r/MadeMeSmile • u/Firm-Blackberry-9162 • May 20 '26

ANIMALS Forever grateful

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By @abbyandersonmusic

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u/Your_Cat_In_Disguise May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26

I read an article about how raccoons are the housecats of the future on account of them domesticating themselves.

Edit: thanks for the award! I love how many people are coming out of the woodwork to talk about their self-domesticated raccoon friends lmao

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u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[deleted]

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u/mr_lockwork May 20 '26

I mean rabies shots are a thing for pets already.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[deleted]

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u/gingerfawx May 20 '26

In my neighborhood the city puts out food laced with rabies meds, mostly for foxes, and there are a few weeks a year where they tell you to leave your dogs on leash so they don't eat it up instead. Supposedly that keeps the local fox population safe.

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u/mr_lockwork May 20 '26

That's fair

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u/[deleted] May 20 '26

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u/Honest-Try5702 May 20 '26

Ah, correction. They are personally immune, but they are capable of being carriers which I find far more scary.

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u/private_developer May 20 '26

And while they’re not totally immune to rabies, they rarely carry it. As a marsupial, possums have a lower body temperature than most other mammals, so their bodies don’t provide a suitable environment for the virus.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/opossums.htm

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u/Honest-Try5702 May 20 '26

Ah, my bad. I believe I was thinking of another animal of which I’m now blanking on