HI! My dog found an injured Alabama Gray Squirrel that was attacked by a cat in my backyard about an hour ago. The squirrel is moving around a bit but doesn't appear to have severe open wounds just some bloody scratches that don't look too bad. I put gloves on and moved/scooped it into a small kennel that I had lined with paper towels & then I brought it indoors out of the heat. We have had record highs for the past couple of weeks so I thought It may help moving it indoors out of the heat. I'm really hoping that it may just be in shock and need some time to gather itself and hopefully recover so I can release it back with its squirrel friends.
Unfortunately, I can't take it to our local widlife rehab center as they will just put it down immediately (*I learned that the last time I tried rescuing another injured squirrel I found last year. They killed it as soon as I dropped it off and told me they don't rehabilitate squirrels anymore - Not sure why?).
More Details:This squirrel does appear to be a juvenile as it is not as big as some of my other backyard squirrels. At the moment it is just laying on its side in the kennel. When I check-in on it, it does move it's two front arms around a bit almost like it's trying to flip over on all 4's. I'm not sure if it's back legs are injured or not (I think I saw it move them earlier but I'm not 100% sure). And I'm not sure if it's breathing is still considered "labored" - It does appear to be breathing much better than it was when I first found it. I'm really hoping for some advice on what I should do? I would really like to see this little guy live especially since he does appear to be young. Please Please let me know what y'all think is best for this squirrel at this time!