Close Encounters of a Furry Kind

After I got home from work on Friday, I basically collapsed in a heap on my bed.  I woke to a loud racket and assumed the cats were trashing my apartment.  Just a typical night, as far as I was concerned.  

I didn't have my contacts in, but Daphne was very excitedly pulling something from the dining room area.  I thought it was one of her toys until she dropped it and it moved.  Definitely not one of her toys!  At this point, I'm shrieking and jumping up at down for her to drop it.  I was petrified that it was a mouse and it would run over my toes.  She dropped it again and I noticed it had a bushy tail.  It was a baby squirrel!  (No less petrifying to have run over my toes)

The squirrel made a break for it and Daphne lunged.  I grabbed her and shut her in my bedroom with Zoe.  I frantically called Simon and begged him to come over so he could help me contain the wildlife.  He gladly did so.  

We found it next to my TV.  Unfortunately, it ran and we couldn't catch it.  (How many people does it take to catch a baby squirrel?) In fact, we couldn't even find it!  We let the cats out, figuring THEY could find it.  They meowed a bit and napped on my suitcase.  No dice.  

At 3 a.m., there was another clatter.  Daphne had trapped something under my tv.  She was rolling around, happily meowing because her super cool toy was back.  I was less excited.  We decided to try bribing the squirrel with peanut butter sandwiches and herding it into a box using a mop handle.  No luck.  Frustrated, I blocked it under the tv and decided to try again in the morning.  

At 6 a.m., I woke up because of another noise.  I heard something chewing.  It sounded like it was coming from my kitchen NOT from under my TV.   So apparently my fabulous trapping skills didn't work. I opened my utility closet door and there was the squirrel happily chewing on some crumb.  It didn't even move when I opened the door.  In fact, it didn't even blink when I set a large box next to it.  I grabbed the water heater manual and tried to shoo it into the box.  It just curled into a small ball.  Finally, I scooped it onto the manual and tossed it into the box.

I took it two apartment buildings over and dumped it in the grass.  I left it a peanut butter sandwich so it wouldn't starve.  It's super small though so I'm not sure how likely it is to survive.  In fact, I don't even know how it got into my apartment!  I'm on the second floor.  But luckily, I now only have my cats and no other wildlife (that I know of!)