Blood?

[rattyvonratkins]

I'm posting this under non-life threatening because I only see blood, no injured animal. There were several squirrels on my patio and a little chipmunk eating from a dish of hazelnuts (his favorites) on the top step when I decided to take a 20 minute nap. When I got up I saw these bloodstains on the steps and few drops of blood on the patio bricks which scares me. There even looks to be pee droplets, maybe from fear :(
I was afraid the chipmunk was killed or grabbed by a hawk so I waited but I did end up seeing the chipmunk gathering food on the patio so I don't think it was hurt. My fear is that there was a second chipmunk who was attacked on the top step or was carried off by a hawk or a vicious fight happened between either squirrels or chipmunks. I don't think they're vicious animals but I have seen the squirrels chase the chipmunks. I don't know if it would have been feasible for a hawk to take a critter off the top step since it is right next to the sliding glass door which I would think would hinder its huge wingspan. My only other theory is maybe a neighbor's "outdoor" cat snuck into our backyard and pounced (the backyard is fenced in but occasionally a cat will get in). Any thoughts?? I haven't seen any bloody injured critters as of yet so I'm trying to piece together what happened. Thanks!

[Duckman]

I'm not sure what to tell you here. It is obvious that something happened, but from the amount of blood, I doubt it was a hawk grabbing a squirrel or chipmonk. When a hawk swoops, they don't leave a trail of blood behind, because they strike and are in the air again in seconds. It looks to me like a larger animal got one of the poor fuzzies and carried it off. Do you have any cats or dogs that could do this? I don't know if you are in a rural or urban area, so maybe it was a stray or someones pet that attacked. Unfortunately, as all of us know here on TSB, Squirrels and Chipmonks are not the top of the food chain, and do get attacked. You might check around for an injured animal, because if it did somehow survive, it is suffering, but from the amount of blood, I would say it was most likely a fatal attack.

[rattyvonratkins]

Your last sentences confirmed my worst fear- I guess I just wanted a second opinion besides my own. I didn't see any rodent bodies lying around when I walked the perimeter of the front and back yard. I'm guessing it was a neighbor's cat since I found a decapitated field mouse near my front doorstep a few months back and I don't ever let my cat outside. I wish there was something I could do to prevent this kind of thing from happening, especially since I feel like it's my fault because I put food out for the critters so I'm making my yard a hunting haven for all sorts of predators.