Hi, newbie in need of help :)

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judytwoshoes

judytwoshoes

Hatching
Jun 24, 2015
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Hello everyone.

My horrid cat has just wandered into the back yard with a baby chick, still alive but shaken. I kind of know where it might have came from but I know what the man is like and there's no way he would give the poor thing any care or attention so I've decided to try and help it myself, at least until it is well enough to go back there.

I have put it in a cat carrier in my garage on a warm towel and with some water. I didn't want to prod and poke too much as it has clearly been through enough. What kind of thing can I give it to eat? It's too late for any pet shop so it would have to be something easily accessible until tomorrow.

I'm guessing it's around 3 weeks old maybe but correct me if I'm wrong.

Any advice is appreciated

Thank you
400
 
Welcome to BYC!

The chick could heal if treated. Cat bites are toxic to birds and usually they need special antibiotics to heal. That doesn't mean your bird won't heal without them, but if the bites have broken the skin then antibiotics are wise. If there are no external injuries, there still may be internal, so watch for strange behaviors.
Continue to keep it calm, warm, and hydrated. Give it fluids with electrolytes in them. Chicks love wheat bread, scrambled eggs (cooled), finely chopped greens, millet and bird seed, or other types of grain. All this should keep it from going hungry until you can get some baby chick starter/grower food.

I hope everything turns out well! Best of luck.
 
Thank you very much for your advice. I will do it a little bit of scrambled egg. I couldn't see any injuries but I also didn't want to distress it too much. I will leave some food before bed and try to get some chick feed tomorrow, that's if the poor little thing survives the night :(
 
Make sure you help it drink, if it is not walking, Hold it's head near water and dip the beak in the water. Also keep it out of drafts and warm. If sick or hurt they really need warmth too, I am talking 85-90 degrees.
 
If you find wounds you can flush with saline solution, then apply some Neosporin (NO caine). You'll need to watch and sniff to see that she is doing okay. If there is a bad odor, the wound is infected and will probably require antibiotics. You don't want flies getting to her wound - they lay eggs in them and the resulting maggots are much worse to deal with than original wounds

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hope she recovers fast...
 
Morning everyone. Thank you so much for your replies.
When I awoke this morning I put off checking on the chick because I'm a softie and was fully expecting her to have not made it through the night. I've just gone to see her (up in my bedroom, in a cat basket next to the radiator) and she was sat there, eyes open and looking well. I went to pick her up to offer her a drink and she jumped up and ran behind my wardrobe!

I'm so pleased that she is mobile and perked up a bit. I'm not going to hassle her too much as she will be scared but I also don't want her running around my bedroom long term!

It's a great improvement on how she was last night so I'm hopeful she makes a full recovery :)
 
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Bless Your Heart judytwoshoes, this is wonderful news to hear, as mentioned push fluids including diluted apple juice if she isn't showing much interest in plain water. And continue the warm, dark, and quiet until she is drinking and eating very well on her own, maybe your kitty didn't break the chicks skin.

As GitaBooks mentioned, The bacteria in a cats mouth is infectious and potentially fatal to most animals, the antibiotics required to treat cat bites can usually only be obtained with a prescription, ie. Baytril - enrofloxacin, which is similar to the ciprofloxacin prescribed for humans.
 

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