Here are two of the most common problems she sees:
Baby birds
Kathy's advice:
Most of the baby birds brought to me are not in need of rescue but were taken from their
parents by well meaning but misinformed people. When a person finds baby bird on the
ground, he automatically assumes it has been kicked out or fallen out of the nest. This is
not usually the case if the bird is fully feathered. Almost all baby birds, when they
leave the nest, can barely fly, often end up on the ground. It may take the baby several
days before it is strong enough to fly back up into the trees where it is safe. This is a
natural process. Most babies just need a boost into a nearby tree or bush (to keep them
safe from kids, cats, and dogs!).
It's okay to touch a baby bird because the mother will
NOT reject it. Most birds have very little sense of smell and only care how their babies
look and sound.
The easiest way to tell if a baby needs to be rescued is to feel its chest.
A baby cared for by its parents will be quite plump and the meat on either side of its
breastbone will be rounded and even with the breastbone. If the meat is sunken in on
either side of the breastbone, the bone sticks out like the keel of a boat and you
can pinch the bone between your thumb and first finger, this baby has probably lost
his parents to a predator and should be taken to a rehabilitator immediately.
DO NOT give the baby bird water with an eyedropper. This
is a good way to choke or even drown it. NEVER try to feed a cold baby bird, as a cold
baby cannot swallow or digest food.
First, warm the bird. Line a shoebox with a towel,
place the bird on the towel and put the box half on-half off a heating pad set on low. A
higher setting will cook the baby! Then, call a rehabber! Sometimes the difference between
life and death can be minutes. Don't wait, CALL ME! That's what I am here for!
If the baby chirps and opens its mouth to be fed before
you can get it to a rehabber, a temporary emergency diet can be made using one-half can of
canned cat food (any flavor) and one hard boiled egg yolk (not the white). Mash these
ingredients well and using a pair of blunt tweezers, grab a glob of the meat mixture and
place it in the BACK of the baby's mouth, where it will be much easier for him to swallow.
Don't put food in the front of his mouth; he will have trouble swallowing. If any food
gets on his face, immediately wipe it off with a damp rag or Q-Tip. Food left on the
baby's face or body may cause a bacterial infection and damage any growing feathers.
Baby birds eat constantly. In the wild they receive more
than 100 meals a day from their parents, one bug at a time! In captivity this is no
exception. It is a continuous job from sunup until well after sundown. It's an exhausting
schedule, but the rewards of watching the baby return successfully to the air and freedom
far outweigh the endless hours of nonstop feeding. It is a feeling that warms my heart.
Baby
squirrels
Kathy's advice:
Most of the baby squirrels brought to me were grabbed by someone's cat or orphaned and
starving to the point that they bailed out of the nest in a desperate search for food. The
first and most important thing for a baby squirrel (or any baby for that matter) is
WARMTH. Babies, both bird and mammal, will die from cold before they die from a lack of
food. Also, a cold baby will not or cannot eat.
To warm the squirrel, line a shoebox with a towel, place
the squirrel on the towel and put the box half on-half off a heating pad set on low. Place
a washcloth or other small, light towel on top of the baby to contain the heat. Having the
box half on and half off the pad allows the baby to move to the warm side if it's cold or
to the cool side if it is too warm. Then, call a rehabber!
Once the baby has been well warmed, is active, and ONLY
if you believe it is severely dehydrated, a SMALL amount of Pediolyte or other electrolyte
solution can be given with an eyedropper. This must be done VERY carefully as it is easy
to get the fluid into the baby's lungs and drown it or make it susceptible to pneumonia.
However, it is always best to contact a rehabber before attempting this. As with baby
birds, sometimes minutes make the difference between whether a baby squirrel lives or
dies. CALL ME! That's what I am here for.
At my facility I have many, many animals: dozens of
squirrels, several baby doves who were attacked by cats and are slowly recovering from
their wounds; an orphaned baby sparrow who fell from its nest and was found baking in a
shopping center parking lot; a kingfisher who became trapped in a pool enclosure and
almost drowned, a screech owl who suffered a broken wing after it was hit by a car; two
bluejays who were shot by BB guns; a crow who was fed a diet of only peanut butter and
bread; a turkey found as a day-old baby, a baby deer with a mild fractured leg suffered
when it was hit by a car; a baby bunny whose nest was discovered by a cat and is the sole
survivor, and many, many others. Stay tuned for updates!
Danger from
cats
Many of the animals Kathy receives are the victims of cat
attacks.
"These are not wild cats who are hunting to
eat," she noted. "These are someone's pet cats, like yours and mine, who go out
during the day and do what comes so naturally to them: hunt and kill."
It is not malicious, she noted, just the nature of a cat.
"Don't be fooled into thinking that because you have
never actually seen your cat with a dead bird, he is not out there doing his fair share of
hunting," she said.
Domestic cats kill more than 7 million song birds each
year in this country and that is only a conservative estimate. The actual total is much
higher, Kathy said. The ONLY sure way to make sure your cat is not killing is to keep him
inside where he is safe from the many dangers outside such as automobiles, BB guns, other
cats, and diseases such as rabies and leukemia.
"If
you have to let your cat out, please put it on the night shift which means out only after
dark and in first thing in the morning," she said. "The only thing your cat can
kill at night are rats and mice. Baby birds,their parents, baby squirrels and their moms
are safely tucked in their nests in the trees out of harm's way. It's such a simple thing
and it could make a world of difference to the wildlife around your house."
If you have questions or need more information, e-mail Kathy Paynter.
Kathy Paynter is licensed
by the state of Florida to perform wildlife. rehabilitation. She has worked with wildlife
for more than 20 years, beginning in Pennsylvania and continuing this labor of love
when she moved to Florida 11 years ago. Kathy works with birds and mammals, from mice to
deer and from hummingbirds to great blue herons.