Of the many animals we ‘relate to on a spiritual level,’ the opossum might not be the first critter that will come to mind. However, thousands of fans have taken a love to a new marsupial “internet superstar”: a chocoholic opossum that devoured “an entire Costco cake.” Nebraska woman Kim Doggett came home to a peculiar surprise after discovering a chubby, panting opossum lying on her new couch. It was out of breath because it had eaten almost all of her recently purchased tuxedo chocolate mousse cake.
“There’s a opossum on your couch,” Doggett’s son said to his mom after they arrived home. “I really thought he was messing with me,” she said in disbelief. “So I went over, and I turned the light on, I opened the door, and I was like, ‘Oh my.'” Their fridge had apparently run out of room, so Doggett had her son place their homemade peanut butter balls, likely along with the chocolate cake. The critter “was panting a lot, however mobile and alert;” yet the Nebraska woman and her son weren’t able to shoo the intruder out of their home. Eventually, they called the American Humane Society, after which the opossum was transported to the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab.
“Our opossum patient has become an internet superstar,” the rehab center happily posted to Facebook. After being admitted and hospitalized, the opossum became a viral sensation, with thousands of fans labeling it the “cake bandit” and showing overwhelming love and support for the pudgy critter. “It appears that she was lucky to have been caught red-handed,” Nebraska Wildlife Rehab told CNN. Thanks to its thievery of the Costco cake, it was “diagnosed with what can become a fatal condition in wildlife” and promptly treated, the rehab’s executive director said.
Needless to say, this wholesome news report’s followers were ecstatic about the hilariously unbelievable story and the happy fate of the “cake bandit.” “Do what you must, I have already won,” wrote the top commenter on Reddit, referring to the funny meme of the cute critter that ate a box of pastries. “I relate to this opossum on a spiritual level,” another remarked on Facebook. “I’ve finally found my spirit animal,” jokingly commented a third. “We’ve all been there, girl ❤️,” chimed in a fourth.
The Nebraska Wildlife Rehab is hopeful of the plump opossum’s recovery and predicts it will be back out in the wild by late March or early April.
