Cashew's Visit

Meet Cashew, a baby squirrel who stayed with us last week. We first noticed him on Monday, and while we were surprised to see such a little guy on his own didn't think much of it. But when we saw him again Tuesday, we became concerned that he may have been left behind when his parents left the nest that had recently fallen out of our elm tree.

 After playing with him a bit, we decided we should intervene, mostly because of some neighborhood cats who were seriously eying his hangout spot. So I began extensive googling of caring for abandoned baby squirrels, and learned the following.

1. Don't feed them. While it seems the obvious first step, it's likely they're dehydrated, and feeding them causes their cells to further dry out while their little bodies try to digest.

2. They need fluids. Pedialyte is best, but as we didn't have it I read that the next best thing is a cup of warm water mixed with one teaspoon of salt and three teaspoons of sugar.

3. Keep them warm. This little guy was shivering furiously when we found him, and I read that at this young age they can't regulate body temperature, so a blanket and a heating source are crucial.

Once we got this little guy watered and wrapped up, he promptly fell asleep. We put him in our cat carrier overnight (in our guest room with the door closed, as Nino paced curiously outside it all night). We set him up with some towels and a heating pad, and he was out like a light. We woke him up a few times to get more water in him - here's a video with some pretty serious baby animal cuteness:

The next morning I took him to Lakeside Nature Center, a local wildlife resource that rescues abandoned and injured animals. They looked him over and were surprised to see a little guy left alone so young. They will stabilize him there - make sure he's healthy and taking formula - and then when he's ready they'll send him to one of their many volunteers trained to raise him and eventually release him back into the wild.

 
They gave me the option of receiving a good news/bad news post card, which I opted for, so hopefully I'll receive news in a few months that our little guys is out in the trees being rambunctious, like he was born to be. We miss our little Cashew a bit - he was fun to watch and hold - but we know he's in good hands.