Injured bird - help!

handels

handels

Cathlete
The cat brought in an injured bird. It has a pretty bad wound. It is exposed muscle about 2cm (the bird is like 5 inches long). I cleaned with H2O2 and put a little baking soda to stop the bleeding.

I live in Mexico City so we don't really have wildlife centers. I called my vet and she basically laughed at me and said it's a bird, there's nothing to do and it will die in a few hours.

My husband says he will put it out of its misery but I can't really stand the thought of it. I know my dad and uncles who are outdoorsmen would say that's the humane thing to do.

I don't even know what kind of bird it is so I have no idea how to even find out if I can help it. I don't know how severe of an injury that is for a bird or how much pain/fear it's in. It's clearly in shock right now. I have it in a shoe box with a lightweight cloth around it.

Should I just try whatever I can to feed/treat it while it's alive? Leave it in a warm quiet place and see if it passes peacefully? Let my husband put it out of its discomfort?

I already put a bell on my cat's collar as soon as I took care of the bird. I feel really bad although I know it's sort of a natural event.

Thoughts?
 
My dogs got a rabbit a couple months ago and i felt the same way as you do. I could see it was only a superficial wound and I couldn't just leave it. Fortunately, we have a vet that works with a wildlife rehab organization in the area and they took it, sutured his wounds and sent him to Hawkcreek.

With a bird, well... I guess I'd just keep it warm until it dies. I had another rabbit last year that my cat got and it was hopeless for him. I kept him in a box with blankets until he passed.

It is a natural part of nature, but cats really shouldn't be outdoors. Mine aren't allowed out anymore.
 
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Now it has recovered from the shock and is walking around the box and scratching against the sides, I assume because it wants to escape.

However, it still has a bloody patch on its back. I don't know if I should try to treat that again or leave the guy alone. I read that if I release him with the bloody spot, other birds will pick at him :(

I put some foods (wet grains and cat food) in there in case he's interested. I guess I'll just see if he makes it through the night and can manage to clot that wound. I don't know how much baking soda it's safe to put on him and I don't have styptic powder around.
 
I would just keep him safe for now. If it makes you feel better, I just found a dead mouse on the floor in my cellar. Gift from the cat. But my philosophy is, if the mice come inside, the cats have no rules.
 
You'll want to keep him warm. Fill a sock with dry rice, knot it at the end, and put it in the microwave for a minute and a half. Then put it in the box with him overnight. You'll need to microwave it again every few hours. But this will keep him comfortable. Hugs to you both!

Jonezie
 
The poor little guy passed away in the night. I think that without antibiotics, they don't stand a chance with a cat bite.

My husband found another dead bird in our garden shed the same day. Hopefully the bell on the collar will stop the madness.

I've had this cat since he was a kitten and this is the first time in his 7 years that he's been able to go outside. If I ever doubted animal instincts, I don't now. Those guys are made to hunt.
 
Oh yeah they are! Mine are killers. I have 3 and one morning I was running out to work and I heard a squeaking. I looked and all 3 of them were surrounding a mouse that had come into the house. I just said, "Ok ... I expect that to be taken care of by the time I get home". I'd actually like to let them out to take care of the moles in my yard, but it's really not safe for them. There are too many things that can happen.
 
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