Caring for a injured bird the cat brought in the house?
My cat (whom we thought we plugged the hole she was getting in and out of) brought in an injured juvenile sparrow. He is missing all the feathers and skin under his wings and has a quarter sized patch on the back where she tore the feathers and skin off. There is no where to take him in my area and I will not free him to die. I had him in a box, but he was going crazy so I borrowed a large bird cage and now he is happily sleeping on a perch. He is not in shock and seems like he is handling it pretty well so far. I am treating him with oxytetracycline with a dropper that he is taking well. I put neosporin on the wounds and gave him food and water. I even got him to eat a worm. Is there anything else I can do for him? I also have the cage covered. I brought him inside to keep him warm since the temperature gets low still at night here.
Filed under: Cat Furniture
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Please do not handle the bird, and do not feed worms.
You need to find a wildlife rehabilitator that takes songbirds – and you need to do it ASAP. Cats have a bacteria in their saliva called Pasturella, which is deadly to birds. The bird will need specific antibiotic therapy or it will not survive.
Wildlife rehabilitation is typically FREE to the public.
Please use this link to locate a rehabber in your area:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm
If you cannot find one on the list, try searching Yahoo! or Google for "wildlife rehabilitation" and your country, state, or territory.
Other resources to locate rehabbers may include your local humane society, animal shelter, DNR, DFG, ASPCA, RSPCA, RSPB, or Audubon chapter.
I would add a lamp nearby to raise the temps near him, as birds have a superhigh metabolism. Other than that it sounds like you are doing a great and thorough job of caring for your new patient. If there is an animal rehab center nearby, you could contact them. In my town, there is a vet that works with a local rehab center pro bono, so it couldn’t hurt to check.
You can try and force feed a few mealworms to him tomorrow, if he still wont eat. Gently hold him securely in your hand, and try sliding part of a mealworm in his beak. He will continue eating, once the eating reflex kicks in, after the mealworm is in far enough. It is important that he gets some food in his belly, since their metobolic rate is so high. Mealworms are available at almost any petstore.
What you are doing now sounds just fine. sparrows can learn how to talk too (Y). Maybe google some more info. Any bird with torn flesh shouldn’t be released or near other animals, even other birds. they would pick at the wound.