Injured grey squirrel

[FluffyEarMuffs]

There is an injured grey squirrel in my garden. It's front paw is bent back (so no tree climbing), and it's just hopping slowly about and crouched in the grass.

The second a neighbours cat spots it, it's a goner. Ditto my own dog going in the garden.

I don't have a cage or anything to rest it in and see if it heals. My 11 year old wants to do something though.

Any ideas? The RSPA aren't going to be bothered I guess.

Most areas have wildlife rescue. Google your area and wildlife rescue and I bet you'll find something.

Thank you. I did do, but one recorded message said they are full and the second just went to an answering service.

Mmmmm.

Where are you based? You’ll probably need an independent no kill shelter as there is some legislation now around rehabilitating grey squirrels 😔 Don’t think they’re allowed to be released. By the sounds of it, the little guy/girl would need a sanctuary depending on how badly it is injured. Will see if I can find any info for you.

Ring your vet or your local vet? We've dropped off injured wildlife including a squirrel over the years and they've helped free of charge. They might advise you, even if they can't help.

Grey squirrels are considered to be a pest and aren't legally allowed to be released once caught.

Urban Squirrels are based in London. They have a Facebook page, worth e-mailing them.

Further up north there is an amazing place called Meltham Wildlife Centre, near Huddersfield, we drove there from Cheshire to take an injured pigeon. The lady Cathy and her husband are just lovely caring people. They’re probably extremely busy but if you are able to speak to them I’m confident they would give you sound advice. 07846344984. Hope you get a good outcome for this little critter.

Local vets may put it out of its misery. I'd trying calling your local ones.

Grey squirrels are pests, like rats. If it was a rat crawling round your garden what would you do? Leave it to nature, I expect. I'd do that.

Thank you. @DarkUnicorn it was actually Meltham I first called but they are full.

Thank you everyone. I have someone from another rescue calling round this evening to collect him. He's currently in a large box in the garage. They said they'd release him when his paw is mended (if it's an easy mend!)

Four rescues I tried; I was about to give up!

Would I help with an injured rat? I don't know, but I am assured rats make excellent pets from my friends whose children have kept them.

I have euthanised baby rabbits before my previous cats have half killed 😔 But an otherwise healthy looking animal with just one injured paw? It deserves a chance and not to meet its end in my dog's jaws or the neighbouring cats. It may still die, but at least it's in a dark calm box and hopefully not stressed out.

Well done, OP. In all this doom and gloom, your little act of kindness to this little critter has cheered me up. We live rurally and are fortunate to be surrounded by wildlife, including squirrels who wait on the doormat to be fed - we get to know them as individuals over the years - and they even bring their babies. For you

Awww, thank you.

It's something to write about in our family lock down diary anyway for today 🤣 It was getting a bit monotonous.

I picked up a dead grey squirrel off the road once, it was lying there on it's back with it's paws up in the air no visible sign of injury.
I couldn't leave it to get driven over.
I put it in a bucket in the back of my car and buried it with the help of a friend in their wood with a small cross on the grave and sang a Welsh hymn.
Good on ya, Op!

Ah well done, i love squirrels, well apart from the one thats just dug up my sunflower seedling...i would also have had to do something to try and help him! Hope he recovers x

A small world FluffyEarMuffs! So pleased you’ve you’ve got some help.

Rats do make excellent pets, my siblings have had them over the years, was never particularly fond of them before but they’re lovely little things, very social and intelligent, more fun than my hamsters ever were. Wouldn’t pet a wild one obviously 😂 but wouldn’t want to see one suffer either.

This happened to us recently pp, but with a magnificent young badger, who looked like he was sleeping except for a bloody nose and someone's car bumper next to him. I carry gloves in the car - occupational hazard - and was able to pull him off the road into the undergrowth. I couldn't bury him but didn't want to leave him in the road to be repeatedly run over - partly because he would have been a hazard to other vehicles, but mainly because it's such an undignified, uncaring end for something so wild and beautiful.

Sadly most badgers we see are dead on or by the side of the road. I bet they have done so much better during lockdown these past couple of months. Until today that is, as the covidiot hordes have descended - thanks Boris.

It sounds like you need to start a new lockdown project, OP - Project Squirrel - find out everything there is to know about squirrels?

Took a fox to the vet once that I saw being run over, was a stunning, adolescent male.
He wasn't moving but breathing very gently so I wrapped him up in a spare sleeping bag in the boot, (my Ddog on the back seat looked a bit confused).
Arriving at the vets 15mins later, two beautiful golden orange eyes were looking up at me through the back window.
The vet and 3 nurses laid him on the table with a drip, oxygen mask and gave him an antibiotic injection.
Had a lump in my throat watching them work hard to save him.
Sadly, they phoned me next day to say he had a broken back and was PTS.

The grey squirrel is considered a pest. Check before you take him that they will not just put him down regardless of the injury being treatable