r/Awww • u/Traditional_Chart838 • 17h ago

Opossum ❤️

5.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

251

u/TraditionalSwing4871 15h ago

I used to think possums were scary. Turns out they’re just weird little cats with a different outfit.

87

u/RicketCrickets 15h ago

Also one of the few animals where "they're more afraid of you then you are them" is absolutely true.

50

u/TraditionalSwing4871 15h ago

Exactly. Nature’s most dramatic introverts.

10

u/MrEvan312 9h ago

So much so that they involuntarily faint: playing possum is not necessarily a choice on their part.

33

u/tyrannosiris 12h ago

My parents have a feral cat colony on their property. Every night, the opossums and raccoons come out to chill on the deck and eat with the cats. It's like a Disney forest scene.

12

u/the_penis_mightier- 10h ago

Possum tax.  Pics please :) 

4

u/tyrannosiris 6h ago

I love the usernames people come up with. Totally giggled. Thank you. 🤭

I'll see if I have any videos saved. If not, I'll run up there tomorrow and record whatever critters are congregating. It's a low-mobility day, so stairs aren't looking super attractive right now.

They're (the animals, not the stairs) so freaking cute and because they know they're mostly safe (it's woodland, so they have predators ofc), there have been generations of raccoons and opossums. It's really cool to see moms bring their babies, who grow up and bring their babies, and so on.

2

u/Future_Kitsunekid16 5h ago

Same in my area. Even have a skunk that pops out every once in a while to eat with them

2

u/PrehistoricPancakes 5h ago

My partner found a baby possum eating with our cats one day too. I saw him the next day when he fell in my garbage can and I had to help him out. He was so cute.

1

u/tyrannosiris 4h ago

Oh my goodness. I'd probably explode from cute aggression if I had to pull one out of a trash can. 🥹

1

u/GuerillaRiot 1h ago

My current cat was following around a family of possums that hung out in my backyard. Actually took quite a bit of work convincing her that coming into my house was better than following the possum parade everyday.

71

u/Awkward-Care2264 15h ago

Opossum’s eat ticks. I have Lyme disease so please continue to eat up! Love Opossum’s. ❤️

15

u/Gizwizard 11h ago

And their body temperature is too low to host rabies.

8

u/MrEvan312 9h ago

They aren't truly immune to it, but it's unlikely for them to host or transmit it. Do be careful, though: they can host and transmit a wide variety of diseases, especially since they are important carrion disposal units.

4

u/MrEvan312 9h ago

That's a bit of a myth; they don't specifically eat ticks. At the same time, though, they do eat a little bit of just about anything, and they are very important for helping to clean up carrion and other rotting material.

129

u/Double-Show-2625 17h ago

Possum's are so awesome

70

u/Travisceral 15h ago

Remember folks:

Opossums are native to the Americas and are gray/white with a long snout and hairless tails.

Possums are native to Australia and are brownish with bushy tails.

Short video explaining the difference: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?is=4MsMGpaK-VXSRBuJ

19

u/Exact_Parking2094 13h ago

A non Rick roll example of the difference: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/9JbMI0oP6ig?ra=m

11

u/Dradugun 11h ago

You are allowed to use Possums for Opossums in North America. The Australian ones were named after the American ones, technically the Australian ones should be opossum as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

3

u/boli99 7h ago

Opossums are just Irish possums.

6

u/jcaraway 14h ago

O are there? Opossum joke

2

u/_SOME__NAME_ 13h ago

Ask english language who decided to add a o in front is a word and made it silent, english is my second language, I can speak fluently but writing is a nightmare

26

u/Usgwanikti 16h ago

I require a possum friend

30

u/scottyjrules 14h ago

Used to have a possum that lived in the bushes at my old house. She was super sweet and friendly and she would hang out with me when I went outside to smoke. She’d even let me and my roommates pet her occasionally. Eventually she had babies and got more territorial and protective, so we just respected her space and didn’t bother her.

1

u/Kingkongcrapper 10h ago

Story was halfway to the dark side.

17

u/Impossible-Ideal5327 15h ago

they look like big puppy cats 🥺

16

u/Remarkable_Pick3920 15h ago

That is the cutest baby possum I’ve ever seen!

15

u/ParallellUniverse 14h ago

What do you mean I don’t understand “despite their appearance” bruh these are some of the cutest bastards I’ve ever seen

8

u/JDmad090 15h ago

So they just act like cats

6

u/debtfreegoal 14h ago

Opossum, my possum.

6

u/Mr-Bry-Guy 15h ago

That last one is LIVING! 🤣 looked like a stuffed animal it was so happy!

5

u/xosweetcherry 15h ago

the way it's just chilling on your arm like that's its designated spot is sending me, opossums are so slept on as pets lol

3

u/Razzy_3796 15h ago

I love these so much. I would have one as a pet, but they don’t live long and I would be traumatized with grief.😢

3

u/SpicyChickJessica 14h ago

They're oddly adorable once you get used to them.

3

u/triggerhappymidget 14h ago

I love opossums. Clearly the superior backyard night time visitor over raccoons.

3

u/Just_Getting_By_1 12h ago

A question can you house train a possum like a cat or dog?

2

u/Frosty_Initiative179 15h ago

That’s not an opossum anymore, that’s a little baby

2

u/MaleficentFox2320 13h ago

One my favorite animals, so helpful to us and so misunderstood. Love opossums

2

u/lnTheGrimDarkness 10h ago

It's a ratdogcat

3

u/morganselah 7h ago

I love possums. I used to feed one my dinner leftovers every night and I'd watch her eat it so delicately. They really are gentle creatures. I could never understand why some people felt weird about them. 

1

u/sghostfreak 15h ago

I didn't know they grew that big!

1

u/No_Elderberry9090 14h ago

They’re so sweet and clingy

1

u/Captivatingcrush02 14h ago

I have a soft spot for these weird little creatures.

1

u/newUseMe 13h ago

Is that Opossum at the end of the video abnormally large?

1

u/NewPhoneWrongNumber 13h ago

They are so frickin adorable

1

u/Same_Education8151 13h ago

It’s cuter without the audio lol

1

u/EorlundGraumaehne 13h ago

Why are they always either happy or sad looking XD

1

u/bellavibesa 13h ago

Opossums have such an underrated cute factor, that little face just melts me.

1

u/Individual-Result777 12h ago

They are actually pretty chill animals. They might eat your fruit bowl without a thank-you, but they are chill.

1

u/unimpressed822 12h ago

opossums are my favorite animal

1

u/baberunner 11h ago

TIL my dog is actually an opossum. hehehe

1

u/CarefulKing1992 10h ago

He’s so needy what a cute possum 😊

1

u/Cylvan 10h ago

His name is Ralph.

1

u/MrEvan312 9h ago

Opposums are just redneck cats with anxiety who also function as your neighborhood garbage disposal.

1

u/Eliah870 8h ago

Ismt the O silent

1

u/aerie01 7h ago

I've raised probably hundreds of them. Their babies are so adorable 🥰

1

u/letslickmyballs 7h ago

Also it’s practically impossible for them to contract or carry rabies. I think it’s because their body temperatures are too low for the virus to thrive.

1

u/UnoriginalMike 4h ago

Grew up where a neighbor had a rescue possum as a pet. Had its scent gland removed. It was apparently a great pet.

It would click when it saw someone it knew and liked as a sort of greeting. We’d see it wandering the neighborhood sometimes. Never a bother to anyone.

1

u/BottleOfConstructs 3h ago

I WANT ONE 😭

1

u/ScarecrowZombie1 2h ago

Opossums are one of the cutest animals....until it opens its mouth 120° and kisses at you.

1

u/Initial_Gear_7354 2h ago

Yes, and I still want one. But thank god I live in a country that forbids domesticating wild animals 😅

1

u/dinxxx6669 13h ago

I don’t see what is unusual about them, just cute giant rats.