**EMERGENCY!** Found baby pigeon bitten by cat!

[ippychick]

I looked outside from the window and saw a cat sitting on the grass; saw something moving in front of it and immediately knew it was a pigeon!

I ran out and chased the cat away, and found a small pigeon on the grass;

It's breathing and seems otherwise ok, but it has a small bite in the wing!

The bite doesn't go through the wing, and there's also another small one on the baby's back.

The bird is most likely less than 2 weeks old, but seems otherwise healthy. We put some antiseptic on the injuries.

WHAT TO DO?!

Are cat bites/scratches fetal? Is there a chance it can survive?

If so, I'll take it to the vet.

I live in Denmark, and it's just 8am here ~ so I doubt any vets are open yet, and most are closed on weekends!

Please help me and give some directions!

I have experience from one other rescued baby pigeon, but there was no visual injuries that time.

[Pidgey]

Oh, dear... well, he'll need an antibiotic because cats often carry a bacteria in their gums that can be lethal to birds: Pasteurella multocida. The preferred antibiotic is Clavamox (Synulox and about a thousand other names--it's a combination of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid) but if you can't get that, you can usually get just straight Amoxicillin somehow.

The maximum dosing would be about 100 milligrams of medicine per kilogram of bird, orally, twice daily. Do you have a way to weigh him?

Pidgey

[ippychick]

Originally Posted by Pidgey

Oh, dear... well, he'll need an antibiotic because cats often carry a bacteria..

Hi Pidgey!

THANK YOU for getting back this quickly!

Ok, so antibiotics. We are trying to find a vet that is open here, which is not 100% guaranteed...

How long can she go on without the antibiotics? In case the vets are all closed.

Yes, we can weigh him! I'll let you know asap, have just put it inside a box to calm down.

It's one of these pigeons;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8izAJVSTExo

Also, here's the baby;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVsiKKQFlww

THANK YOU!

[Pidgey]

Oh, boy... that might be a "woodie". Cynthia (cyro51) is the best when you're dealing with one of them. He's not going to die immediately from an infection but the smaller they are the faster it seems to get them. Adult pigeons usually last about four days (some aren't bothered at all, by the way) and I think we've seen several youngsters last almost that long, too. Of course, you've got to get the medicine in them some amount of time before they're about ready to die...

Pidgey

[ippychick]

Originally Posted by Pidgey

Oh, boy... that might be a "woodie". Cynthia (cyro51) is the best when you're dealing with one of them...

Ok, that's good to know ~ we're trying to get the medicine ASAP!

I'll talk to Cynthia soon about these "woodies"! I hope they're easy to feed..

I wonder if there are any users here from Denmark? I'll have a look, as perhaps someone might have some extra antibiotics!

I'll keep you up to date!

Ippychick

[Pidgey]

Closest person to you that I can think of is myrpalom in Belgium.

I gotta' get to sleep though--it's past my bedtime!

Pidgey

[ippychick]

Good news:

Found a wildlife rehabilitation place; they said they can take the bird in! They also promised they won't kill it, no matter what.

So, waiting for an animal ambulance right now ~ ALL IS FINE.

Thanks for the help!!

Ippychick

[cyro51]

I am so glad that you found someone to care for him, please ensure that they know that it is a cat caught bird. If the bacteria get into a birds bloodstream (as opposed to the feathers where they might ingest it when they preen) then they tend to die within 24 hours, which is wht cleaning the wound and administering antibiotics must be dome as soon as possible.

BTW for the next time, woodies can be fed on mixed corn if eating on their own. They also particularly like defrosted garden peas.

Cynthia

[ippychick]

UPDATE:

Unfortunately there's no happy update.

I called the wildlife rehabilitation center, and they told the baby had died within hours after the arrival.

They were very surprised by it themselves, because the injuries weren't lethal. They suspected some internal bleeding.

Sorry to bring sad news about this! I had my hopes up for this baby, but I guess even a fast rescue doesn't guarantee a happy ending.

No matter what, at least the baby didn't die in the cat's mouth ~ that's all I can say. It's just sad.

[cyro51]

How sad! But did they give it antibiotics? To me it sounds as if it died of pasteurella septicemia, that kills within 24 hours.

Cynthia