According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) cats kill an estimated 55 million birds in Britain every year and such a predation could be contributing to long-term declines of garden birds. Cats also pose a significant threat to endangered mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a common cause of serious injury or death in cats, and are often cited by insurance companies as the most common cause of injury to cats, and the top insurance claim when all claims are ranked by cost.
According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) cats kill an estimated 55 million birds in Britain every year and such a predation could be contributing to long-term declines of garden birds. Cats also pose a significant threat to endangered mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a common cause of serious injury or death in cats, and are often cited by insurance companies as the most common cause of injury to cats, and the top insurance claim when all claims are ranked by cost.
If a cat brings a caught bird indoors, then immediate action is needed to save the bird’s life. The animal has to be freed immediately out of the cat’s mouth or claws. A very quick assessment of the animal is essential, which is being done with the aim to find open or displaced fractures, wounds involving in particular chest and abdomen and to detect signs of an acute bleed. An actively bleeding wound needs to be treated immediately. The best option is to use clean tissues or kitchen towels to compress the bleeding area gently but firmly until the bleed has stopped. Even a small amount of lost blood can result into a severe irreversible shock situation in birds. This is particularly true for small birds species.
What have cats, cars and wildlife in common? Cats are domesticated companion animals, cars are manmade machines, and both are able to kill living beings when not supervised or controlled. Cars kill cats and wildlife, and cats kill wildlife too. Neither of both scenarios is ‘natural’, both are artificial and manmade. So what is the impact, and what can be done to keep both, our beloved companion cats and wildlife, safe?
Goldfinch Little Prince has been admitted to us as a fledgling in July 2017 after being attacked by a cat. He suffered a fracture of his wing and several puncture wounds, which have been treated accordingly. Little Prince recovered well and after being weaned he has been moved into our communal outdoor aviary, to give him sufficient room for exercise and adequate company allowing him to adapt well to the outdoors.
Little Prince made very good progress, but was not flying well enough to be released at this time. After an extended period of close observation the decision has been made that Little Prince would be better off to be released at a later date, which meant that he had to stay with us over the winter, to give him extra time for exercise and practice.
