Last night my cat caught a baby Mistle Thrush, I’m not sure what to do with it? It’s still got fluffy feathers around its head but it is hopping around and spreading its wings! Mum/dad is still bringing it food. I was sure it would survive in the night due to wildlife, but to my delight it has! I did have it in a box but the mum can’t feed it, so I’ve taken it out the box, but I’m worried my cat will get it again!
any advice would be greatly appreciated
Aww poor wee fledgling , it could very well be mistle thrush as i saw my first one a few days ago, as long as the parents are still feeding it, best leave well alone and if possible keep the cat indoors until it disappears and finds its wings to give it the best possible chance of survival. Sadly lots of fledglings get predated by cats at this time of year and even by other birds.
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
I feel so bad! It’s survived all night and morning, mum had just been down to feed it! But I’m about to go out! Don’t know whether to put it in a box until I come back to prevent cat from getting it?
The more human intervention the more likely the parents will abandon it, as a general rule for wildlife protection is leave well alone
Useful Information from the RSPB in the link below
Any update on the youngster?
It would be great if you could keep the cat in for a few days until it can start to fly .
It beats me why a cat owner sees it necessary to box up a wild animal and remove it from its parents, instead of picking up and removing the pet. In the same way that many parents leave their kids to do what they like, increasingly so these days, same with some (not all) cat owners.