Gutted :(

The_Outsider

So we keep poultry, and because of the feed lying around, also have two cats to keep the vermin under control. The cats do a great job but I have had to intervene a few times when they go beyond their remit and start catching the wild birds or poor pigmy shrews - sometimes with success and it makes me happy that I saved a poor things life.


Today I saw one of our cats pounce on something in the hedgerow and in the split second when she turned towards me with her quarry in her mouth I caught a flash of white underbelly and what I thought was a bit of orange coloration. My curiosity got the better of me so I tried to approach them but the cat disappeared into the hedge as she knows when i come after her in the situation that I was try and remove her catch from her.


I remarked to the wife on the white belly of her catch and flippantly said that I could swear it was a squirel but was more likely one of the rats that hang around the poultry pen.


Cats being cats - they often just play with their victim and leave the body close to the house, and when we came home from town just a while ago I was absolutely gutted to find the body of the most beautiful red squirrel close to the front door. No major damage other than a bit of blood by one of her ears (it was a female). Such a stunning creature - I have never seen one close up (or possibly at all, ever, in fact). Amazing long hands and feet, and the little yellow teeth - just beautiful.


I was raging with my self that I didn't persevere with my intervention earlier, and am still fuming at that cat - I know it's her instinct etc etc but jesus like.


Now there isn't a large tree within an asses roar of my house, it's all just ditches and very small trees. There are a few Coillte plantations within a few kilometers (we can see them from the house).


Is it not unusual to have a red squirrel so removed from what I would consider it's regular habitat? We were thinking maybe it was sick (cat caught it on the ground beside a blackthorn hedge).



apologies for the vent - still raging.

cd07

Thats the problem with cats. Personally I despise them. Admittedly though its in their nature to hunt and kill but they are not a native animal and allowed outside the damage they do to natural native wildlife is disastrous. If you must keep cats please keep them indoors otherwise they will inevitably hunt and kill wildlife.

Graces7

cd07 wrote: »

Thats the problem with cats. Personally I despise them. Admittedly though its in their nature to hunt and kill but they are not a native animal and allowed outside the damage they do to natural native wildlife is disastrous. If you must keep cats please keep them indoors otherwise they will inevitably hunt and kill wildlife.

They also keep rats etc under control. A vital work. They have been an integral part of our lives for centuries indoors and out.

Graces7

The_Outsider wrote: »

So we keep poultry, and because of the feed lying around, also have two cats to keep the vermin under control. The cats do a great job but I have had to intervene a few times when they go beyond their remit and start catching the wild birds or poor pigmy shrews - sometimes with success and it makes me happy that I saved a poor things life.


Today I saw one of our cats pounce on something in the hedgerow and in the split second when she turned towards me with her quarry in her mouth I caught a flash of white underbelly and what I thought was a bit of orange coloration. My curiosity got the better of me so I tried to approach them but the cat disappeared into the hedge as she knows when i come after her in the situation that I was try and remove her catch from her.


I remarked to the wife on the white belly of her catch and flippantly said that I could swear it was a squirel but was more likely one of the rats that hang around the poultry pen.


Cats being cats - they often just play with their victim and leave the body close to the house, and when we came home from town just a while ago I was absolutely gutted to find the body of the most beautiful red squirrel close to the front door. No major damage other than a bit of blood by one of her ears (it was a female). Such a stunning creature - I have never seen one close up (or possibly at all, ever, in fact). Amazing long hands and feet, and the little yellow teeth - just beautiful.


I was raging with my self that I didn't persevere with my intervention earlier, and am still fuming at that cat - I know it's her instinct etc etc but jesus like.


Now there isn't a large tree within an asses roar of my house, it's all just ditches and very small trees. There are a few Coillte plantations within a few kilometers (we can see them from the house).


Is it not unusual to have a red squirrel so removed from what I would consider it's regular habitat? We were thinking maybe it was sick (cat caught it on the ground beside a blackthorn hedge).



apologies for the vent - still raging.

So sorry OP. Maybe someone will be able to answer your questions? It sounds as if the squirrel may indeed have been sick . Did you actually see it moving, lr could it have been already dead?