If you are a cat owner who wants to know how to keep possums away from cat food, you are not alone. Possums are excellent scavengers who are good at searching and finding food. If they find cat food, they will not ignore it, and don’t be surprised if your kitty looks helpless before this scavenger.
With 120+ hours of research, my team and I have put together effective steps to keep possums away from cat food. Read on to find more.
11 Ways on How To Keep Possums Away From Cat Food
You will find the first few steps to be simple and quick to implement whereas the other steps that follow will need some external item or equipment to implement. Let’s see them all one by one.
Feeding Cat Indoors
The best effective way to keep possums away from cat food is to feed your cat indoors. Since possums stay outdoors and are attracted to the smell of cat food, this option will eliminate possums from eating your cat food. Also, other wild animals like raccoons or birds can’t eat your cat’s food. However, you need to train your cat to eat inside the home if it was earlier accustomed to feeding outside the home.
Don’t leave cat food outside at night
Possums are nocturnal animals and if you feed your cat outdoors, try feeding them during the daytime. When it starts getting dark, bring your cat food bowl inside your home so that possums won’t notice any presence of food near your home.
Stay and supervise while feeding your cat
If you stay with your cat when they eat food from the bowl, possums might stay away. Your presence might scare possums and they might not dare to come near the cat food bowl.
Keeping outdoors free from other food sources
Since possums are scavengers, any leftover food in trash bin or garbage bags which can be accessed is good spots for possums to visit. So, please ensure there are no open trash cans just outside your house.
Cut bushes and trim trees around your home
You can eliminate hiding places of possums by trimming trees and cutting bushes that grow around your home and in your garden. If there is free open space, possums might not enter such areas. If there are spots to hide, possums or other wild animals can enter and wait to steal your cat food.
Installing an elevated table or possum-proof cat feeder
You can try building an enclosure 40 inches above the ground. With a long pole as support, you can build an enclosure to store cat food. Use metal or plastic as the surface of the enclosure and you can extend it a bit down from the enclosure. Possums or raccoons will lose grip while trying to hold on to the metal to climb into the enclosure.
You can check out this video on youtube that shows how this elevated enclosure can protect cat food from scavengers:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyz7Am7dh-w
Investing in perimeter fencing
If you can invest and build a tall perimeter fence with wires and spikes, it will do its best to keep possums out.
Setting traps to catch possums
There are traps available that you can use to catch possums. Before you try using traps, check if your local state laws allow you to use traps. You can use peanut butter and some food as bait and you can catch possums. Possums act dead as a defense mechanism. When you try picking it up, it can hurt you. So, be cautious when you see a motionless possum lying near a trap.
Setting up motion-sensing devices
There are motion-sensing lights and motion-sensing sprinklers that switch on when movement is detected. You can use such devices to scare off possums.
Usage of possum repellent
There are possum repellents available in the market which you can apply in the garden or areas where possums might visit. The scent from such repellents will drive away possums.
Taking the help of pest control experts
If you think there are a lot of possums in your area or the situation is getting out of control, try calling pest control experts. They are experienced in finding and evacuating possums. This will provide a permanent solution for your home and your neighborhood.
FAQs
Why are possums attracted to cat food?
Possums are scavengers and they will eat any type of food they find. Cat foods are high in protein and fat. Also, its smell attracts possums. These are the reasons why possums get readily attracted to cat food.
Is cat food bad for possums?
Possums are omnivores i.e. they eat both plants and animal meat. So, cat food might not be a bad idea but restricting only cat food to possums is a bad idea. Also, overeating cat food can cause obesity in possums. Feeding wild animals and taking care of them might result in heavy fines depending on state laws. Don’t risk feeding possums and if you find a possum helpless, try contacting a wildlife rehabilitator.
Are possums dangerous?
Possums are generally shy marsupials that roam during the night. They prefer to stay away from cats or dog unless they find something attractive such as cat food to feed on. There are instances of cats sharing its food with possums and there are also cases where both have been involved in a fight. Though it might not prove fatal to your kitty, there are chances of your kitty getting injured in a fight.
Also, possums being a carrier for rabies is a rare phenomenon, they do carry other diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, and trichomonas. They also get infested with ticks, and mites and also carry cat and dog fleas.
Are there any interesting facts about possums?
Yes, there are interesting facts. Possums are mammals and they carry young ones with them in their pouches or on their backs. The other interesting fact is possums pretend to be dead to escape from predators.
Conclusion
Possums might look cute but still, they carry diseases, ticks, mites, and fleas and it is not advisable to share cat food with possums. Your kitty might get injured or might get diseases from possums.
There are simple ways such as feeding cats indoors, feeding during day time, using the elevated platform with enclosure, and other ways such as using perimeter fencing, possum repellents, and motion sensing devices to keep possums away from cat food. Try different methods and see which one works for you!
