One Friday night one of my rescue cats brought in a juvenile magpie. I caught the magpie by locking my cats outside, and trying to catch the bird with a blanket. As you can imagine I found it very distressing. Not as much as the poor magpie though and it was in a complete flap. As the cat’s owner, I felt it was my duty to save it.
Phoning the RSPCA
Firstly, I checked the bird for puncture wounds, if they have been bitten then they need to be treated with antibiotics within 48 hours. Luckily, our magpie had no puncture wounds and therefore not an emergency case. I spoke to the RSPCA who recommended taking him/her to the vets.
The issue was that it was now the weekend and I had no car to drive him/her to an animal hospital.
Taking care of Mags
As it would be with me for the night I put the magpie in a cat carrier. I placed it in a dark, quiet room with some mealworms, a blanket and water. The darkness calms them so it is a great treatment for shock.
Happily, Mags made it through the night which is the first hurdle. The most distressing thing was that her injured wing meant that its balance was way off. She struggled to walk and moved in a circular motion due to the weight of her wing.
I fed Mags some cat food so when I checked on her in the afternoon she was in better spirits. I continued to change her dirty blanket and kept feeding cat food, water and dried mealworms throughout the day.
Chirping at sunrise
By Sunday the bird was chirping with the sunrise as the protein and nutrition from the cat food had its effect. Her balance was much improved and she could move on her legs much more easily.
On Monday I’d grown quite attached to her and I was sad to see her go. My partner took her to the vets who said she was in good, feisty spirits. After the once-over from the vet, she was taken to the Lower Moss Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Knutsford.
Mags was treated and kept in an outdoor aviary before being released back into the wild. Hopefully she won’t have to encounter a cat ever again.
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