Watching a squirrel die

Grampa Don

Grampa Don

Yep, that's me
Location
Orange county, Calif.
With all the troubles in the world, this might seem insignificant, but still it makes me sad. We've lived here for almost 50 years and never had squirrels until a few years ago when they started to show up in our neighborhood. A lot of people consider them pests but we enjoy watching them and have a feeder set up in the back yard with peanuts.

A while back I noticed one little guy had a bare spot on his back. I just figured he had been in a fight. Yesterday, I got a good look with my binoculars and saw that it is actually a large tumor. Eventually, it's going to kill him. Right now he acts perfectly normal, so I don't think he is in pain. But, his days are numbered.

There's really nothing I can do. I could never catch him. And, if I did what would I do? The kindest thing would be euthanasia, but I couldn't do it. So, I'll keep the feed and water available and leave him to his fate. Maybe some day I will find him and give him a decent burial.

Don
 

That would bother me too Don. You are doing what you should do and what you are able to do.. Provide him plenty of food so he does not have to waste his precious energy. Make his last days comfortable.
 

I have a couple of bird feeders in the back yard. Many birds show up to have a meal. There are also four squirrels that have the run of the place. I stuck an extra feeder in the back yard so they can feed. I put bird seed in it but they don't seem to mind. They climb up the pole and hang off the top of the feeders and eat their fill. And they help themselves to all the feeders anyway. I may try another food stuff for the squirrels.
 
Our squirrels rob the bird feeders too. It's funny seeing them hang upside down by their toes to get at the black sunflower seeds. They seem to enjoy teasing Sparky. They will purposely taunt him on the ground and start a game of tag that Sparky never wins. He'll bark up at them and they bark right back. Their agility is amazing. Telephone poles and wires are just like flat ground for them.

Don
 
We have plenty of squirrels here. I like them but they will get into our bird feeder and hog all the seed and not let the birds have any. So I had to shut them down. I tried a lot of different things but the only thing that worked was a squirrel baffle that I bought on Amazon. It's that thing that looks like a Chinese hat.


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There are lots of Oak trees with acorns here so they won't go hungry.
 
Such a sad thing Don, hopefully he won't suffer. Trade that squirrel deterrent looks great only my bird feeder is near a lot of trees which is the only place I can put it. The squirrels play Tarzan and jump from the limbs to the feeder. I did see a Blue Jay chase one away though.
 
There are no squirrels in Australia. When I was travelling in US and Canada I was fascinated by them but avoided feeding them for two reasons. One was for their own good because feeding wild life human food is not necessarily good for them. The other reason was that in Australia we don't have rabies and I was warned not to get too close to little rodents.

I did buy some peanuts to feed the squirrels in a park in Ottawa though. I just couldn't resist.

Edited to add: I was confused when I wrote this. The reason we were advised to avoid little rodents was actually the possibility of plague from their fleas. We don't have plague either so we did as we were told.
 
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We don't have bears, but we do get occasional coyotes. That's a worry for people with small pets. I've heard a coyote can go over a 6 foot fence with no problem. One morning I found a cat collar, just the collar, next to our driveway out front. None of the neighbors recognized it.

Don
 
You're very kind Grampa Don, we have a lot of squirrels in our neighborhood, and we have a lot of pines and spruce trees in our yard that they seem to be attracted to. I hate to see any creature suffering, so I'm glad you're helping him out. Here's my cat watching a squirrel from out window.

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The tumor may actually be an abscess that needs drained and then given antibiotics or steroids. He may have been in a fight and was either bitten or clawed. Either way, without treatment the little fellow is in trouble, if infection sets in.
 
SeaBreeze said:
You're very kind Grampa Don, we have a lot of squirrels in our neighborhood, and we have a lot of pines and spruce trees in our yard that they seem to be attracted to. I hate to see any creature suffering, so I'm glad you're helping him out. Here's my cat watching a squirrel from out window.

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I have often wondered what goes on in a cat's mind when they are watching a squirrel or a bird.
 
Late yesterday I looked out and saw him lying flat out in the grass under our mulberry tree. He was there a long time without moving. I walked over and got pretty close before he decided to go up the tree. I could tell he was having some trouble doing it. He went out on one of the lower branches and just laid there. When it got dark, I looked and he was gone. We're having a heat wave, so maybe he was just trying to keep cool.

I fully expected to find him this morning. But, so far no sign of him.

Don
 
It could also be a benign rather than a malignant tumor. There are rescue groups that might come out to trap and treat your little fellow
We didn't have squirrels either when we first moved into this tract, but gradually we got more and more. We enjoy them - especially the antics of the young ones in the spring. My daughter feeds some cats that various neighbors have abandoned when they moved out. We have a family of crows who come to share the leftovers when the cats are done. We don't feed the birds (except for the humming birds) because one of our cats is too darned good at catching them.
 
This morning he is lying in the grass next to the bird bath, still alive. I got a closer look, and he has bumps all over him. I've closed the gate to that part of the yard so Sparky can't bother him. There is shade back there. It's all I can do.

Don
 
Are you sure it's not bot fly larvae? You've taken good care of him. I don't really like squirrels because they do eat bird eggs but we feed them also.
 
911 said:
I have often wondered what goes on in a cat's mind when they are watching a squirrel or a bird.
Click to expand...

I can guess what my own cat is thinking: "If only I could get out you *%@#ards would be in huge trouble...:mad: " She likes to watch squirrels, rabbits, and especially birds.....omg, she goes NUTS!

I had a picture of her perched in LR window, can't find it right now.

Grampa Don, nice of you to take an interest in the poor little guy. :(
 
After some more research, I think slobee is right. The pictures I've seen look just like my squirrel. The good news is that once the larvae exit, the squirrel usually recovers. So, we'll see.

Thank you slobee!

Don
 

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