Reply to THIS thread
Start a NEW Talkback Thread
Talkback Home

Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Janice (23rd Apr 2015 - 17:18:37) Hi All .. my garden was covered in feathers this morning .. on investigation I found a pigeon terrified in a corner of the patio but he seemed quite ok other than being quite bald. I've managed to keep the cats from stalking him by covering him with a cardboard box (also put some bird food and water in with him) .. does anyone know what to do for the best .. I can't nurse him back to health and the vet can't do anything either ..any volunteers to look after him?

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - dawn (23rd Apr 2015 - 20:35:58) facebook/... Hart Wildlife Rescue

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Phill (23rd Apr 2015 - 21:06:13) Hi Janice, Sorry to hear about the pigeon. Please feel free to bring him into us tomorrow morning and we can take a look free of charge. We may be able to find a wildlife carer if there is a good prospect of a successful release. Regards, Phill Small World Vet Centre Station Road

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Janice (23rd Apr 2015 - 21:45:08) Thanks Dawn .. I'll give them a call in the morning .. little pigeon seems to be holding his own at the moment in his box .. fingers crossed .. J

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Janice (24th Apr 2015 - 11:51:52) Update: Pigeon doing well .. spend overnight under cover and then we took pigeon to Phil at the Small Vet Centre, Station Road, Liphook. This is a newly opened veterinary practice on Station Road. Phil assessed our pigeon to have a good chance of recovery so administered some antibiotics. The pigeon will be in an aviary for a few weeks recovery and while his feathers grow back some. I can't recommend Phil and his practice highly enough, very caring people and lovely new purpose fitted premises. I urge any pet owners to go along and put their pets in his very considered care. Thanks Phil.

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Finchie (25th Apr 2015 - 07:19:09) Hats off Janice ! Shhh - just between you an me - when I read this I thought poor pigeon, how to best put it out of its misery and pain quickly. Wrong again. Great to hear the outcome, brilliant persistence and use of Talkback ! Lucky I'm not a vet and the kids stay healthy :-) Happy Weekend (if a little less sunny), Cheers, Finchie

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - curiousity killed the cat (26th Apr 2015 - 19:21:14) Just read this thread - hope the pigeon is still making good progress. Following on from the last post, this reminded me of a question I have wanted to know for sometime. If Phil or another vet reads this, I would be glad to have clarification. I understand that by law, vets cannot charge to treat wildlife. I would like to know where the line is between wildlife and non wildlife. Its obvious that if you run down a deer in a car, its wildlife. But I daily feed a hedgehog who lives in my garden and I supply him with a warm dry hibernation box in winter, is he still counted as wildlife? If someone captured a wild rabbit and kept it in a cage as a pet, is it wildlife? What about a mallard duck that lives on a pond in a private garden, and is fed by the owner? Or a feral cat?. I heard that in Bordon, someone found a rat that had eaten rat-poison and was in pain and the finder took it to the local vet to see if there was an antidote. Sounds ludicrous, but the line must be somewhere as no one would take a slug to a vet. It highlights the contradictions and grey areas we have regarding our attitudes to animals. I\'d be interested to know where the line is?.

Re: Poorly Pigeon - attacked by cats - help? - Phill (27th May 2015 - 17:13:03) Hi 'Curiosity', I don't usually reply to anonymous posters but the question you ask is a good one- but better suited to a weekend conference than a website post, as it encompasses some quite big ethical issues. Firstly, vets are not legally disallowed to charge for wildlife work- we choose to do it pro bono. We are however obliged to alleviate suffering, as you would expect, and often that means humanely euthanizing a seriously injured wild animal that stands little or no chance of a successful return to the wild. It is worth emphasising that this is the objective: to return an animal back to the wild, as soon as possible (as they are very stressed in captivity) and 100% fit in order to be able to survive. It is rarely acceptable to keep disabled wild animals in captivity as 'pets'. Vet practices do not have facilities for rehabilitating most wildlife and so would need to pass them on following emergency treatment to specialists- most of whom are full to capacity. Regarding which species are considered wildlife - pretty much anything that lives wild and unsupported in the natural environment. Yes, our species is a bit picky about which we choose to help and which we choose not to help (or actively persecute), mostly depending on how we can exploit them, whether they encroach on 'our' living space or whether they are cuddly or not. People keep snails as pets (African Land Snails) or spiders (tarantulas etc), yet we often don't provide much care to the garden snails or the house spiders! Regards, Phill

Reply to THIS thread
Talkback Home