an Australian shepherd mix and he would go outside and pick them up in his mouth and bring them to me when I was watching TV at night, throwing them in my lap like a toy. At first is was a shock, but then we learned to put them outside and turn off the lights and let them leave once they regained their composure.

I have never had a problem with them and, in fact, had one come early last night for left over kibble. They do move on. I have seen the same type of behavior as moxiewild posted in her response...which was very informative!

Raccoons are a different story......