Nutzy
01-02-2017, 02:22 PM
Hi all, this is my first post - I have been to the board several times, but I wanted to thank everyone who participated in this thread.
The first weekend of September, I took in a 4-5 week old Eastern Gray who was separated from her nest by a friend's cat. My husband is allergic to cats and dogs, and our other pets are not very interactive (or nocturnal), so as Nutzy grew up with us, we fell very much in love with her. It was so nice having a fun pet! She is now probably 5-6 months old, and for the past couple of months, we have been giving her outdoor time. At first, she just ran around the deck and got a feel for the outdoors in short bursts of time, while maintaining a nest in our house. In the last month, she discovered chasing birds and climbing our neighbors' trees (we have none on our property), and we have let her assert her independence, knowing that every night, Nutzy would jump on the screen door and come back in to eat and sleep. Over the last few weeks, I noticed that she wasn't eating as much when she came home, but she still appeared very healthy and active. She would wake up every morning and run to the sunroom and stare out the windows until I opened the door for her. She had a slight regression last week, which I think was because the neighbors have a small yappy dog that scared her, but Thursday morning, I let her out and she hasn't returned. I've been worried SICK. I'm 9 months pregnant, and I was concerned about caring for her with a newborn soon, but the last thing I ever wanted was for her to disappear! I've stayed by the door every evening, I've left nuts on the deck to see if they get tampered with, and we have prowled the neighborhood, looking for any clues. Nothing. We have very few squirrels in our area, but also very few predators- no foxes or raccoons, just the occasional house cat.
Anyway, last night at 2:30 am, we got freezing rain. I woke up and looked out for her, and when I didn't see her again, I just lost it, thinking about how this surely means she was injured or killed. I couldn't stop imagining my little love lying on the ground somewhere, waiting for us to save her. I found this thread and reading everyone's experiences with disappearing/reappearing squirrels really helped, especially the story of Sandy. I just needed reassurance that she might be okay, maybe she is choosing this. We still put the light on for her every night and open and close the door (she seemed to respond to that as her cue to come home before). I miss her so much, I must look out the door at least 100 times a day and search for clues. I needed the reassurance that this is normal squirrel behavior, as Nutzy is my first rescue. I can totally relate to the anxiety of not knowing if she's okay, and nobody really understanding how attached you can get to a rescue squirrel. I just want to know that she's alive and well. if she has chosen the wild life, then all the more power to her! We were prepared to keep her through the winter, since she didn't have a chance to learn her outdoor life until it was already cold out.
I'm still worried sick. I really am. But at least I have hope that she might show up again. 282695
The first weekend of September, I took in a 4-5 week old Eastern Gray who was separated from her nest by a friend's cat. My husband is allergic to cats and dogs, and our other pets are not very interactive (or nocturnal), so as Nutzy grew up with us, we fell very much in love with her. It was so nice having a fun pet! She is now probably 5-6 months old, and for the past couple of months, we have been giving her outdoor time. At first, she just ran around the deck and got a feel for the outdoors in short bursts of time, while maintaining a nest in our house. In the last month, she discovered chasing birds and climbing our neighbors' trees (we have none on our property), and we have let her assert her independence, knowing that every night, Nutzy would jump on the screen door and come back in to eat and sleep. Over the last few weeks, I noticed that she wasn't eating as much when she came home, but she still appeared very healthy and active. She would wake up every morning and run to the sunroom and stare out the windows until I opened the door for her. She had a slight regression last week, which I think was because the neighbors have a small yappy dog that scared her, but Thursday morning, I let her out and she hasn't returned. I've been worried SICK. I'm 9 months pregnant, and I was concerned about caring for her with a newborn soon, but the last thing I ever wanted was for her to disappear! I've stayed by the door every evening, I've left nuts on the deck to see if they get tampered with, and we have prowled the neighborhood, looking for any clues. Nothing. We have very few squirrels in our area, but also very few predators- no foxes or raccoons, just the occasional house cat.
Anyway, last night at 2:30 am, we got freezing rain. I woke up and looked out for her, and when I didn't see her again, I just lost it, thinking about how this surely means she was injured or killed. I couldn't stop imagining my little love lying on the ground somewhere, waiting for us to save her. I found this thread and reading everyone's experiences with disappearing/reappearing squirrels really helped, especially the story of Sandy. I just needed reassurance that she might be okay, maybe she is choosing this. We still put the light on for her every night and open and close the door (she seemed to respond to that as her cue to come home before). I miss her so much, I must look out the door at least 100 times a day and search for clues. I needed the reassurance that this is normal squirrel behavior, as Nutzy is my first rescue. I can totally relate to the anxiety of not knowing if she's okay, and nobody really understanding how attached you can get to a rescue squirrel. I just want to know that she's alive and well. if she has chosen the wild life, then all the more power to her! We were prepared to keep her through the winter, since she didn't have a chance to learn her outdoor life until it was already cold out.
I'm still worried sick. I really am. But at least I have hope that she might show up again. 282695