A poor Orange Tabby cat is having a very, very bad day. They just stepped out briefly –maybe to chase mice, or perhaps to do a perimeter sweep and make sure there were no lurking threats. Maybe there’s a nice cat in the neighborhood they wanted to spend a little more time with. Maybe they were napping! Not sure. BUT, when they came back, they were greeted with a very cruel new reality.
Two Possums set up shop in their fabulous cat tree, and they’re not even huddled together to save space. One is sound asleep in one area, and one is wide awake and hissing in another. They look at home — like they’ve moved in. The fact the one doesn’t even wake up says a lot about their level of comfort. At least one of them still has the decency to hiss!
The cat seems a little stunned by the whole thing, to be honest. They’re all “just let me in so I can make sure that what I saw is what I *think* I saw.” LOL.
Viewers are pretty worried about the cat’s feelings in all of this: “The cat is big mad and feeling very neglected and abandoned.” said one commenter. Another thought, “Oh, we really need to see the eviction and aftermath.”
Why Cats Don’t Handle Surprise Roommates Well
Baby Possum standing on tree branchImage via Shutterstock/rthoma
Cats are surprisingly territorial, and even the friendliest and well-adjusted of house cats can take it super personally when another animal (be it feline or possum or something else entirely) strolls on into their space and just overtakes it.
A cat tree can be especially important to a cat because vertical space gives them a sense of security and helps them feel in control. It gives them a vantage point of the entire room while being separated from all the action going on, which is super important for them.
Possums, meanwhile, are opportunistic, and will basically take over anything — including cat towers — and use it as a shelter. To them, it’s just a cozy place to hang out and catch some zzz’s while the cat is offended on a deep level, and, to them, it’s a full-on invasion.
Related: Curious Possum Breaks Into South Carolina Humane Society Like It Owns the Joint
There is something kind of funny about how the possum just carries on with the hissing and the drama while the other one sleeps and the orange tabby is just processing, processing, processing. I’m sure they’ll get over it, but they’ll probably always be double-checking the cat tree from now on.
This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Nov 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.