Originally Posted by
Fritzie'sMom
Hello, I'm sorry for the pain you are going through.
I replied to your post last night but do not see my reply here today--either the post didn't completely get processed or possibly because I posted my cell phone # in it--although i have done that previously without a problem. I'm not very knowledgeable about message boards,&I apologize if this is the second reply posted by me...
I pray that your little boy is returned home already as you read this message. My little boy Fritzie ,is also 9 month old now,and went missing on May 27th.
If you haven't found him, please don't give up searching for him and leaving food and water and a box with blanket for him every day and night. At least two humane traps,and set them at dawn,if he is a regular squirrel, or, at dusk, if he is a flying squirrel. These humane traps are very reasonably priced on Amazon.
A few weeks ago I posted in life threatening help needed ,about my flying squirrel named Fritzie who went missing on the night of May 27th.
I want you to know that I know the pain you are feeling. I continue to struggle with becoming despondant every few days,but I have discovered that,on the nights(Fritzie is a flying squirrel-therefore he is nocturnal)that I have a positive hopeful and determined outlook about Fritzie, are when I feel that he is looking down on me,from the trees. There are so many huge trees on and around my property. I say the phrases in the exact same tone that he was is used to hearing. I make sure to sound very upbeat and happy, joking around,slapping my leg for him to run up it ,telling him "Fritzie!!!...it's your bedtime!! ..are you my little sugarplum?....I love my little sugarplum! ...Lil Frit-zie Sugaplum...or when I would pet him to sleep, telling him in baby talk: "Fritzie is SUCH a good boy....my good little boy....i love my little Fritzie...i love my little boy.......I get a lot of responses from the trees, from flying squirrels (as well as regular squirrels, birds and various other wildlife who are having their sleep disturbed).
I only have a lot of experience with cats and dogs,but from my experience with having rescued cats who accidentally went missing from my house, I know that if the animal is not used to "the outdoors"--even if it's a completely tame pet,as was the case with my cat Popeye,who got loose as I was carrying him in his carrier from my garage to the car,to take him to the vet, the carrier popped open,Popeye fell out,and he just ran,jumped over the fence&into the adjoining wooded area. I left food out for him every night.Almost a week later,even though I saw no sign of him(the food had been eaten every night,it was no proof that it had been eaten by Popeye),I decided to set the humane traps and put his can of food inside it. I went to check the trap at about 4 am,and Popeye was in it!
Please send me a private message I will send you my tel# to call or text.
My dog Pandy brought Fritzie to me from my somewhere in my 2+ acres backyard when he was a one or two day old newborn and he is now 9 months old. He is my little boy.
On the night of May 27th,a little side door on Fritzie's cage was pushed open and had gone unnoticed&overlooked,at the same time I decided to window open the slightly open the window to give Fritzie some fresh air and nature sounds prior to our nightly, out-of-cage playtime before bed. I spend an hour with him at around midnight, after my chores are done,before my bedtime. After I opened the window,I exited my bedroom(Fritzies cage is in the en-suite bathroom in my bedroom),I continued chores. I was mopping the kitchen floor when I then noticed my dogs, who were in the backyard for their final outing before bedtime, were sniffing an area of grass under a tree.I went to investigate and there was a newly deceased little squirrel (that had been killed by one of my dogs) what I believed at that time, to be a flying squirrel. I am now, unsure of the type of squirrel &may have been a very young dark grey squirrel. I gathered up the little squirrel &wrapped it in a dish towel& brought it into the house. I continued to mop when suddenly I felt panicked,ran to check on Fritzie-& he was gone&immediately checked the deceased squirrel again,didn't recognize him as Fritzie, had boyfriend confirm that it isn't him(I have him frozen and have checked several times since then, because of the timing;every few days of searching for him,I would convince myself that the deceased little squirrel must have been Fritzie,because if he were still able to,Fritzie would have come to me when he heard me calling him. If he could come to me,he would have come. But I continue to become more successful at shutting out the negative inner dialogue with myself,because that's ALL it is. However, the inner dialogue will become fact, once I choose to believe it. It's very important to not believe anything negative about your missing little boy. Think about him as a little kid who wandered off because he met a friend,or a group of friends and they went out and had an adventure and is having the time of his life!; He hasn't forgotten or stopped loving his mom and his home, but he's having endless fun with his new found friend, or perhaps his first girlfriend! and he can't quite pull himself away from the daily new adventures!
I made a lot of mistakes in those crucial first few hours after Fritzie went out the window. I was so completely hysterical & couldn't stop crying, I have never felt this completely destroyed. I brought pecans&walnuts to the front porch by where the window is located,and called him. I realize now that by my hysteria and uncontrolled crying,calling his name, would have frightened him,and he probably was still close by,but I probably caused him to be afraid to come back! My property is almost 3acres&a park across the street,there are dozens of large trees.I spent the night searching and calling him. He has never been outdoors and has no survival skills. I look for him every dusk then before dawn,and any time I wake up in the middle of the night. I would give anything I have, to know that he was able to survive.
I have hopeful information from a "nuisance"squirrel removal technician,who told me that despite never having been outdoors,despite him being by himself,that squirrels still do well in the wild. That he releases the squirrels he removes from people's attics,homes,etc and has had the same squirrels come to greet him even a year later,when he happens to return to release another group or single squirrel.