Earlier this week, staff at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab received an unusual new patient — and an even more unusual backstory.
Animal control had picked up a wild opossum and brought her to the clinic. She wasn’t injured, but she was acting strangely. The explanation came in the form of a handwritten note that accompanied her:
She had eaten an entire chocolate cake.
“Our reaction, of course, was laughter at the note,” said Laura Stastny, the center’s executive director.
The cake had been meant for a party. Its owner left it outside for a moment — no room in the fridge — but the opossum got there first, devouring every bite.
Ordinarily, indulgent feasts are enjoyed in private. Unfortunately for this opossum, her chocolate-fueled binge was now public knowledge. And judging by her expression, she wasn’t exactly pleased about the attention.
“She’s definitely a little cranky about our strict ‘no chocolate’ policy!” the clinic shared.
Humor aside, the staff took no chances. While chocolate toxicity in opossums hasn’t been formally studied, it can be harmful to many animals. The team administered activated charcoal and fluids, and conducted a full exam including X-rays, bloodwork, and blood pressure checks.
The good news? The cake didn’t appear to cause lasting harm. The bad news? Tests revealed a more serious problem — lead poisoning, unrelated to the dessert, but potentially deadly if untreated.
“This is a common issue in wildlife,” Stastny explained.
Now receiving treatment for the toxicity, the opossum is on the mend and may be ready for release later in March. In an odd twist, her sweet tooth may have saved her life.
“Perhaps she was lucky she stole that cake,” Stastny said. “Because now she’s getting the critical care she needs.”
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab even created a T-shirt honoring their unexpected cake thief, with proceeds going toward her care.
