What do i do now?!?

[RebelRogue]

Shamelessly reposting here for traffic. Just rescued this tiny little thing from rebelcat. Seems unharmed and no blood. But what do I do now? Also how do I keep it safe inside outside the reach of the cat?!? No idea how to care for it or what to do next.

Ooh, am sure someone will know the actual answer. RSPB aren't interested apparently. Our dog caught a blackbird and we took it to our vet who will take wildlife. Not sure what they did with it- DH suspects hit it over the head and put it in the bin but I like to think they fixed it and set it free

The RSPB web site says
We aren't able to rescue or look after birds or wildlife that are injured or in distress. These charities can help with rescuing or finding care:
RSPCA: 0300 1234 999 (England and Wales)
Scottish SPCA: 03000 999 999 (Scotland)
USPCA: 028 3025 1000 (Northern Ireland)
Maybe phone one of them and ask.

We took a sick hedgehog to the vet and they cured it. No payment. And we got to release it in our garden too!

So far my friends have advised to give t back to the cat,let it die,put it in the hedge and throw it(gently) out of the window.

Put it outside and keep cat in, give it a chance to get away? Its parents may be looking for it.

Our rescues are put in a higher than ground level place. The ones that have survived, that is

Put it outside and keep cat in, give it a chance to get away? Its parents may be looking for it.

This.
Although, it's parents may not come back for it now. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot more you can do.

Just rang RSPCA went through a billion option to emd up with an automated answer that said the same thing as that website. Guess I'll get the cat in and keep it in and put little birdie outside.

Is it old enough to look after itself? If yes, in the past i have put them in a quiet dark place, cardboard box usually, until they are flappy again, then taken the box outside and let them fly out.

It's probably in shock, be prepared it may die from the stress - that's why the quiet and dark is important.

I wouldn't let it go at night, only in the daylight.

Good luck.

it doesn't look newborn, could it be a fledgling in which case leave it outside and it should sort itself out in a few days?

Don't give it back to the cat it will die a horrible death. Keep it warm and dark, don't give it any food unless you have the right equipment and knowledge to do so. They need to be fed every 20 mins. Take the bird to the vets asap. Most vets will take it for free.

I can't get to a 24 h vet place,would it be worth a ring though?

Where are you op? There are wild bird rescues, try facebook or google for your area. I know a South Wales rescue, they take babies through to older cat casualties etc

I think it's worth ringing the vet's OP, like you've mentioned. That's what I'd do. Good luck! :)

Most vets would be aware of a bird rescue in their area, I know ours picks up from local vets quite often

Vets said it was ok to bring it tomorrow after work. Put in an old shoe box and give it access to water. Hid it in a wardrobe away from the cat.

It's not very old as it still has the yellow bits at the sides of its beak. Can you do an appeal of Facebook? We have a local 'bird lady' who takes in all found/injured/rescued from cats birds and nurses them back to health before releasing back into the wild if appropriate. It is very labour-intensive though, as a pp said they need very regular feeding! If no help like this locally than your local vet is your best bet.

Aww sweet little fella! Google local animal and bird rescue centres or the vet might know of some if you contact them. I'm not sure I could bring myself to let him go tonight, I think he would be defenceless against cats and foxes at night.

Found this thread:
www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/901/p/46183/303971.aspx

It says to put it back outside, without anything, ideally under a bush so that parents may find it and feed it.

Maybe keep the day inside and keep an eye on the bird tomorrow.

Good luck! Update us if you can

Respect for an early fledgling OP, my blackbirds are still renovating their old nest so no babie yet.

I rescued (several) birds from my cat. The vets advice to me was that if there was no blood, it was most likely in shock and to:

Put it in a cardboard box for an hour, or a few. Then keep the cat in, put box in the garden, open lid, and recovered bird will hopefully fly away. They always did.

Good luck!

this is a useful guide

So I could keep it in overnight then put it outside in the morning before i go to work, with the cat locked in?
Went out for a fag and there was a lot of tweeting, wonder if it was the parents looking for her.

Maybe advice for next time: Peg a box on the washing line and pop it in there. The cat won't be able to get it again but the parents will find it.

I feel very sad about its parents looking for their baby.

poor birdie.

Could you pop the box outside and wait a bit to see if the parents appear? If not, then keep her indoors overnight?