[idobestbuyonlinepp]

So, I just had the scare of the year. I don't think anything is going to top it.

Weathers been nice the past few days so the patio door has been cracked to get a nice breeze in the apartment.

So, reading a book on the couch, and decide I need to take care of some business in the bathroom. I go do my business and read while I'm at it. Finished up, I go to wash my hands, as I go to wash my hands I look down at a mop bucket, and proceed to freak the hell out.

In the mop bucket not 2ft from the toilet, and previously where my unprotected ass was is a POSSUM! Staring at me, and definitely pissed off.

What does this do?

Scares the crap out of me. So its a good thing I and just finished getting all the crap out of me, or I would have had mess to clean up.

Proof:

[antipenq]

I hate those damn things!
The one thing on earth that needs to just be extinct. Yuck.
Yer mop now has rabies.

[Dreqsqse]

I found this in my mop bucket today

[foI3fKWv]

So, I since I didn't want to wait, and the possum had conveniently holed itself into the mop bucket I decided to attempt to remove it from the apartment.

I got dressed in my work boots, heaviest jeans I had and tucked the pants legs into the boots.

Then picked up the toilet plunger and quickly shoved it down on the possum to hold it into place. Then I picked up the handle and held it against the handle of the plunger so that as I was carrying it I didn't lose pressure on the plunger.

I walked a good 100yards to some bushes, put the bucket on the ground and removed the plunger and at the same time tipped the bucket away from me.

The possum was rather reluctant to move. So, I picked up the bucket about 3" or so, then threw the possom into the bushes. It ran away. Just finished bleaching the plunger and bucket in case it left anything behind.

Didn't feel like killing it, even though they are scary creepy animals.

The "possum plunger" lol.

[dasneycomrov]

this has got to be possomly animal cruelty.


why didn't you pick the bucket up by the handle and take it outside

[pharmacologist30]

this has got to be possomly animal cruelty.


why didn't you pick the bucket up by the handle and take it outside

Dude, rubber end. Its not like I jabbed it with a stick. The rubber end held the possum down without hurting it. Its not like I used the plunger to play whack a mole.

Why didn't I simply pick the bucket up? Do you want to possible take the chance that the possum might decide to scramble out of the bucket and bite you?

This was the fastest, and safest way for the both of us to get the possum OUT of the apartment.

Aside from both of us being scared out of our minds, both the possum and I walked away without injury.

[CuittisIL]

Dude, rubber end. Its not like I jabbed it with a stick. The rubber end held the possum down without hurting it. Its not like I used the plunger to play whack a mole.

Why didn't I simply pick the bucket up? Do you want to possible take the chance that the possum might decide to scramble out of the bucket and bite you?

This was the fastest, and safest way for the both of us to get the possum OUT of the apartment.

Aside from both of us being scared out of our minds, both the possum and I walked away without injury.

you didn't see what I did there did you

[fount_pirat]

you didn't see what I did there did you

*sigh* Yes, I guess I missed the sarcasm.

Kinda high on the emotions here. Seeing a possum in a bucket not 2ft from where you just took a dump kinda scares the crap right back out of a man you know.

Unlike the movies there was no 2nd blink, or moment to think about it. It was 0 to freakout in no time flat. After about 3 seconds though I had the camera out since it wasn't moving.

If it had been moving, aka attempting to chase me I probably would have REALLY freaked out and ran screaming from the bathroom. I don't want to get bitten.

[bpejjssoe]

*sigh* Yes, I guess I missed the sarcasm.

Kinda high on the emotions here. Seeing a possum in a bucket not 2ft from where you just took a dump kinda scares the crap right back out of a man you know.

Unlike the movies there was no 2nd blink, or moment to think about it. It was 0 to freakout in no time flat. After about 3 seconds though I had the camera out since it wasn't moving.

If it had been moving, aka attempting to chase me I probably would have REALLY freaked out and ran screaming from the bathroom. I don't want to get bitten.

possoms usually play dead don't they ?

[AricGoffgog]

possoms usually play dead don't they ?

Okay, think of it differently.

Your alarm clock goes off, you are tired, sleepy, not really awake yet. You turn over and get out of bed. On the floor, about a foot away next to your slippers is a Possum playing dead. Do you:

A Calmly walk out of the room ignoring the possum?
B Frantically jump away as your blood is pumped full of Adrenaline
C Instantly pull your 9mm from under the pillow and perforate the creature.

I'm gonna guess most of us go with B unless we are real nut cases (c) or just robots (a).

Doesn't matter that the possum didn't move to attack you, and that playing dead is indeed their normal behavior. You found an animal that COULD be dangerous to you in a place you expect to feel safe. After-all, how many people expect to find a possum next to their toilet when their drawers are down. Do you take the risk of carrying the bucket without some way to trap the possum in the bucket? I didn't have a box or anything else I could force the possum into so I improvised using the plunger to hold it in the bucket while I walked it outside.

I had plenty of stuff on hand to smash the ever-living crap out of it and kill it with blunt force, but honestly I didn't want to kill it mainly because I don't like killing things larger than bugs, and I didn't want to clean up after the mess I made.

Was easier just to get it out of the house and carry it far enough that it wouldn't go back into the house.

[nebrarlepleme]

In the mop bucket not 2ft from the toilet, and previously where my unprotected ass was is a POSSUM!

Surely, you mean an opossum...

[wantedLOX]

Okay, think of it differently.

Your alarm clock goes off, you are tired, sleepy, not really awake yet. You turn over and get out of bed. On the floor, about a foot away next to your slippers is a Possum playing dead. Do you:

A Calmly walk out of the room ignoring the possum?
B Frantically jump away as your blood is pumped full of Adrenaline
C Instantly pull your 9mm from under the pillow and perforate the creature.

I'm gonna guess most of us go with B unless we are real nut cases (c) or just robots (a).

Doesn't matter that the possum didn't move to attack you, and that playing dead is indeed their normal behavior. You found an animal that COULD be dangerous to you in a place you expect to feel safe. After-all, how many people expect to find a possum next to their toilet when their drawers are down. Do you take the risk of carrying the bucket without some way to trap the possum in the bucket? I didn't have a box or anything else I could force the possum into so I improvised using the plunger to hold it in the bucket while I walked it outside.

I had plenty of stuff on hand to smash the ever-living crap out of it and kill it with blunt force, but honestly I didn't want to kill it mainly because I don't like killing things larger than bugs, and I didn't want to clean up after the mess I made.

Was easier just to get it out of the house and carry it far enough that it wouldn't go back into the house.

im not trying to catch you out I was asking a question fruity my old chap.

[Dominick Yo]

Surely, you mean an opossum...

At the moment, I didn't care how I spelled it. But yes, you are right.

[Discus]

Why would you be scared of that ?

Its a large rat, big deal and according to google 1 out of 800 opossums have rabies.

Its probably going to be more scared of you than you should be of it.

[ChuttyAmult]

I think it was mighty convenient of him to get stuck in a bucket instead of your hiding in your boot. Or the couch. Feral creatures are intimidating when they want to be (i.e. scared).

[Xodvbooj]

What I'm more shocked is that between two cats and a dog, all of which have very strong prey instincts they didn't hear this thing trundle through the living room to get to the bathroom.

Minx my oldest cats is only 6lbs, she's very small, and older. Some medical complications like Hyper Thyroidism keep her underweight.

Simon is my youngest cat, and he's the most able. He's probably between 5-8yrs old and exceedingly fit. Also a rather large cat at 18lbs or so, and very little of it fat. He stands almost 16" at the shoulders, which for a domestic cat is pretty darn big. He has his claws, and is very curious and aggressive so if he saw the opossum he'd go after it for some lunch. But a opossum has a mean bite so it would be a even, but destructive matchup.

Nikki, is my dog, she's a Beagle/German Shep mix and will hunt after any squirrel she can find. She's about 40lbs, and if a opossum came rolling through and she saw it, well she'd kill it.

So after the initial shock of the moment wore off, I was still worried for my animals, I wouldn't want any of them to tangle with the animal and get injured. Which is why I decided I had to get it out of the apartment.

[Evoncalabbalo]

Why would you be scared of that ?

Its a large rat, big deal and according to google 1 out of 800 opossums have rabies.

Its probably going to be more scared of you than you should be of it.

I love the Internet.


Fruity,

I had a similar issue with a groundhog a few months ago. It was in my neighbor's house and scared as hell, we both were. I was not as nice as you were, I used her Swifer mop like a hockey stick, slid it across the floor and wrist-shot it out of the front door. When it hit the ground it did not move for 10-15 seconds, poor thing.

[Z1IRo4Ap]

I'll be first to admit I act like a little girl when it comes to bees, wasps and hornets.

[jamemeveRhype]

I love the Internet.

.

I didn't even read up about the opossum yet all of what I said can be corroborated from the website below (apart that its a marsupial and not a rat, which it does resemble) ...such as ....

Adult opossums and cats seem to have a mutual respect and leave each other alone. In general, opossums are docile, non-aggressive animals and will not attack your pets.

Opossums are very opportunistic animals. If food is available, they will eat. We receive numerous pictures of opossums sharing a bowl of cat food with an outdoor cat

http://www.opossumsocietyus.org/freq..._questions.htm

Its likely the OP's cats have come into contact with the same opossum before and didn't see it as a threat, thus they may have seen it enter the house but just chose to leave it alone, the dog may just have missed seeing it altogether.

Any animal if cornered may fight or bite its way to freedom, the chances that this opossum would actually bite the OP's ass whilst he was defecating is pretty slim, its more likely he was knocked out by the stench and the OP then discovered it in the bottom of the bucket.

[gvataler]

I didn't even read up about the opossum yet all of what I said can be corroborated from the website below (apart that its a marsupial and not a rat, which it does resemble) ...such as ....

Adult opossums and cats seem to have a mutual respect and leave each other alone. In general, opossums are docile, non-aggressive animals and will not attack your pets.

Opossums are very opportunistic animals. If food is available, they will eat. We receive numerous pictures of opossums sharing a bowl of cat food with an outdoor cat

http://www.opossumsocietyus.org/freq..._questions.htm

Its likely the OP's cats have come into contact with the same opossum before and didn't see it as a threat, thus they may have seen it enter the house but just chose to leave it alone, the dog may just have missed seeing it altogether.

Any animal if cornered may fight or bite its way to freedom, the chances that this opossum would actually bite the OP's ass whilst he was defecating is pretty slim, its more likely he was knocked out by the stench and the OP then discovered it in the bottom of the bucket.

No, Simon definitely would have attacked the opossum if he saw it, same for Nikky. The way those two stare at animals outside the window is pretty bad.

Its not a common visitor. It is however an unwelcome one. So I evicted it.

As for the last bit. Hardy Harr.