Cat/Bird Problem!

Help! Stinkie just came in the back door with a bird! He opens the door and lets himself in and out now all the time (which is great and saves me time letting him in and out) and I saw him come running in past me in the kitchen just now from outside, and didn't think much of it. But then I noticed - he brought in a bird! He had gone outside, caught a live bird, and brought him in here. The bird is still alive, and I managed to get the bird away from him, but I don't think the bird is gonna live much longer, he's barely breathing. What should I do? Stinkie is looking for him and now knows that I have the bird. Should I just give it back to him or take it outside (where another cat will probably get him)?

Well, if nobody is gonna reply and give me some advice, I'm probably gonna just take Stinkie outside and give him back the bird, because I have A LOT of stuff I need to be doing right now. And I just don't know what else to do, the bird is suffering.

No! Look, this is not a chat room, and it takes a while for responces. Please, take the bird to a emergency vet, then a wildlife sactuary(sp?) meanwhile, keep the bird warm, in a quiet room to rest, and get out of shock. Give your cat a toy while he waits, and give him something to do.

Aww, poor little birdy
when my cats used to go out they sometimes caught birds, the ones that didn't look like they were gonna live I would pt in a shoe box or small box and cover the top almost all of the way to try to lessen their stress at the end.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude or anything. I'm just in a hurry. I've never had this problem before, with a cat bringing something inside. But I really don't have the money for an emergency vet, wish I did. I'll just keep it warm and leave it here on my desk on this towel for a while. Does that sound okay?

Btw, the bird has come off of it's side and is now laying normally, but it still doesn't look good for him. And he's so cute - he's small, black and yellow.

I don't mean to butt in or offend anyone, but have you considered keeping your cats indoors only? It is safer/healthier for them and obviously safer for birds and other small animals. Just a suggesion.
Fingers crossed and good vibes going out to the poor little birdie

I think you'd be surprised what a bird can live through. We had a baby bird who's nest fell almost two and a half stories. Dispite the fact she couldn't fly yet and we have a lot of roaming cats in the neighborhood, she survived and is now (at least I hope she made it through winter!) okay. Once she started growing we realized she must have broken her ankle, becuase it's rotated the wrong way, but it's never seemed to stop her.

I used to chase my grandparent's next-door neighbor's cat off of birds all the time. Most of the time they're just in shock. They need hours if not a day or two to recover, and they're fine afterwards. If the bird isn't flying or if it looks like it's not doing well, look up the number for the Department of Fish & Wildlife (It's under the Deptartment of Agriculture in the Federal Government section of the yellow pages) or a number for a local bird supply store, like Wild Birds Unlimited. They'll be able to get you in touch with someone who can take the bird off your hands and get it treated.

Perhaps you could call your local animal control and see if there is a wild animal rescue group in the area. They would know what to do with the bird.

Sorry y'all, I hate to have to tell ya' this, but the bird died. I could just tell that Stinkie had just done too much inside damage. So I took him outside to a place where the others birds hang out in the yard, because I figured that's where he would feel most secure. I kept him away from the cats and he died peacefully.

I feel bad about saying this, but I am proud of Stinkie for catching something. Does that make me a bad person? I know it probably sounds awful. It's just that my family is always making fun of him and saying that he could never catch anything and if he did it would scare him. This proves them wrong, I just hope that next time he doesn't come carrying whatever it is through the back door and cause me to become emotionally attached to it. Stinkie doesn't seem to be angry at me for taking it away from him. He got over it very quickly. But he really wanted me to see and be proud of him (maybe that's why he brought it in), so I tried to show him that I was.

Any bird caught by a cat is doomed. The cat's have a bacteria in their mouth that are fatal to birds, and even those birds who are not actually bitten in capture will die.

Originally Posted by hissy

Any bird caught by a cat is doomed. The cat's have a bacteria in their mouth that are fatal to birds, and even those birds who are not actually bitten in capture will die.

Click to expand...

Really? I didn't know that. I guess I learned something through all that.

The birds usually die of fright anyway. The two cats I have now dont seem at all interested in the birds. Some of my other ones have tho. Used to have to be very careful when they were in the garden, Smokie especially. It's just one of those things, (although I would prefer it not to be) cats are hunters and birds are prey.