SirenSongWoman
Cathlete
If you've read my other thread you know I'm home sick, dealing with what appears to be a gallbladder issue. I'm fairly certain surgery will be involved and am trying to put off heading to the hospital until Monday, for obvious reasons. I'm hurting but not in so much pain I can't last, it just hurts more when I'm up and moving so, previously, I joked that my sudden condition absolves me of laundry duty. If you know my posts you know I have 5 cats and take care of 3 others who, when weather is nice, go outside. Otherwise, the 3 are kept in my downstairs kitchen (I use an upstairs kitchen because it's nicer and has more light... My house used to be split into upstairs/downstairs apartments and I'm hanging onto both kitchens, for now).
At about 6pm I decided I was in decent enough shape to head to the basement to continue with the laundry. I had to go through the downstairs kitchen (where the Kitchen Cats hang... I'd let them inside earlier and one had a surprise he'd, evidently, dragged to the basement while my attention was diverted. I didn't find out until THIS trip. I was sickened when I entered the kitchen and saw one of the KC's spitting feathers from his mouth. They all took off when I entered leaving, in the middle of the room, a poor, defenseless pigeon with a wide-open bleeding wound in the center of her back. The poor thing stood, breathing heavily, batting it's eyelids, stunned. The cats were out of the way as I quickly reached into the adjoining mud room for a cat carrier. I grabbed a fresh towel to line the carrier and carefully scooped up the poor bird and set it inside, closing and locking the carrier door. I could feel the sweet bird's heart beating and was trying not to shock it any further as I did this among the cats (two confused, one annoyed that I'd snatched away his "kill"). I set the occupied carrier on a crowded table in my mud room and closed the door so the bird didn't have to fear the cats, then I raced to get dressed. I was glad that, even though I'd been trapped at home all day with my little gallbladder issue, I'd still gotten up early and got all cleaned up and made up...
So, I quickly drove to the nearest Emergency Vet Clinic, knowing they don't deal with wild animals but hoping they would be willing to humanely euthanize the pigeon. The whole way there I gently talked to the confused bird as it batted its' eyelids. So I get to the vet clinic and the doctor said they just weren't equipped to deal with wild critters (I love that place, though, because they have this really great cat who wanders the hallways... didn't get to see her this trip). The doctor gave me directions to the nearest clinic that deals with wildlife, about 5 freeway exits away. I was worried the bird would pass on the way but was really freaking when she called the clinic and they were CLOSED. Just like with my gallbladder, every trauma seems to happen after everything's closed, ever notice that?! Meanwhile, my discussion with the doctor toggled between two topics: A safe location in my house for Pidgy and the doctor's recent gallstone experience... I can't make this stuff up.
The doctor looked over Pidgy and suggested she looked pretty good. "Stable" was her word. She told me the wildlife clinic patches up all manner of wild critters and re-releases them into the wild. Hopefully, Pidgy would make it through the night. I have a bunch of styrofoam cups I keep for work-related potlucks and parties and I took two of those, cut them down, and made two "dishes," one for water, the other for birdseed, setting them just inside the carrier. Then I set her up in the mud room and opened the blinds so she could see the daylight in the morning, if she lasted. Then I left her in a quiet space so she could have some peace, get some sleep, and, hopefully, recover - or pass in a place without fear of "vicious" attack cats. I didn't hold out a lot of hope because I know many wild birds die from tiny bite wounds after being jumped by a cat.
Okay, here's the heartwarming part: At 11:00pm I went to check on Pidgy and she was sitting up in the back of the carrier, batting her eyes, evidently no longer in shock and perfectly fine. I was just about to turn away when something next to Pidgy caught my eye. I moved in close to the carrier for a better look. It looked like a little white cotton ball but I quickly realized that was impossible and got closer. It was an EGG...! An egg with a little blood smear. Little Pidgy was preggers when she was attacked. She was inches from death but now she's fine - and now she's going to be a mom! I saved a mommy! Tomorrow morning she goes to the wildlife rescue place where I'm sure they'll know how to care for her and her little bundle of joy.
What a strange day in my life.
At about 6pm I decided I was in decent enough shape to head to the basement to continue with the laundry. I had to go through the downstairs kitchen (where the Kitchen Cats hang... I'd let them inside earlier and one had a surprise he'd, evidently, dragged to the basement while my attention was diverted. I didn't find out until THIS trip. I was sickened when I entered the kitchen and saw one of the KC's spitting feathers from his mouth. They all took off when I entered leaving, in the middle of the room, a poor, defenseless pigeon with a wide-open bleeding wound in the center of her back. The poor thing stood, breathing heavily, batting it's eyelids, stunned. The cats were out of the way as I quickly reached into the adjoining mud room for a cat carrier. I grabbed a fresh towel to line the carrier and carefully scooped up the poor bird and set it inside, closing and locking the carrier door. I could feel the sweet bird's heart beating and was trying not to shock it any further as I did this among the cats (two confused, one annoyed that I'd snatched away his "kill"). I set the occupied carrier on a crowded table in my mud room and closed the door so the bird didn't have to fear the cats, then I raced to get dressed. I was glad that, even though I'd been trapped at home all day with my little gallbladder issue, I'd still gotten up early and got all cleaned up and made up...
So, I quickly drove to the nearest Emergency Vet Clinic, knowing they don't deal with wild animals but hoping they would be willing to humanely euthanize the pigeon. The whole way there I gently talked to the confused bird as it batted its' eyelids. So I get to the vet clinic and the doctor said they just weren't equipped to deal with wild critters (I love that place, though, because they have this really great cat who wanders the hallways... didn't get to see her this trip). The doctor gave me directions to the nearest clinic that deals with wildlife, about 5 freeway exits away. I was worried the bird would pass on the way but was really freaking when she called the clinic and they were CLOSED. Just like with my gallbladder, every trauma seems to happen after everything's closed, ever notice that?! Meanwhile, my discussion with the doctor toggled between two topics: A safe location in my house for Pidgy and the doctor's recent gallstone experience... I can't make this stuff up.
The doctor looked over Pidgy and suggested she looked pretty good. "Stable" was her word. She told me the wildlife clinic patches up all manner of wild critters and re-releases them into the wild. Hopefully, Pidgy would make it through the night. I have a bunch of styrofoam cups I keep for work-related potlucks and parties and I took two of those, cut them down, and made two "dishes," one for water, the other for birdseed, setting them just inside the carrier. Then I set her up in the mud room and opened the blinds so she could see the daylight in the morning, if she lasted. Then I left her in a quiet space so she could have some peace, get some sleep, and, hopefully, recover - or pass in a place without fear of "vicious" attack cats. I didn't hold out a lot of hope because I know many wild birds die from tiny bite wounds after being jumped by a cat.
Okay, here's the heartwarming part: At 11:00pm I went to check on Pidgy and she was sitting up in the back of the carrier, batting her eyes, evidently no longer in shock and perfectly fine. I was just about to turn away when something next to Pidgy caught my eye. I moved in close to the carrier for a better look. It looked like a little white cotton ball but I quickly realized that was impossible and got closer. It was an EGG...! An egg with a little blood smear. Little Pidgy was preggers when she was attacked. She was inches from death but now she's fine - and now she's going to be a mom! I saved a mommy! Tomorrow morning she goes to the wildlife rescue place where I'm sure they'll know how to care for her and her little bundle of joy.
What a strange day in my life.