Originally Posted by globecanvas

We had a squirrel drop down our chimney into the (cold) wood stove last fall. I locked the cats away, opened every door and window, put packing blankets up to try to guide its path towards the open windows, waited until everyone was asleep so the kids wouldn't get in the way, and opened the stove.

The squirrel dashed past all the open windows, down the hall and up the stairs, leaving a trail of soot. The only door open up there was my office so it went in there and started doing laps, knocking over lamps, computers, total mayhem.

I got a cookie tray (standard bat-in-the-house removal tool, btw) and shut myself into the office with it, opened the door to the deck, and tried to deflect the thing out the door. It jumped onto my head and then straight up into the air. While it was coming down, I bunted it out the door at last.

Nobody in the house woke up.