The Cat Came Back, The Cat Came Back

Like she’d never been away….

In the continuing Saga of Nature against Baby Squirrels, and how the story ended, as is to be expected, when you needed them the most, Momma and Daddy were late. 

Daddy arrived home first … with no thought of a coup d’état underway.  He just about made it to the front door when  Mickey and Minnie Squirrel appeared, chirping very excitedly. Mickey managed to take a run for it and engage his claws in Daddy’s denim jeans, sprinting up his pant legs.  Minnie, not to be out done by her brother took a flying leap, claws out to latch on the denim as easily as if it were bark on a tree.

The cats turned their heads in sync, smiling benevolently, even if alarms were sounding.  Surely no… Okay, dogs in the house, cats in the house…. but read my lips.  No Squirrels, even Baby Mickey and Minnie Squirrel, as desperate as they were, as cute as they were,…NIMH (Not In My Home).

Finally, along came Momma from work, burnt out from sitting in the traffic, longing to get out of her Dress Up Clothes.  Daddy was sitting on the top step, in a dilemma.  The life of an abandoned baby squirrel was precarious… but any problem must have a solution, right.  Let’s ask Momma… She has her finger on the pulse, rescuing birds that fell from trees, raccoons out of scrap bins  or orphaned kitties at the Tier One Automotive Stamping Plants.

Call the Wild Life Federation and ask them for advice, says Momma, sage of the ages. 1^st choice, take them directly to the Conservation Centre…Until then…Keep them safe from predators, preferably in a cage.. Keep them warm.  Hydrate and Feed by dropper… Time is of the essence for a positive outcome.

Phew, thought Boy Andy, Handsome Beau Beau and Diva Calico Gen.  We’ll keep them safe…but not keep them…as selfish as that sounds… well, we believe in the Do No Harm to Babies but still Squirrels belong in trees, outdoors… not indoors, shrieking and  causing chaos.

Next day, Daddy loaded up the little cage and drove off to the Wild Life Conservation Area where rehabilitated birds, raccoons, squirrels and even some ornery cats and wild wolves lived in peace, so the story goes. Momma was a little sad to say Good Bye, Fare Thee Well but we (Bad Boy Andy, Handsome Beau Beau and Diva Calico Gen) just rolled our eyes.  Good riddance. Over and Out….

Now we suppose Mickey and Minnie Squirrel regale the wildlife with tales of where they came from and how they were rescued after their mother went AWOL…but the truth is Mama Squirrel (you know, the cat, came back, like she’d never been away) showed up, the day after they left.

Maybe Mama Squirrel had been at an all week Squirrel Rave….maybe she was at a Squirrel Convention, maybe she forgot the time…but she did come back…and we all had to listen to her keen and wail, calling out for Baby Mickey and Minnie Squirrel… if only she had come back sooner….if only…

No worries, Mama Squirrel…we grew up without our Baby Mama and just look how well we all turned out.. well…sort of, depending on your threshold of acceptance…. :-D….