Reclaiming Possum Territory

In many ways Ninja is spoiled rotten. In other ways he gets very little. For example: since the Vet told Miss E, that Ninja was overweight she has eliminated his constant access to munching. So, he has to wait the three times a day she gives him a small cup of kibble. She has decided that I need the same nutrition and I don't mind. A queen of my ranking must hold onself up to the scrutiny of all. So a svelt figure is an advantage. Ninja complains bitterly about his lack of sufficient nutrition. He claims he is being starved to death and stares at Miss E, hoping she will melt under his pressure and feed him. I think she has her radar closed down as it isn't working. Ninja pouts.

The Monk came to visit us again this weekend, and brought some fresh tuna for Ninja. He craves it so. Those two have a very special bond. It is endearing to watch them interact, gentleman to gentleman. The Monk brings out the best in Ninja, and it seems Ninja is the happiest when "his" Monk is here to visit. I kept my royal distance and required the Monk come to me to make his appeals for my attention. But, this weekend I was not in the mood to grant him my royal presence. I was still quite disgruntled about our unwanted visitor the other evening.

Though Spyder thinks the Opossum is ugly, it still serves it's purpose in the circle of life. The Opossum is the only marsupial in this country. It is quite harmless to others unless severely provoked. Usually it just falls down and plays dead until the attacker loses interest. Some neighbor cats on the street behind us two blocks away even eat their meals with their opossum.

Miss E would never permit that. Even though Opossums are one of the cleanest wild animals and serve a very good purpose in our lives by cleaning up unnwanted debris in our yards, they also carry diseases which Miss E does not wish to have us exposed. And she certainly doesn't need to catch anything either! It is quite distressing for all of us each time she is ill. We do our best to heal her, but Spyder hasn't learned the techniques yet and is quite unfocused.

Since the goal was to discourage the opossum from staying here, the Monk and Miss E spent all day Sunday cleaning up the back yard. They made an awful noise with some kind of machine cutting every bit of grass and plants down to an inch of their lives. We were sad to see them decimated that way and they cried out as they were chopped up. But, we explained to them they would soon be back nice and healthy soon. They were much to overgrown, and welcoming to the interloper in the state they were in. It was necessary so that the opossum would move on to more fertile grounds. After all, just a mile away nature's abundance awaits him with all his favorite foods calling out just to be enjoyed.

The Monk and Miss E worked so hard, when they came in we all crowded around them and sniffed them all over to give them comfort and praise them for a job well done.

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Diseases carried or spread by Opossums:

tuberculosis,
relapsing fever,
herpes virus,
tularemia,
salmonella,
spotted fever,
toxoplasmosis,
coccidiosis,
trichomoniasis,
Chagas Disease,
yellow fever,
and rabies (rarely).

They are important reservoirs for leptospirosis (hemorrhagic jaundice) in wildlife and humans.