# Pigeon attacked by a cat - PLEASE HELP



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

Hi everyone,

Just saw a cat attacking a pigeon in my garden and got it out of its paws.
The pigeon was moving and was limping away from me, but I managed to catch it. There is a wound on his back, but doesn't look too serious (I can post pictures later. It's just happened, so I ran online to find some advice).
The pigeon is now in our garage secured in the puppy crate.
Is the crate alright or should I move him to a large box with holes for now? He is quite stressed out and tries to get out.
It's difficult to tell if anything is broken, I guess it's best to give him a little time to calm down.
He was eating seeds when the cat attacked him (still had one seed in his beak when I rescued him). 
I'm going to prepare some warm water/electrolyte solution and seeds. Hope that's ok.

Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He will need antibiotics, cat saliva is deadly for birds. Try and get betamox capsules (contains 500 mg amoxycillin) from a pharmacy. I know in some countries you need a prescription.

Keep him quiet for now until he recovers from the shock. You can then rinse the wound with lukewarm saline water and put an antibiotic cream on. First try to get hold of the capsules (1 or 2) will be enough for treatment. Then I will help with the dosage. Also get 1 of those medicine droppers that can measure less than 1 ml.


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

Thank you, Marina.
I'm in UK, have looked online for betamox online and so far it looks like it's only available with prescription. If I do find those capsules, are they in cream form or powder inside of the capsule?
Following advice online from a lady who rescues birds, I washed the wound with warm water with some drops of lavender and tea tree oil, which should help with infection.

Is styptic powder or cornflour good to dab onto the wounds?

Update:
Also just checked Amoxicillin 500mg on a pharmacy website and you do need prescription, so no way of getting that unfortunately.
Is there anything else that I could try to purchase in UK?


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

Are these any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RenaSan-Fi...ibiotic+cream+for+birds&qid=1577980849&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hibiscrub-..._1_1?keywords=hibiscrub&qid=1577980904&sr=8-1


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

You may want to call and see how to get antibiotics like amoxicillin. 
https://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/rescuecentres.htm
Thank you for helping the bird!


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I'm not familiar with those products. You can just use betadine or something similar. Any chance of taking him to a avian vet for treatment? Any pigeonrescue groups in your area? Just make sure they don't euthanize him, you just need to get hold of the antibiotics and can then treat him yourself at home. Is he at least eating and drinking by himself? If still a youngster, he might not be able to.


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

I have encouraged him to have water yesterday and by the end of the day he drank some water, but not much.
He has access to food, but I don't think he was eating any of it - should I force feed him?
I have been cleaning wounds and applied honey on them and left it there.
I'm going to clean that again, maybe with hibiscrub this time (it says it's effective against a wide range of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and viruses and vets always recommend it for wounds over here).
No pigeon rescues around in my area that I can see online, but I called one for advice that I have been dealing with before, however no specific advice there. I had an opportunity to take couple of birds to one animal hospital that is out of my area previously, but unfortunately when I called back the birds were dead. I have no way of knowing if it was really true or they euthanized him.

P.S. he doesn't look like a young pigeon as well as he was feeding on his own in my garden before the attack. If you could advice how to encourage him to eat that would be great. Thank you.


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

Update: I called another rescue that is far away from me, but specialises in wildlife.
The said no home remedy will do and he needs to be admitted. The have found another rescue for me that is also far from me, but they might have drivers in my area.
The guy didn't sound very friendly and kind of pushy.
I went to the rescue website (the one that he recommended) and it has "Queen's Award for voluntary service" badge - is this connected to Royal Patronage? This is what I read on 
www.pigeonrescue.co.uk website:
"If you have a bird in need of help please avoid calling the national charity that has royal patronage, their inspectors will very rarely take pigeons handed into their care to a rescue centre or wildlife hospital , the vast majority are immediately killed by neck dislocation."

Just thought I'd double check before contacting them..


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I'm in South Africa, so can't give advice regarding those centres. Problem is, he might not survive without antibiotics. On the other hand, the rescue centre might just put him down cause pigeons are considered a pest. 

He is not eating because he might be stressed. Forcefeeding him might just add to the stress.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Can you let him out of the crate and give him more freedom inside the garage (without him escaping). Put down a large bowl of seed and water and give him some quiet time by himself. Hopefully he will start eating. On Facebook there's a few sites: Pigeon Angels and Pigeon and Dove International rescue.


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

We have a bit of a progress.
I called another rescue centre, who was able to give some advice over the phone. They said that since it was over 24 hours since the attack now and the pigeon is still ok, maybe he was the lucky one and the wound wasn't infected that much.
They mentioned that I have done similar things to what they would do anyway, the man confirmed that raw honey, essential oil solutions and Hibiscrub may well work and maybe that is what kept the infection at bay. 
Pigeon seems to respond to soft voice and when persuaded enough, he drank quite a lot of slightly sugared water and I managed to force feed him peas without wrapping him in a towel. He didn't seem to be stressed out by it, unlike the very young pigeon that I had to force feed a few months ago (I could only do it with a towel and he struggled a lot). So I guess that's pretty good news. He is inside of the house since yesterday, since garage is messy and cold. Pigeon seemed to be quite perked up, although of course cautious.
I'm continuing cleaning wounds..
Will prepare more defrosted peas and I feel that he will be able to eat much more over the course of today (force fed for now...he was about to pick up mixed seeds on his own, but then changed his mind).
Other thing that I'm pretty sure of...one of his wings seem to be broken. This is not the one with the wound under it, but the opposite wing. I was unsure yesterday, but now I see he can only spread one wing to try and exercise, the other one is either in place or drooping down. Is bandage something I need to think of at a later stage once we get past the wound issue?


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Can you post a photo? The wing will need to be set asap, as the bones heal very quick. I've never set a wing, it will need to be done the correct way. A droopy wing does not mean that it's broken. Might just be injured. 24 hours is too short to be sure he won't die from infection. Hopefully he will survive. Let us know how he is doing.


----------



## gaiab (Oct 15, 2019)

Unfortunately pigeon didn't survive through the second night..
Thank you so much for all your help.


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Am sorryhe didnt make ut. Thank you for trying.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Sorry to hear that.


----------

