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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
A woman called us stating there’s a big, possibly sick opossum in her outdoor cat bed. She was frightened so she wanted me to remove him. I arrived at her house and sure enough there is a big, old opossum curled up in a ball in her comfy cat bed. He was very big yet thin which means he’s an old man opossum nearing the end of his life. Sadly they only live about three years and he was definitely already three.
I picked him up and he didn’t even struggle. I put him into a crate to bring him back to our wildlife rehabilitation facility and sanctuary. Here he is in the crate after the ride home. He never snarled, growled or snapped at me ever.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
I wiped him down, put flea meds on him then gave him some wormer medication. When I examined him he was clearly a male but he seemed to have lost his testicles in an accident a while ago. It was probably the infamous opossum stuck on a fence accident. If you Google it, it’s kinda graphic. I put him in an outdoor enclosure and he took a look around. Even though he was thin and underweight he still weighed 18 lbs. Opossums continue to grow larger and larger until they die.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
Here he is yawning. He ground down most of his teeth and lost most of the rest. His canines are really worn down. He’s clearly super old.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
Here he is a day or two later when I was able to wipe him down better. He’s cleaner but still needs to gain some weight. He was very weak in the rear. With other un-releasable opossums we have them on exercise wheels so they don’t get weak in the rear until much later. This guy was beyond that.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
Because he was so old we decided to let him live out the rest of his life in our sanctuary. We even gave him a cat bed of his own. I threw a towel over it so I wouldn’t have to clean the bed as much. Here he is happily sleeping in his own comfy cat bed in his nest box in his outdoor enclosure.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
He lived two more months with us. We found him curled up in his bed just like the photo above. He was able to pass away in a warm, safe place with good food and care in a cat bed of his own. Below is a pic of his paw in my hand.
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| Old opossum gets cat bed of his own, Animal Adocates, Los Angeles, California, wildlife rehabilitator rehabilitation rescue possum, Mary Cummins, www.animaladvocates.us |
If you liked this rescue story, we’d love a donation to help other ill, injured and orphaned wildlife in Los Angeles, California. We rescue coyotes, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels, moles, voles, gophers....and bats. We’re the only permitted facility in the City of Los Angeles. Link to our website and PayPal account. Thanks!
http://www.animaladvocates.us
Mary Cummins of
Animal Advocates is a
wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the
California Department of Fish and Game and the
USDA.
Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
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