# Care Advice Please - Cat-Attacked Adult Woodie



## sir rogdeheaton (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi Folks,

New boy here. Came home from walking the dog this morning - wife and daughter telling me there is a flapping wood pigeon at side of house - what to do.

Turns out our cat - I think - attacked an adult woodie who came to feed on fallen bird feeder - tail feathers gone - left wing joint bloodied and injured - wing spread out. Otherwise, bird is alert, energetic(!) - not injured elsewhere, AFAIK.

I've placed in a roughly 0.5m W x 0.5m L x 0.3 m H plastic open box, with warm towel underneath and whole container covered with another towel.

Placed in summerhouse, with some air circulation, plus small deep water bowl with water- have not placed any food in at the moment.

Left it in peace right now - I'm not really competent on injury assessment - I think looks worse than is.

Just a general newbie - read the threads and faq.

Any input please re next step - just quiet and dark and warmth - replace water and put feed in on successive days?

Any advice gratefully received - yours sincerely

Sir rog de heaton

Newcastle upon Tyne


----------



## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Hello Sir Rog,

Greetings and welcome to PT, although circumstances are unfortunate. 

I'm in Cologne, Germany, most members in USA just waking, but some will come on-llne soon, probably. There are British members, Cyro51/Cynthia and JohnD near London.

I saw in Google Earth that Newcastle upon Tyne is up near Scotland, not near London, but we have some very active members in or near London. UK members in other places, also. 

Try contacting the *London Wildcare Trust*. They handle a lot of woodies, along with other animals.

http://www.londonwildcare.org/


PT member (Pigeon Talk forum) Tania does the _Update from London Wildcare_ thread: 

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=23504&goto=newpost

Sunday morning's a bad time for pigeon injuries. Vet's difficult to access, when available.

Seems you're quite literate and can research threads. Woodie will probably need antibiotics, since pigeons often succumb to infections caused by cat-inflicted injuries, even from those carried in the cat's saliva when there are no serious injuries.

I've handled street pigeons, but not woodies. From what I've read in these forums, their needs and handling vary a bit from those of street pigeons (rock doves) and doves.

I'll post this so maybe you can contact the experts. Good luck.

Larry


----------



## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*More PT threads on cat-attacked pigeons*

Some links in reference to cat-attacked pigeons:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=28984&highlight=attack

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/help-pigeon-wounded-by-cat-23262.html?highlight=attacked

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/ill-pigon-found-i-need-some-advice-22908.html?highlight=attacked



Also, *UK animal rescue links:
*
http://www.animalrescuers.co.uk/index.html


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I've emailed and PMed a couple of our UK members that Larry mentioned. If you can get your hands on some Clavamox (preferred; a combination of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid) or even straight Amoxicillin, we need to get the bird on it as fast as possible.

Pidgey


----------



## Noisy_minor (Jun 20, 2008)

Hello and welcome

It is really important you get the bird on antibiotics as pidgey stated within 12 hours. the bacteria carried in cats saliva is toxic to birds and once in the blood system it causes blood poisoning and ultimatly death.

I would move the bird into a card board with holes in the lid and place him in a quiet room and keep warm. this helps reduce stress as shock is also a big killer of birds. try to handle him as little as possible also


have you got any betadine? or something similar you could wash the wounds with this will help a little bit in the mean time. 

Do you have access to a rehabber or an avian vet?

and can you upload a picture?

sorry for all the questions i only ask them because i know they will be asked. 

Cheers


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hello and welcome!

We have a member in your area- Becca199212. She may have some Baytril, which isn't the ideal antibiotic, but can help. She might also know of a sanctuary that you can take it to or a vet that treats wild life.

Can you PM her your telephone number? I will e-mail her as well to alert her.

For the time being keeping him quiet and making water and food available is the best you can do. 

Cynthia


----------



## sir rogdeheaton (Aug 3, 2008)

*Thanks to Everybody for Posts*

Hi Folks, 

Many thanks for all your replies.

Sadly, despite keeping woodie warm and quiet in a box in the summerhouse, he sadly died quietly between 6 and 8 pm yesterday evening.

It could have been the trauma of my handling the bird, when I found him but I rather think the injuries were too great.

I really feel very bad about this, since it was our cat that attacked - and there is too much ground cover in the area where the woodies and other wild birds gather.

Am clearing the ground cover as much as possible to prevent repetition.

Once again, thanks to all for the prompt responses - sorry the outcome was not more positive.

sir rogdeheaton

newcastle upon tyne


----------



## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Sorry to read about this, Sir Rog. My condolences.

PT member Pidgey suspected the outcome would be thus, since it was a woodie, and also because it didn't have antibiotics. He figured it might succumb to "shock."

Visit us once in a while, and keep your hand in. Always nice to hear from members.

I once read that many humans have died from a wild tiger scratch because of the microbes under the claws, even though the wound was minor otherwise. 

Larry


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I am so sorry. If it had been shock then he would have died immediately of a heart attack. It used to be thought that cat caught birds died of shck within 24 hours, but it was recently discovered that it is pasteureall septicemia that kills them. Prompt treatment with Synulox will prevent this, but unless you have a branch of Companion Care (who are open on a Sunday) or a wildlife hospital that cares about wood pigeons near you then getting help on a Sunday is virtually impossible. In the past (befor I found Companion Care) I have had to argue strongly to get help for dogs and cats outside normal veterinary surgery hours. When you first posted I checked to see if there is a branch of Comanion Care near you...there isn't...yet!

Thank you for doing what you could for the woodie.

Cynthia


----------

