Grandma Thinks She’s Been Taking Care Of Three Kittens Until Her Grandson Notices One Of Them Is Not A Kitten At All
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When Eric Hertlein went to visit his pet adoption advocate grandma at her Kansas home not long ago, he knew to expect several stray cats on her front porch, where she would always let them hang out. This time, however, one of the funny animals was not like the others. Upon closer inspection, in fact, it wasn’t a cat at all.
Without even knowing, Eric’s grandma had been caring for a small possum the entire time. “She reassured me it was one of her cats,” he told The Dodo. “I told her it wasn’t what she thought it was.” The sweet woman even named him Tete, and though she was shocked to realize the truth, she didn’t mind too much at all. “Well, the possum hasn’t bothered me yet, so I’m OK with him being here!” she reportedly exclaimed.
Eric also found out that Tete had been sleeping outside his grandmother’s door since he was just a baby possum, meaning the cute animal could have been orphaned. Regardless of what circumstances led Tete to the warm and cozy cat bed he now occupies, it seems to be a beneficial relationship for all involved. Scroll down to meet the pet possum for yourself!
P.S.: We strongly advise against taking in any wild animals, as they might be quite harmful.
A Kansas woman known to let stray cats sleep on her porch was recently visited by her grandson, who noticed something unusual
One of her furry friends, whom she called Tete, was decidedly unlike the other cats
In fact, Tete wasn’t a cat at all… He was an opossum, and the grandma had no idea!
“She reassured me it was one of her cats… I laughed for a good five minutes,” Eric said
“She didn’t realize what I was laughing about until I started pointing out the pointy nose and skinny tail. She didn’t realize he wasn’t a cat”
Have you ever struck up an unlikely animal friendship? Tell us about it below!
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"Day 45 and that damned grandson noticed me!"
I'm bothered by people nagging about the vet. Of course, we should spay/neuter and ensure everyone has been inoculated but c'mon. A nice lady is offering basic shelter to strays. It's a kind, if not the absolute safest, hobby but it's better than animals struggling for food or shelter.
Sure, but if nobody takes them to be spayed or neutered, they will continue to produce more animals struggling for food or shelter.
like hooman
Agreed but little old retired ladies can't spend scarce funds that way. Trapping feral cats & transporting them may be tough for someone like that. It's up to people still in the workforce to do this. It would be nice if we could agree, as a community, that this is worth funding.
they do need to be spayed/neutered. Did you know opossums do not contract rabies????? They are clean, natures garbage disposal.
Yes, they can contract rabies. It's rare, but it can happen. Body temp is generally too low to support the virus. They're also immune to snake venom. They hiss and show those 52 VERY sharp (TRUST me here...) teeth to scare predators. Failing that, they 'play possum', including exuding a nasty, foul, green goo that makes them stink like they're dead. If cornered, however, they WILL bite. Jezebel, for some reason, is just a mean little biter. My late Jitterbug was a sweet boy that I'd pack around town with me, and he got to teach people how amazing he was. Recently got another rescue, SiQua, a 3 legged young female who was malnourished and thin due to the missing leg making her unable to forage easily. That has since changed. She's FAT now.
This made me laugh. Smart opossum, free lodging. Just make sure about the rabies vaccine for the rest of the furry friends.
Considering the size of that 'possum, I don't think any of those animals have been to the vet for vaccinations or she would have found out much sooner. Many places have free or low cost clinics for spay, neuter, and shots. Unfortunately, some place don't and a lot that do are overwhelmed.
Possums very rarely get rabies their body temp is too low for the virus to survive. The cats can get rabies though.
Opossums don't contract rabies , they're actually great animals to have around . They eat ticks and other insects , clean up things like roadkill , and other dead animals , rodents ...
Opossum's don't get rabies
Wives tale, they don't get it often.
They're strays according to the article. I'm doubting any of them have had shots
It is really rare for an Opossum to get rabies because their body temperature is too low for the virus to survive
In case you were unaware, opossums are immune to rabies and are also not carriers of it. It is one of the most common misconceptions about them.
Opposums can carry rabies. It is rare due to their low body temperature, but that doesn't make them immune.
opossums are immune to rabies
Resistant, not immune
Most opossums are immune to rabies.
Resistant, not immune
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Ok. For everyones edification, opossum s do NOT get rabies!!!! They're marsupials, not mammals ! Please get clear on this!
They CAN and DO get rabies, just very rarely. NO animal is a 'carrier' of rabies, they contract rabies. And yes, opossums are marsupials, but they're still mammals. As stated elsewhere, their low body temp makes it difficult for the rabies virus to survive in an opossum's system. They can also make lovely pets. Though one of mine is evil, for some reason, the 3-legged rescue is fairly docile.
A marsupial IS a mammal, just a type. There are 5 catagories of higher animals; mammals (have hair/fur, typically bear live young, produce milk from mammary glands, warm blooded with a 4 chamber heart, air breather), birds (have feathers, lay eggs, warm blooded with a 4 chamber heart, air breather), reptiles (scaled, typically lay eggs, cold blooded, usually has a 3 chamber heart, air breather), amphibian (smooth to sticky skin, cold blooded, 3 chamber heart, lays eggs, starts life with gills and most breathe air in adulthood), fish (most have scales, live in water, gills, cold blooded, lay eggs, 2 chamber heart). Within these groups, there are a multitude of sub groups, and subgroups further and further still. Please go read an encyclopedia or ask an elementary school teacher because you could use a refresher course.
"Day 45 and that damned grandson noticed me!"
I'm bothered by people nagging about the vet. Of course, we should spay/neuter and ensure everyone has been inoculated but c'mon. A nice lady is offering basic shelter to strays. It's a kind, if not the absolute safest, hobby but it's better than animals struggling for food or shelter.
Sure, but if nobody takes them to be spayed or neutered, they will continue to produce more animals struggling for food or shelter.
like hooman
Agreed but little old retired ladies can't spend scarce funds that way. Trapping feral cats & transporting them may be tough for someone like that. It's up to people still in the workforce to do this. It would be nice if we could agree, as a community, that this is worth funding.
they do need to be spayed/neutered. Did you know opossums do not contract rabies????? They are clean, natures garbage disposal.
Yes, they can contract rabies. It's rare, but it can happen. Body temp is generally too low to support the virus. They're also immune to snake venom. They hiss and show those 52 VERY sharp (TRUST me here...) teeth to scare predators. Failing that, they 'play possum', including exuding a nasty, foul, green goo that makes them stink like they're dead. If cornered, however, they WILL bite. Jezebel, for some reason, is just a mean little biter. My late Jitterbug was a sweet boy that I'd pack around town with me, and he got to teach people how amazing he was. Recently got another rescue, SiQua, a 3 legged young female who was malnourished and thin due to the missing leg making her unable to forage easily. That has since changed. She's FAT now.
This made me laugh. Smart opossum, free lodging. Just make sure about the rabies vaccine for the rest of the furry friends.
Considering the size of that 'possum, I don't think any of those animals have been to the vet for vaccinations or she would have found out much sooner. Many places have free or low cost clinics for spay, neuter, and shots. Unfortunately, some place don't and a lot that do are overwhelmed.
Possums very rarely get rabies their body temp is too low for the virus to survive. The cats can get rabies though.
Opossums don't contract rabies , they're actually great animals to have around . They eat ticks and other insects , clean up things like roadkill , and other dead animals , rodents ...
Opossum's don't get rabies
Wives tale, they don't get it often.
They're strays according to the article. I'm doubting any of them have had shots
It is really rare for an Opossum to get rabies because their body temperature is too low for the virus to survive
In case you were unaware, opossums are immune to rabies and are also not carriers of it. It is one of the most common misconceptions about them.
Opposums can carry rabies. It is rare due to their low body temperature, but that doesn't make them immune.
opossums are immune to rabies
Resistant, not immune
Most opossums are immune to rabies.
Resistant, not immune
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Ok. For everyones edification, opossum s do NOT get rabies!!!! They're marsupials, not mammals ! Please get clear on this!
They CAN and DO get rabies, just very rarely. NO animal is a 'carrier' of rabies, they contract rabies. And yes, opossums are marsupials, but they're still mammals. As stated elsewhere, their low body temp makes it difficult for the rabies virus to survive in an opossum's system. They can also make lovely pets. Though one of mine is evil, for some reason, the 3-legged rescue is fairly docile.
A marsupial IS a mammal, just a type. There are 5 catagories of higher animals; mammals (have hair/fur, typically bear live young, produce milk from mammary glands, warm blooded with a 4 chamber heart, air breather), birds (have feathers, lay eggs, warm blooded with a 4 chamber heart, air breather), reptiles (scaled, typically lay eggs, cold blooded, usually has a 3 chamber heart, air breather), amphibian (smooth to sticky skin, cold blooded, 3 chamber heart, lays eggs, starts life with gills and most breathe air in adulthood), fish (most have scales, live in water, gills, cold blooded, lay eggs, 2 chamber heart). Within these groups, there are a multitude of sub groups, and subgroups further and further still. Please go read an encyclopedia or ask an elementary school teacher because you could use a refresher course.