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Where We Left Off:
A peculiar machine with a person attached flew overhead. The cat detectives and human had never seen anything like it.
Mollie Pictures:
This week’s case file brings us some closure on the Reign of Terror brought upon the small critters by the infamous roaming tuxedo cat, Savile. He’s not the only stray/free-roaming cat which means it’s likely that any of the others share in some of the critter attack blame. Savile happens to be the one most frequently seen and his attacks have been caught on camera.
Back in April, after red squirrel mother Squirla Moon saw her babies grow with independence, we got to see them trek on their own too. From Moretti’s Rock Fortress to the Old Well House to Gnome Grove, the two babies were identified as Jane Addams Moon and Mollie Beattie Moon. Early on while barely a juvenile, Mollie Beattie Moon showed up with some injuries to her face. We were thrilled to see her alive and able to come for food. Our main concern at that point was infection.
Are we 100% certain that Savile is the attacker? No, but it’s like 99% realistically. Mollie entered the yard already injured which means referring back to our surveillance cameras doesn’t help in this case. There are large predatory birds and those other cats. I doubt a fox would have allowed Mollie Moon to escape with superficial damage. Foxes need to eat.
If a qualified squirrel rehabilitator were close by, I might have made the decision to try trapping Mollie Beattie Moon back in the Spring. Rehabbers are far away. I’ve only tried twice to get small animals there. The only red squirrel I took was in bad shape, Henry Hudsonicus. He didn’t survive the trip.
Mollie continued to move on her own and take care of all her essential needs. An antibiotic might have helped her injury heal faster, but she’s done well taking care of herself. When I first saw the injury, I thought it only a bee sting or something similar. It wasn’t until Ollie noticed Mollie up on the Moretti Rock Fortress that I was able to snap updated photos and get a closer look. The area around her nose shows a larger scabbed area than one would expect from a sting, especially considering our timeline was April through July.
Gus used his keen olfactory sense to follow Mollie as she moved from the fortress to the large dead maple where the red squirrels love to observe from the chopped platform created. She rushed over to the Old Well House. Then she made her way safely out of Guster’s reach to Gnome Grove to get seeds and nuts.
“I don’t detect any odors signifying that Mollie Beattie Moon has been bitten by a vampuirrel.” Gus returned from trailing the tiny red squirrel. “She’s clean.”
“That’s something we can celebrate, right?” I handed Gus a couple treats and pushed two through the space in Ollie’s buggy.
“We don’t need more undead around here,” Ollie said.
As long as nothing else comes of the wound on Mollie’s face, we could close the case.
Case Findings:
In the Spring, one of the newly born red squirrels appeared on the property with a face injury. Mollie Beattie Moon’s snout was swollen and showed a small amount of blood residue. Three months later, the wound was flat and appeared as a scab possibly 3-4 millimeters long on the right side of her nose. She’s healing well without human intervention.
Case Status: Closed