Conure injury via cat

[Demonique]

Hi all,

my 4 mth old conure just had her first and hopefully last run in with a cat that darted into my home this morning. My own cat Luna, went after the stray asap and chased it out. unfortunately the stranger cat startled my baby and knocked her down.

A thorough checkover has shown one small perforation where either a claw or tooth lightly pierced the skin under the left wing by the shoulder joint. minimal blood, and she's otherwise back to being her normal self, currently playing with her bell. I plan on following up with a vet visit later this week.

My question is this, I am slightly worried about infection, and would like to do what I can to minimize that risk. I have never had a bird with an injury, so this is new territory for me. Have seen posts online stating peroxide, but I want advice from others who may have been in this boat before. The vet's admin didn't think it warranted an immediate visit (I didn't either, but called anyways). What could?should I use to clean the site other than water?

 

[Mayden]

Infection from being cut is not the biggest problem, the bacteria in the cats syliva is lethal to birds, he needs to see a vet right away if he has been bitten.

 

[Echo]

I agree. Please call your vet ASAP and see what they tell you to do.

 

[lizardsmells]

Please see a vet today! Cats have bacteria in their saliva that will kill a bird very quickly!

 

[greycloud]

Cats saliva contains pasteurella that is deadly to birds! ASAP to the vets!

 

[Demonique]

Not exactly the kind of suggestions I was looking for. Honestly I'm not that crazy, I've had birds for nearly 10 years now ranging from handfeeding newly hatched budgies to an african grey my ex left on my doorstep that I finally had to re-home for his own well being.
I spent nearly 30 min on the phone with the vet's office answering questions and checking her over before they decided it wasn't even remotely severe enough to warrant the $300 weekend/emerg fee. It's a small sore under the wing, absolutely nothing on top as would be expected had the wing actually been bitten. The office figured more likely claw nicked as she was in the air. Yes, there is a small chance it's a tooth mark, but very small. I trust my Vet and her office staff, they have looked after all my fids in the past as well as our ferret and cat. If they thought I should bring her in, I would have. I was simply here looking to see if anyone had suggestions on what to use other than warm water to keep the area clean and lessen alternate infection as it's the one question I did not think to ask at the time and this is the first fid I've had with a open wound injury so it's new territory for me.

I will continue to monitor my baby and go on the advice of the office, and continue with the already scheduled wellness appointment later this week unless something changes. Right now I have a happy little conure enjoying her toys and chasing her cage mate for scritches as usual, with no sign anything ever happened. If anyone has any suggestions save for jumping on the "immediate vet" bandwagon, I'd appreciate it. For the others, I do understand the love we all have for our fids, the amount of young new fid parents that ghost, and the feeling of needing to state things. A suggestion perhaps..with posts like this where vet is already mentioned, it might be an idea to simply offer the suggestions asked for and inquire more about the vet convos within the post. Although I know not intended, the posts came off almost attackish rather than at all helpful. I'm sorry I didn't clarify more in my original post about the vet call, that is my bad. It's been awhile since I frequented a forum, and I forgot how things tend to get blown up if not thoroughly explained.

 

[mysteryfoxes]

I haven't heard of any simple home solutions to such predicaments. I do hope your baby is okay, and I hope that cat doesn't find its way back in!

 

[cdog]

Even if it was a claw, cats lick their claws all day which means they get the bacteria from the saliva on their claws so essentially it is the same as getting bit. $300 is nothing compared to the life of your fid. I know you don't want to but you really should play it safe and take your fid in now. If you choose not to please know that cat saliva can kill a parrot in 24 hours so is you notice anything different about your fid, anything at all, please rush her to the vet ASAP.

 

[Demonique]

Cdog, if it eases your mind, I have $900+ in a savings account simply for the furred and feathered members of the family, it usually runs about $1200, but we've only recently nursed Kujo (ferret) back to health after a 3 week fight for his life. If the Vet wanted Baby in, she'd have gone in. As it is I cancelled the overnight camping trip planned for the weekend so that I can monitor her and the wound site (rather religiously). Trust me, I think she is learning to hate my approaching her right now because it means I'm turning her over and extending the wing, this is the first day in 2 weeks since she's actually made noise, I had begun to think she was mute. this afternoon she actually screamed at me when I approached the cage for the 4th time to check. I've dealt with a broken leg (night fright) strained wing, broken blood feather and egg binding, even a plucker. This is simply a first for minor puncture.

 

[Parrotmamma]

I think if your vet says it's okay , then I would not worry. You sound like you have it under control and know what to watch for. If it were me I would use peroxide or silver hydrosol if you have it . Manuka honey is also good for wounds : )

 

[cdog]

I am glad you are monitoring her so well, as long as nothing changes with her I think she will be ok with it. Just let us know if anything happens and if it does, don't hesitate, just bring her in to the AVIAN vet.
Just a quick question, your vet is a registered avian vet right, because anyone can call themselves avian vets, the only ones you can trust are the ones that are on the list of board certified avian vets.

 

[friedsoup]

If it's been over 12 hours you should be safe I lost my first GCC to a kitten scratch so small even the vet almost missed it and even with the antibiotic he died the next morning on the way to the vet I cried so hard I nearly wrecked my truck.

 

[Roxy_9_2011]

I help out at a bird store/shelter. They use Neosporin Cream on cuts like the one you described. But it has to be the Cream kind, the other kind of Neosporin is too greasy and gets all over the feathers. Hope your birdie will be okay

 

[Demonique]

Thankfully our vet I believe is on the avian list, she's the only one that deals with birds as her primary, and she is wonderful. There are 2 clinics within 45 min of home that deals with birds, but Janice is the only one I'd take her to. Parrotmomma, I have peroxide on hand (what household with 3 young kids doesn't?) and will dab that on... the polysporin...think I'm out of the cream based one...with my boys it doesn't last long, but this gives me added incentive to go pick up. Right now she's snoozing in my ponytail again. In the 2 weeks (tomorrow) since she's come home with us it is her favorite place to sleep. We are still settling on a permanent name for her, my daughter wants princess, 6yr old son wants hotwheels, my 3 yr old boy wants Cracker and/or "piwate pawwot", the hubby wants "stu" and jokes around about labeling a pot with "stu's bird bath", and I'm thinking tango. Should be interesting to see what name wins out on this one, and I'm sure Cosmo (Quaker) would be happier if she's finally named too!

 

[Parrotmamma]

Yes , peroxide is the a must around here too. You can do a 50/50 mixture of it with water in a squirt bottle and it works great for cleaning counter tops, windows and all kids of things.
That's cute she likes your pony tail , my GCC (Crackers) loves to get on my pony tail and then chew my hairband in half :11:
Little devils aren't they...lol

 

[lizardsmells]

I am sorry if I came off as attackish. you made no mention in your initial post if you had any experience with birds or if you had a reputable avian vet with knowledgeable staff on hand. I would expect a typical vet admin to say 'no big deal' to a broken skin injury from a cat. I would not expect that from my avian vet's office. Hence my urgency.

But if you're confident in your ability to spot trouble, and aren't concerned, then I say keep it clean and dry and watch it. Otherwise it seems you've got it under control.

 

[Echo]

I use Nolvasan Skin and Wound Cleanser.

 

[Demonique]

so 48 hours after initial injury Tango went from a happy playful birdy to a sick little girl not interested in much other than her food. Woke up this morning to her on bottom of cage with the wing inflamed, and her unable to balance properly. Dr. Vanevel gave her some fluids as a precaution, and antibiotics with some pain meds twice a day. So now she's grounded to a large tote set up with a paper covered blanket bottom, food and water dish slightly sunk in so she doesn't have to climb, and her nice warmed snugglesafe pad with a soft towel to snuggle inside. Currently washing a dark curtain so that it can be laid over the top half of the tote to block light on one end. Couple foot toys in there in case she gets interested. NOT a happy camper being separated from Cosmo, but a cage is the wrong place for her right now until she regains her balance....wish I could convince Cosmo to join her though...they keep calling for each other!

 

[greycloud]

Oh my! I kind of thought this would happen. So sorry. Your vet should have seen her immediately, cleaned the wound and given antibiotics. Pastuerella is so toxic to birds. I hope she recovers.

 

[aliray]

oh I am so sorry hope she gets better soon.... Alison and sweetie pie