Adorable animal content has always captured the hearts of internet users, but recently, one opossum is cornering the market on both cute and relatable. When a hungry opossum received medical intervention after consuming an entire Costco chocolate cake, the internet rallied around the wild animal, crowning it their new “relatable queen.”
On Feb. 10, 2025, Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. shared a post on their Facebook page with a photo of an opossum being treated at their facility, next to a photo of a note that read, “Opossum was brought in due to having eaten an entire Costco chocolate cake. He was panting a lot however mobile and alert.”
The caption of the post shared more information saying, “This Virginia opossum was admitted today after reportedly devouring an entire Costco chocolate cake. With some time in rehab (and a diet reset), this choco-holic should be stabilized enough to return to the wild but until then, she is definitely a little cranky about our strict “zero chocolate” policy! Same, opossum…. same.”
The post received 3.2K shares and 1.4K comments, with many people humorously identifying with the opossum’s experience. “We’ve all been there, girl,” said one commenter. “I have also begun to (breathe) heavily after eating an entire cake by myself,” said another commenter.
“Maybe not Costco but it definitely has happened more than once. I get it gurl. I get it.” While another simply said, “I relate to this opossum on a spiritual level.”
The cake bandit opossum becomes an internet icon
Local news stations quickly picked up the story, which then gained worldwide traction with CNN and The Independent reporting on the “Cake Bandit.” Many outlets interviewed Kim Doggett, the local real estate agent whose cake the opossum had originally consumed.
According to CNN, Doggett walked out to her back porch on Sunday, Feb. 9, to find the chocolate tuxedo mousse cake she’d purchased from Costco on the floor. Doggett observed brown paw prints everywhere, including her new beige couch. Also on the couch was the opossum, who was curled up in a ball and panting.
“I opened the door, and I was like, ‘Oh my,’” Kim Doggett told CNN. “And then I was like, ‘Oh, it ate the Costco cake.’ The whole thing almost was sitting on the ground next to the couch.”
Doggett and her son tried to scare the opossum away, but it would not leave the porch. Eventually, Doggett began to wonder if the chocolate cake might’ve been poisonous to the animal. After calling the American Humane Society, which retrieved and transported the animal to be evaluated, it was eventually taken to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. for care.
Since the incident, thousands online have come out in support of the opossum, buying ‘Cake Bandit’ t-shirts from the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab and voicing their concern for the animal’s well-being in addition to relatable admiration for its plight. “Oh that Costco cake is really good, I get it,” said one commenter. “Love this for her,” another said. “An icon is an icon,” another responded.
‘Caught Red-Handed’
According to reporting from The Independent, vets at the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab said they’re not sure if chocolate is toxic to opossums, so they administered a common treatment for poisoning.
“It appears that she was lucky to have been caught red-handed, because it allowed her to come to our hospital and get diagnosed with what can become a fatal condition in wildlife,” said Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s executive director, Laura Stastny in an email to CNN.
Currently, the opossum is “doing well” and the animal likely be healthy enough to be released in roughly six weeks.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab via direct message on Facebook. The organization did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
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