Raven, that is so kind of you to make sure he has food and water and don't mind him staying in the cats' condo. If he can stay there and rest, he just might get well. Possums are amazing in their ability to heal. I have one right now that came in with one baby and on her back was a huge wound. She had been caught in a trap with the babies and with no food, they had started chewing on her. The back is a common place that they will chew. They will also chew on the faces of their mothers. Mother possums chew food and let the babies take it from their mouths, which is probably why they get their faces chewed on. She only had one baby when brought to me, but the others probably had escaped out of the trap. I took the remaining baby from her, so it wouldn't chew on her any further.

People will trap them...usually in the process of trapping feral cats, and since it is "just an old possum" they don't get in any hurry to remove them from the trap. Plus, most people are intimidated by them and can't get them out of the trap very easily anyway.

My mama possum is almost well now. Her injury was the size of a silver dollar, or bigger when she came here and is about like a nickel now. I was just thinking last night how much she enjoys the food here. I fed her yogurt and kibble and a dish of bananas, grapes and avocado. Possums do drink a lot of water. If the possum is hanging around, you might give it a little bit of left overs, if you are so inclined. They will eat anything.

On the other hand....while I have seen many possums heal from horrific injuries, I have also seen those that look to be perfectly healthy, go down and die within a couple of days. And, their life span is very short anyway. A two year old wild possum is an old one.

Thank you for caring about one of the most misunderstood of all creatures.

Thank you both. I cannot stand to see any animal in pain. The thought of animal traps, other than live traps which don't hurt the animal, are horrid. I can't believe anyone would see that as morally right. Hope your possum heals, Raven.

I hope it makes it too and it really is looking much better and walking easier too. The feral kitties don't bother it they let it eat the food and water, it really is amazing how all the animals that come out and eat the food get along together. We have had skunks, possums, cats and racoons all at the same time eating out of the same bowls. The skunks will on occasion flare up the tail but don't generally spray. On just a few occasions one has sprayed out there and I was not watching so don't know what provoked it. We can smell it all through the house though even with the windows and doors closed.

My possum with the injured back was caught in a live trap....people just don't get in any hurry to release them. Every year I get some that have been in the trap so long that they chew the metal, trying to get out, and erode the flesh on their jaws. I have seen them with the teeth and roots exposed. Fortunately, they can heal from that, but it takes about six months. That is a long time in the life of a possum. I got one this year that tried to chew on the trap and got her nose caught in it.....hung up by her upper canine teeth. The animal control officer had to cut the trap with pliers to free her. They sent her to me. She has already healed and went on her merry way. She also has babies and they are still with me, but ready to go any day.