Injured bird someone please help?

Take the bird to the doctor. That’s the best way to ensure its survival.

Take the bird to your local vet, animal sanctuary or animal rescue society.Animal sanctuaries and rescue societies will probably care for the bird at no cost to you.

Every state has people who are licensed to care for injured wildlife. These are the people with the expertise to handle this properly.

Google the phrase “Wildlife Rehabilitators” plus your zip code for a list of the ones certified for your state and
local area and give one a call.

And consider transitioning you kitty to an indoor only cat. Statistically, indoor/outdoor cats have a much shorter lifespan by about 50% or more.

The bird will die without proper help. Help that you can’t provide.

If you let us know your zip code we can call around and look for a place that can help that is close.

The problem with situations like yours is that the bird needs to eat and you don’t know what kind of food it needs. I have done things like you’re doing and it doesn’t end well for the bird. Good intentions but you have a nervous, sick bird who will not be eating. The bird may also have internal injuries that you can’t see.

You are probably just prolonging the bird’s suffering. Even if you nurse it back to health, with one eye, it will likely die very quickly once it is returned to the wild. I know that you meant well, but sometimes it’s better to just let the circle of life proceed on its own.

And, far more importantly, either keep your cat indoors, or put some kind of bell on him. You can help prevent this kind of attack on other birds.

God you guys are f***ing cold. Let the jelly try. It sounds like she/he is doing okay. The wildlife rehabilitator is probably the best bet.

He’s probably going to die. Small birds are really compact so there’s a very good chance he has internal injuries that you can’t heal. To be honest, anywhere you take him is probably going to euthanize him, which is the best decision.

@Adirondackwannabe What? Taking the bird to a doctor is cold?

Actually, I think @animallover should have brought the bird to the doctor right after it was rescued, if they really concerns about the bird. “8 hours since the attack” seems like a pretty long time…

@Mimishu1995 Hey you know me better than that. The peeps saying kill it are cold. She’s giving it a chance. A rehab guy might be the best bet. A vet would probably pass on it.

I agree with other jellies who told you about wildlife rehabilitator and wish everithing goes fine. You should be prepared for everything but it is very sweet of you to take care of it. For things like that we are called human beings!

@Adirondackwannabe Really? A vet would pass on it? I didn’t know that. I just thought that a vet was supposed to save the bird no matter what, because they’re a doctor…

@Adirondackwannabe I was happy to read that I am not the only “crazy” person who takes care of animals and insects everytime I see one injured. This made me proud in some way…

@Mimishu

A vet runs a business (hopefully a profit making one) and there MIGHT BE a vet who will care for it but it’s pretty unlikely. Do you have any idea how many birds per year are injured by cats ? It’s A LOT.

This is not a rare occurrence unfortunately.

However, Wildlife Rehabilitatirs are not in a profit making business and they have special training in dealing with wildlife. A vet cares for domestic pets. There is a huge difference. Taking an injured bird to a vet is just wasting time since that’s what a vet will eventually do anyhow if he becomes involved. Or he may just euthanize it to end its suffering.

@Buttonstc Thanks so much. I learned something today :)

I was in chat last night when you came in. I know you are feeling pretty frantic. The bird probably won;t make it, especially after so long. You have done your best, and you are a special person for it. I’m sorry you are feeling so much stress about the situation. Cats will do what they do, and you can’t teach them differently. A bell is a good idea you’ve already seen here. The best thing now is to try to pull yourself together. Let us know how you are doing, okay?

Come on guys! Send some positive energy for the bird and hope for the best :)

Hope the OP is reading the answer and giving the bird the best treatment. I’m waiting for the best result.

@animallover The odds are pretty slim, but it’s made it 8 hours. Now you need to get it fed. What kind of bird is it? And a pro would give it better odds.

I say it was nature, you should have just let the cat finish it off.

The only problem with taking it to the vet is that it’s going to cost you at least $50 just to walk in the door.

great news the bird is doing better and made it through the night i just dropped him off at wildlife rescue and they have hope in the bird recovering

Call your local wildlife rescue group, every community has one. The bird needs to be started on an antibiotic stat as the odds of infection from being cat caught, bit or scratched is extremely high. Keep the bird warm, dark and quiet, no nature sound music, no domestic pets and kids around. Shock is a killer as well and the trauma of being attacked and then captured is very bad for delicate wild birds or any wild animal.

Provide water but no food, cat food is not something the bird will eat and depending on it’s species it will require a specialized diet of insects, or seeds and fruits. Also, never attempt to feed anything without it being properly hydrated, this is a death sentence on top of the other critical issues at hand.
If the bird survives the shock, doesn’t get an infection, it can live with one eye with little issue. I have a one eyed goose.

Get it to your local wildlife rescue asap for the best chances of it’s recovery. It is also possible it has other wounds you can’t see, not a good thing.

@animallover Yay..good job!

I know i did the right thing usually if a bird isnt savable i would let it go but i knew this bird had a fighting chance because i snatched it from my cat in the middle of the attack before it had been hurt worse than it was and look the bird is still alive to some it just might be a bird but me it is a living creature and deserves the same chance at getting help to survive as does any other animal like a cat or dog. i feel good knowing it is being taken care of by proffessionals now and just maybe can live a longer life because i did the right thing

That’s terrific. Good for you.

And please do give serious consideration to keeping kitty indoors; not as much as for the sake of the wildlife but for the health and well being of your cat.

You can get more info and statistics about why this is important from the ASPCA site.

Is your cat current on vaccinations for FIV/FELV ? that’s really important because one bite from another cat can easily transmit either. And I hope I don’t need to stress how important the Rabies vaccine is yearly, do I ?

Please take as good care of your kitty as you did the bird. Obviously you have a kind heart but it also needs to be combined with knowledge to give your cat the best quality of lifeso he can live to a ripe old age.

@Buttonstc in my opinion it is not the perfect option to keep the cat inside the house. Cats are independent and when they are indoors for long time they become aggressive or depressed. It keeps them away from dangers but it reduces the quality of their lives. A friend of mine had a cat and when she was away for hours the cat used to scratch the door and she waited for her in front of the window. The minute she opened the house the cat ran to the yard.

It depends upon the cat, their temperament and previous life experience before they came to you.

I know that most of mine were so traumatized by how tough life was on the mean city streets that they had zero desire to return to that.

One time when a roommate of mine foolishly left the patio door open and Velvet got out, basically that’s where I found her: sitting right by the glass patio door looking to get back in. That’s how I know how happy she was to have a comfy house and decent food rather than ducking cars and becoming road pizza.

But that’s why I’m not an absolutist about this. Each cat is different. That’s why I urged the OP to give serious consideration to transitioning to indoor only. Many cats are quite happy just going “window shopping” to hunt their wildlife.

Everybody needs to do their own research and make their own individual decisions for their own pets.

And to have an unvaccinated and/or unspayed, unneuteted cat outdoors on a regular basis is just plain ignorance bordering on animal cruelty.

I adopted a cat from Craigslist and they were totally unaware she tested positive for FLV. They were keeping her as an indoor pet but did admit that she got out twice when in heat and had already given birth to two litters. Had they taken her to a shelter, she would have been tested and immediately euthanized (because FLV is EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS).

So for the owners ignorance, this kitty could have paid with her life. All of this was TOTALLY PREVENTABLE.

All I expect from those who take responsibility for a pet is that educate themselves. It’s not that hard to do. Accurate info is all over the net.

And anyone allowing an unneutered and/ or unveccinated cat to roam free is an idiot.

@dina_didi: If you don’t live near a busy road, and your cat(s) have their nails, are vaccinated and spayed/neutered, it may be ok to let them out for short spurts when you’re home to keep an eye on them and during the day. I wouldn’t leave them out all night, or when you go out for long periods. I also wouldn’t let them out if they’re not spayed/neutered, because then you’re going to be the kittens’ grandmother.

@animallover Nicely done. You gave it a fighting chance. That’s all we ask for in this world.

@jca I agree with you. Nobody should leave their pets like that, especially when they are not taking care of them by vaccinating and neutering them. Leaving a pet alone indoors or outdoors for too long is not good, so I agree with you. Everyone who has a pet is responsible for it and should do the best to keep it happy and safe.

@jca

You’re absolutely right. For every unnecessary kitten born, a shelter cat dies.

In addition to adding to the horrible cat overpopulation problem, unneuteted cats get into more fights thus increasing disease transmission.

MOST cats can be happily transitioned to indoor life. Definitely not all. But certainly most. Or else you wouldn’t have every major shelter and animal welfare organization so strongly reccomending it.

There are some groups which will not place a cat unless the adopter agrees to keep it as am indoor cat.