BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!

Subject: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 06:44 PM

This isn't normally the kind of thing I dream up, but it's been a bit of a sad time for a few days, what with snipers, Wellstone's death and other stuff, so I thought I'd post something light.

And inspirational, in a bird-brained sort of way.

My good wife Heather, also known as "Duckboots when she's posting to 'vegetation' threads, was just getting unthawed from the getaway, and was out the back surveying her garden in Autumn.

I called her attention to a small round (perhaps well-fed) bird, that was hopping around the bushes, and making little flight sorties of three or four feet. "Has that bird hurt itself"? I inquired, 'cause it really was goin' about it's business in a hesitant way. At that moment , our black cat came outta nowhere and made a dive for the 'injured' bird, grabbing it by the head, and claiming it as a new toy.

Duckboots moved as fast as I've ever seen her go, and made a dive for the cat, just getting her and lifting her to the skies.

Well there you had it...some kind of primeval cosmic occurence if ever there was one. The cat was shakin' the bird, Heather was shakin' the cat, and at any second I expected a "Monty Python" moment, with some even larger creature scooping up Heather and shaking HER!

I just stood there, rooted in one spot while the three creatures danced their little ballet. After what seemed an eternity (and a whole lotta shakin') the cat spit out the bird, who flew up towards the Heavens like a little rocket.

My knowledge of Bhuddism is nil, but I have it on good authority that she may have saved the life of one of my (or her) relatives.......Gotta be good karma......unless the great Deity is named Felix or Fritz.

Anybody saved any critters?

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 06:46 PM

LOL...Great story Rick!! Whole lotta' shakin' goin' on!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 06:52 PM

LMAO, thanks, Rick!

In a houseful of cats, we've rescued too many to mention. My favourites were always the itty-bitty tiny baby newborn bunnies, so small they would fit in a coffee cup. Usually the cats were nice and brought them to us whole, so I could try to keep them alive and release them later.

One time, a dog at the stables where Rue worked caught one. We had a nesting box in our cockatiels' cage which they weren't using. It was dark, quiet, cozy and out of the reach of the cats, so we kept the bunny in there for about a week before we were able to release it, safe and sound. I wonder if it does wolf whistles now like the 'tiels?*bg*

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: JenEllen
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 07:12 PM

LOL! At least one got away! Yea, Heather!

It was a sad day on this end. In warmer weather, my cats had taken to batting their toys all over the hardwood floors, and then into the fireplace (gooooooal!!!) About 5 minutes before reading this, I happened to be sitting in the living room and Bridgey came in, puffed up and doing her Nijinsky/Frankenstein walk, batting along a mouse she had found. Yup, straight over to the fireplace, big blaze going, and SWAT!! Sweet merciful Mickey, that thing never had a chance...

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 07:17 PM

And it smelled really bad!! We figure 9jOhn has a recipe for burnt mouseie.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Leadfingers
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 07:27 PM

When I was about nine my brother(older)and I were walking in the local park (in the Fenced off bit where there was the 'dangerous'
empty(bomb damaged) open air swimming pool0.we noticed a couple of crows doing a Dive bomber routine at the deep end of the dried up pool,so we went to investigate and found a tabby cat stalking a fully fledged but non flying young crow.The parent crows were doing a pretty
good job of keeping puss from a nice big dinner,but obviously were on
a hiding to nothing.We therefore gathered up the crow and took him home,to our parents great delight.And the neighbours when the parents
discovered that junior was only in the next street to the park.It took
three days for them to get the sprog crow out of Dads redundant Rabbit run and up into the trees at the end of the garden and then across to the park.Three crows can make a fair amount of noise in those circumstances.We were not the most popular kids in the street for a while

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Genie
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 07:32 PM

And Sully, I imagine, just surveyed the whole proceedings with a look of quiet sagacity on his face. Hmm?

Well, a few years ago when my late classic silver tabby, Bitsy McCloud was still with us, she was stalking a bird in the street near the curb. The bird did not seem to be able to fly, and -- in a manner much less dramatic than Duckboots' feat -- I was (barely) able to catch the bird before Bitsy could. I brought it in and made a large cage for it out of an old rabbit cage (covered with smaller mesh). A friend who was visiting at the time said he thought it was a pigeon, but I didn't think so, since it kept saying "Peeeeep!" A couple of weeks later, when the bird had grown a bit and its voice changed (to "coo, coo" instead of "peeeep), I realized it was, in fact a fledgling pigeon I had rescued, probably before it really got the hang of flying. When I gave it the chance and it flew around my bedroom, it was obviously time to release it, so my friend and I took it to a local park and it flew up into a tree with some other pigeons.

Can't say I was always so successful in rescuing critters from Bitsy McCloud and Minnie Meowse, though. (Bitsy, at least, would actually EAT the birds she caught, but neither one of them would eat the mice.)

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Genie
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 07:34 PM

BTW, huzzah for Duckboots!

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 08:02 PM

Nice save, Heather!! One for our side!! LOL!! Great tale, Rick!

Jen -- it could been worse, eh? Bridget could have hauled in whole raccoon! (In her dreams....)

A

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: JenEllen
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 08:08 PM

After a brief, but intense discussion with kat regarding Bridgie's proclivities (you should have seen the remains of the spider in the bathtub the other day! she pulled all the legs off!) I think the only conclusion, other than those of the "I need a young priest, and an old priest" variety, is to just send Bridgie to Heather for "retraining".

PS: Genie: Sully knows better! He brings me the dead ones and says "Hey, I've seen you fix these things before...Give a guy a hand, eh?"

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 08:09 PM

When we lived in Shetland, I heard a lot of noise coming from one of our out-buildings. I looked in and there appeared to be complete chaos, with animals rushing about and birds flying up against windows, and it took some time to work out what had happened.

Our cat had caught a rabbit and had taken it into the byre to eat it there in peace. But this was not to be.

For a meadow pipit (a small bird), being chased by a merlin (a slightly larger bird), had decided to fly to safety into the very same byre. The merlin had decided to follow it in. They had both totally freaked the cat and I had gone in last of all, just to add to the total confusion.

Everyone survived the experience, a little wiser, except for the rabbit, which at least didn't get eaten.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 08:21 PM

Photo of a Merlin

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 08:38 PM

Funny you know. I have rescued spiders and moths and other insects from cats, rodents - mice, shrews, voles, more than one rabbit - set the last one free this summer after giving it home for month or two till it was old enough, and whats a mole? from cats, frogs and toads have been put safe into a pond from the grasp of cats, rescued at least one tiny lizzard, Pip in particular has rescued all sorts of birds, not just cat victims but ill and young birds, I remember "Cassius crow" marching on parade on his wall and then flying off as well a seagull happily flying off towards the Great Orme (it was a beautiful sight seeing it go off from the hill we lived on mking its return to freedom) as well as the inevitable tragedies like the baby owl who we think was poisoned.

I have seen bats fly in the house, rescued pipistrelles mostly having been rescued, passed on to Pip set go back to their real world.

Some time this year, Pip and I dragged dead fox off the road, dark stretch where cars at night do (and I know it is not legal) travel at 80mph+ rather than see the pretty mature cubs go back to mum as they had when we passed and get splatted like mum - guess we risked the same fate ourselves.

I'm sure plenty of people have done and seen more but one doesn't have to be a Mudcatter to do it...

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Giac
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:18 PM

In around 1962, when CB radios were still used for necessary communications and not toys (Tea-un-FOE-wur, good buddy, etc.), my mom and I used them to keep track of each other in our photography and journalism travels. One evening, around dusk, Mom was driving our Falcon, headed for home, and I was following in a car borrowed from my uncle.

For the mile or so from town to the turnoff to our farm, I kept peering at what appeared to be a black piece of paper impaled on the long CB "whip" which had lost its button on the tip. As we made the turn onto the shaled, rural road, I realized that the "paper" was alive. I honked for her to stop, but she, thinking I was just playing around, waved happily and kept going. When we pulled into our yard a mile later. I pulled alongside, got out and made for the antenna.

I had decided it must be a bird, caught somehow by a wing. But, instead, two little bright eyes stared at me and two little ears flicked when I spoke. The tiny mouth opened and rows of sharp teeth told me it would protect itself as best it could.

The little bat had probably been chasing bugs under a street light when it dived and the antenna ran through its webbed wing. We didn't know quite what to do, in light of statistics which indicated that some huge percentage of bats in that area carried rabies.

I finally got some heavy gloves that I wore when fixing barbed wire fencing, pulled the antenna over and gently eased the little bat along the metal rod to the tip. When it was freed, it sat on my gloved hand and regarded me. I regarded it. Mom regarded both of us from inside the car, with windows rolled up, and admonishing that it would get in my hair and make me crazy (explains a lot, doesn't it).

The creature tested its injured wing, realized it was usable and quickly rose in the air. Making little squeaks, it circled twice, swooped by my head, then left in a straight line for town, where it had been snagged.

It never offered to bite, but was totally still until freed. I've had a fondness for bats since then, but do keep in mind the statistics about rabies, especially as this summer a child was bitten by a rabid bat only a few streets away from my house.

~*~
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:30 PM

Even though we now live near Lake Ontario and are close enough to various forests to have seen Foxes, racoons, squirrels, mice etc. scurrying around our back yard, we're both very urban people, and this whole 'wildlife' thing can be at times mesmerising.

Other folks here talk about 'birds, mice, and worse' being brought into the house almost as a matter of course....but when either KATE or ALLIE (They were already named after the TV show before we got them!) drag live flapping or squealing critters in, we PANIC!

.....and that makes the cats panic....hence their prey hobbles off behind (or inside!!) a couch or closet. That's when Heather and I start blaming each other for leaving the screen door open.

So how DO you catch a bird who's inside hiding? Or a mouse?

Cheers

Frank Buck

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:31 PM

Mary, I should point out that rabies and bats is not a concern in the UK where I am. I have been bitten by bats but only when trying to feed them; the worst one being a noctule that seemed to mistake my hand for the mealworm I was trying to feed it. It felt like it had eaten some of my hand butin truth, it had only just broken the skin in one tiny spot. Thinking bats, it is quite remarkable holding one as it wakes up. You really feel a sort of trembling as it "comes back to life".

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Pooka
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:33 PM

Hee hee hee // wonderful stories all. Thanks Rick; and Hurrah the Heather! Up Duckboots!!

I once liberated a Bat from the Basement. Dunno how the hell he got in; but I got him out. Garlic, y'know. / Nonono...the hatchway door...once opened, he made for it like a bat out of heck...

Another time, another house, a starling (grackle?) got in and scared the shite out of the parakeet, such that she knocked the water-dish off of the cage & somehow emerged through the wires (The Hen Behind the Wire?) with the door still closed. Which was probably not all that smart a tactic, under the circumstances; but both avians survived...we have the starling's esacpe through a window on videotape.

Rescued a severely-injured cat from the road; with Vet's help (services donated in part) nursed him back to health, in gratitude for which he used to bite my nose while I was napping on the couch. We found him a nice home with my wife's hairdresser.

When he was little our son crafted & planted a sign by the street at front of our yard, commanding passersby as follows (verbatim):
"Feed the Birds. They need Food. Peep."

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Pooka
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:35 PM

& then of course there's the Chimbley Raccoons. But nevermind about that. (If you *must* know, ask Amos.)

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 09:48 PM

Flapping bird Rick? Elle may put me wise but I'd be inclined to give it the chance to fly out of a window or door. Little creatures seem scared enough, I believe suffer badly from shock, and if the cat has inflicted internal injuries I doubt much can be done anyway so if they are able, I think, let them go and find thier own peace. When we have caught birds that seem "unsteady" but with no obvious injuries, a dark box in a quiet place seems to be the best plan.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Bill D
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 11:37 PM

We have rescued various birds from proud cats who were not hungry, but just showing off their great hunting prowess.....but the bird that stayed was a baby House Finch my son found when he was in 5th grade..tiny little thing--just a couple feathers.

We sighed and fed it bits of cat food and bugs...an LO! it grow! and thrive! Them nasty little finches are hardy things! It grew right up to become a female finch, and laid eggs and learned to fly around the room and help Rita type at the computer.

We swithced her from cat food to bird food at the right time, and she would eat seeds from your hand and 'try' to eat the letters from a page of typing...she loved to perch on the rims of spectacles and pluck eyebrows, too!

She had a temper, as all finches do, and bitterly defended 'her' cage against such intrusions as 'changing the water' and 'cleaning the cage'.

Obnoxious little thing lived about 5 years in captivity --making messes and endearing herself to all (except the cat, who tried a couple of times to do a "Sylvester Puddy Cat " on the cage with semi-disasterous results...then gave up.

It was fun...sort of...*grin*

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: rangeroger
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 01:09 AM

While at JenEllen's i July, I went out to walk down to the pond. As I made a turn in the path cut through the brush, I came on a bull snake that had just wrapped itself around a very small rabbit. I stopped immediately and with great curiosity, squatted down to watch the proceedings. I once had a Burmese Python and was quite used to a constrictors feeding process,but had never seen it first-hand in the wild.I am a firm believer in natural processes so I was not going to intervene. After all, a bull snake has to eat sometime,also.

After several minutes the rabbit's squeals had quit,and the snake began to look for the proper end of the rabbit, so as to begin it's meal. At this point I decided to leave,but my standing up startled the snake, and it unwound and crawled into the brush.

I went on with my walk and figured to snake would come back to reclaim it's dinner. When I got back to the house I waited awhile beforesaying anything,but,since Jen IS a Vet., I finally told her about the event. A little later she left the house and then came back with what I thought was somewhat of a downcast look on her face.

If she returns to this thread,I'll let her recount the amazing end to this tale.

rr

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Genie
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 02:13 AM

Waiting with bated breath, rr.

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 03:31 AM

All of our furry brats are mighty hunters, and insist on sharing their catches with Mom and Dad and brother Woofie Poodle, so we have frequently had to pick fur, feathers, and other inedible remains off the living room floor.

However, they don't always succeed:

One evening JohnLove hollered from the back bathroom and when I went to see what the problem was, I found our big tabby Lonnie Sue crouched at the base of the toilet with the most puzzled look on his furry face. John was nearly bent double laughing and could only point--into the toilet bowl, where a good-size mouse was furiously dog-paddling. When John could speak again, he told me that Lonnie had evidently been playing with the mouse, tossed it up in the air, and couldn't understand where Mr. Mouse disappeared to!

No, we didn't save the mouse...

And again, one evening recently I was sitting at the kitchen table reading when the Lons raced across the floor in hot pursuit of a tiny gray field mouse. As I started to retreat, the cat pounced, and headed for the back doggie door with only a skinny black tail protruding from his mouth. About half-way there, he changed his mind, came back, spit the mouse out, and whacked it with his paw. Before I could get out of my chair, the mouse ran hell bent for leather straight under the table and up my pant leg. I let out a blood-curdling screech, shook my foot like a maniac, and sent the mouse flying into the wall. Figuring he was in big trouble, Lonnie zoomed off into the other room, the mouse zipped off into his hidey-hole, and I went leaping gazelle-like into the bedroom. John said for a minute there it looked just like a Keystone Kops routine ...

The mouse escaped, but Lonnie Sue Cheney has enlisted Boris Bat Karloff and Bela Bruce Lugosi to help him stake out the kitchen. I keep finding all of them crouched in various places around the floor, staring at nothing the way cats do. I love the furry kids, but they're all weird.

Lin in Kansas

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 04:41 AM

Hedgehogs would appear to increasingly uncommon here in the UK?

Even the sight of their poor squashed corpses on our roads seem to be getting more rare. I don't think that is because they are getting any better at avoiding the speeding traffic. The following inncident happened a few years ago now.

I don't know if these animals migrate, but our house is E to W. I just happened to open the backdoor one night and in, rather purposly strutted a hedghog. She, for it must have been a she, for completly ignoring my presence and with her nose in the air, she continued on a westerly course that would inevitably lead her to the (closed) front door.

I rushed ahead and opened the front door, as the hedgehog carried on up to and then through the front door, and travelled, still on the same unerring course across (safely this time anyway) the road and vanished into the western darkness.

Do you think I that may have saved her from battering herself to death on my back door?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 04:44 AM

Photo of 'Hodges' a hedgehog

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 09:43 AM

She sure knew where she meant to go, didn't she, Shambles? Thanks for the photo; cute little things. They sell them as pets over here.

Lin, LMAO!!

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Áine
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 09:50 AM

Great story, Rick! And a big 'way to go' to Heather!!

Now, who's going to put this wonderful tale of kenetic karma into song for us all? Mmmmmmm? Talk about an excellent subject for a 'Song of Inspiration' for the Mudcat Songbook!

G'wan, someone -- I think we all need a song like this one could be to cheer us all up after the past few days, don't ya think?

All the best, Áine

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 01:00 PM

About 20 years ago, my boat and I were living in co-op marina. One night, just at dawn, a woodcock flew in, exhausted from crossing the bay. He plopped at my feet and, as I moved to see what he was, fluttered away about 50 feet, where he just lay there, recovering. A little while later, I saw one of the boatyard cats stalking in his direction. I firmly advised the cat to leave this one alone. After about an hour, he flew away.

Nothing dramatic, just a minor incident.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: JenEllen
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 01:53 PM

LOL, rangeroger! I thought about this last night as well!

So....Roger comes in and relays the adventure. "Snake had left poor dead bunny in the trail--news at 11." I'm not squeamish in the least, can't afford to be, but I knew that my dog would be home any minute, and a dead bunny rabbit is a terrific chew-toy. I went out to the trail, and there was the dead rabbit. TINY little thing, could have fit two of them in my hand. I reach down to pick it up, and it suddenly springs back to life! Hopped a few feet down the trail and waited, I went to grab it just to make sure it was okay, and it bolted. We figured if it's moving fast enough to get away from me, it's healthy....

And Aine, there WAS a song! Mousethief wrote it! A lovely little bunny ditty about "Mama said don't go up that trail"


Rick: Jon was mostly right (thanks Jon) if you can leave a door open for them, they do try to go out, but with cats in residence, it's hard to do. An easy way to catch them is just to throw a towel on 'em and pin the edges down, then scoop 'em up in the 'bag'. You're less liekly to hurt them that way, and a thick towel means they are less likely to hurt you too.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 02:16 PM

COlin caught our little zebra finch for me one time using his Scottish cap, just like a towel. I always was going to get a butterfly net for those times, never did.

The most magical of all rescues was when my old Siamese female, Sasheen, brought me a live, bright emerald green hummingbird. It was in shock just long enough for me to cup it in my hands and feel the incredibly rapid pitter-patter of its heart, then I opened my hands and it hummed away. She was a very fast hunter.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 04:12 PM

Thanks Elle. I should have checked our book. The book is called Care For The Wild, W J Jordan and John Hughes. It details just about every creature you are likely to encounter in the UK, gives advice on capture, care (initial and longer term), release, etc. We hve found it very useful.

I think it is still available.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 04:40 PM

My kitties are all of the indoor variety transported to the wilds of Maine. Their main kill is grasshoppers. The neighbors sit and watch as four little fuzzies all leap in time after the little bugs - up and down, up and down - until a catch is made and instantly brought indoors to be eaten.

Fred prefers worms. Big, long, nasty, blood worms that drape out of both corners of his mouth or drag along the ground if he holds it by the end.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 08:36 PM

My first cat Koh-i-noor brought something in one morning, but it was well past saving, as it was a nicely butchered and ready prepared pork chop.

Wonder who went without dinner that Sunday....?

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 26 Oct 02 - 08:56 PM

Last week, our Dennis brought through the cat-flap a large and very dead rat.......Complete with the bait and the rat-trap, the poor rat had been killed in!

I think the best Dennis story is when he brought in one of our neighbours slippers, from their house.

A short while after, he brought the other one - to make sure we had a pair.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 08:27 AM

About ten years ago I was driving along a residential street. I glanced up and saw a bird on a wire. The colouring was nothing like I'd seen in the wild. I stopped the car and realized it was a cockatiel. Knowing that it had escaped from someone's house and didn't stand a chance in the wild, I tried coaxing it down by calling and whistling to it. After a few minutes it flew down and landed on my head. I tried to get it to jump onto my hand, but it flew back to the wire. I went through the calling process again, this time it landed on my arm. This was obviously a very tame bird. I was able to to get it into car and drove it over to my then mother in law's house. THe cockatiel that she had for years had died a few weeks earlier, so I knew that she had a cage large enough to house it while I tried to find the owner. I put up some notices in the area where I'd found it, watched the lost pets section of the paper and generally put the word out. I didn't get one reply.

I'm pretty sure that the ex Mother in Law still has the bird to this day.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Jeri
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 08:31 AM

Steve, you gave your mother-in-law the bird?

(sorry)

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: KJ
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 09:01 AM

I saved a fledgling, I fed it bits of bacon on a stick 'cos I couldn't bring myself to mash up a worm.Then I got my husband to get a ladder & climb up very high to put it back in its nest, which is under the eaves of our house. It flew off for warmer climes three weeks ago.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 10:36 AM

Since we are also recording cat successes, I'll mention one that Domino, our half Siamese tuxedo had.

One morning by wife saw her pounce. She shortly and proudly came in with a yellow canary in her mouth, thoroughly deceased. We found out the bird had come from an apartment in the next building, where it had escaped its cage.

Its freedom, alas, was brief. We never told them our cat got the bird.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Peter T.
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 11:08 AM

I hate to say this, but all these domestic cats are a menace (I am a cat person). The bird population is being decimated by all these well fed felines. I read a recent article (no reference handy) linking the decline in songbirds not just to habitat (some habitats are doing ok), but to cat predation. A bird here and a bird there and it all adds up. yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: The Shambles
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 11:41 AM

Our Dennis is only a danger to carpet slippers, but it is a well made point. I would just qualify it.

We have created with our gardens, parks and urban waste a fine substitute to the natural envirionments we have destroyed. Along with this we have destroyed many of the natural predators of those envirionments.

Having created the fine substitute habitats, we appear to have also introduced some predators to it. As it is the case in the wild, it is the weak individuals in this new habitat that will first fall prey to the predators. So a form of balance is being played out.

Not that this fact makes it any more pleasant for us, failing to rescue these casualties and having to watch our well-fed mogies toying with their prizes.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 01:12 PM

One of the most bizarre, humorous and happy ending experiences I've ever had with cats occurred many years ago. My sons (who were probably 8 and 14 and I came into the living room, and saw one of our cats with a mouse in its mouth. We took off after the cat, and he adeptly flipped the mouse in mid-ar, and our other cat leapt up and caught it gracefully, in mid-air. The moment we charged the other cat, she flipped the mouse back up into the air, and her mate lept up and snatched it away. We went through this whole interchange of The Amazing Flying Mouse for three or four successful flips, until one of the cats missed their catch and the mouse plopped to the ground, comletely dazed. I picked it up by the tail, and it was covered with kitty slobber and looking much the worse for wear. I took it outside, with my sons following close on my heals, and laid it on the lawn. After a minute or two, it shook it's slobbery little head, looked around, got unsteadily to its feet and took off, running as fast as its little legs could carry it, looking at our house getting smaller and smaller in its rear view mirror.

Word must have gotten out, because that was the last time we ever had a mouse in the house.

I'll give others a chance to share their experiences, and then I'll tell about the time my oldest son was a toddler, when I was changing his diapers, and a starling peeked out through a hole in the wall..

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 01:40 PM

A few springs ago we discovered a rabbit's nest with four or five little rabbits in it in one of our raised garden beds that had been fallow for the winter. We left it alone, figuring that the little rabbits would be out of it before we really needed the bed for planting. The next weekend we checked on the nest to see how the little guys were doing, only to find that a large rat snake had found them too. We removed the snake and found only one of the little rabbits still alive. We thought it best to take him to the house and raise him in a cage since the snake might come back to the nest. So, we fed it with an eye dropper until we figured it was old enough to take care of itself. Then, we took it back up to the garden area and turned it loose.

We had made a conscientious effort to avoid having the little rabbit imprint on us so it would have a better chance of survival in the wild. We never petted it or talked to it. But, somehow, some imprinting did take place, and every time we would go up to work in the garden the rabbit would come nosing around. So, one day, unknown to us, one of our cats followed us up to the garden and when the rabbit came around to investigate.... Well, the chase lasted all of five seconds and the rabbit lost big time. We couldn't really get mad at the cat. After all, we praise him for catching mice and rats and it's stupid to expect a cat to know the difference between a rat and a rabbit. Now, however, we're sure to take any wild rescuees at least a mile from the house and deep into the woods before turning them loose.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: JenEllen
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 02:21 PM

Much agreed, Shambles. There is nothing worse than humans imposing morality on wild things (and a cock-eyed morality at that!) It is very easy to blame a creature we have imported in our aquisition of wetlands, grasslands, wooded areas..etc.   We drive out natural predators, disturb countless cycles, and then pretend to act disgusted when an animal tries to 'make a living' doing what genetics and thousands of years of evolution have modeled it to do. You like birds? Don't have cats. You don't want to feed the coyotes (or freeway, depending where you live)? Don't have cats. We certainly aren't doing them any favours, a glance in at any humane society shelter will tell you that. Another group of living beings we have chosen to make disposable.

Now, my favourite rescue of all time?

The university does all sorts of pro-bono work, just to give students experience they might not get otherwise. I walk into the exotics ward one day to find everyone herding a gigantic white goose into a corner. She'd been attacked by dogs and needed to be stitched up, but as it was, she was 'nobody's goose'. She pecked us all black and blue before we could get her sedated, but stiching her up was a snap. Recovery was the real treat, however, because I didn't want her to lose muscle tone sitting in a cage all day, seeing as she'd just have to go back out into the wild upon release....so.....we commandeered the equine recovery pool and went swimming!   Funny thing was that EVERY day at 2pm, if I wasn't there? She would let herself out of the ward (hiding behind a door until someone came in) and wander the halls of the hospital, honking as loud as could be, until I took her swimming. Extremely embarassing to be in with a client, hear this mad ---honk-honk-HONK!--- and have to tell the client "Please excuse me, I'm being paged..." then get caught out in the hallway tyring to reason with a goose "Only a few more minutes and we'll go, okay?"   Thankfully she recovered and got a home with one of the women who worked on the ward. I still cringe every time I hear geese....

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 02:56 PM

Great story, JenEllen. I worked much of my life in a nature center and saw all the horrible things that happen to birds, squirrels and chipmunks, etc. that are "saved." I saw a human-raised squirrel drop close to a hundred feet from a branch onto a sidewalk when it was released to climb a tree for the first time. Not much fun to experience, especially with a group of little kids seeing the squirrel with blood gushing out of its nose and mouth, crawling off into the woods before anyone could catch it. It's a hard call, when you see a young or injured bird or animal. It's times like that when I remember the innocuous voice-over in the old Disney True Life Adventures about animals. As an animal was being eaten, they'd swing the camera to a field of flowers, and intone sanctimoniously, "Mother Nature has decreed.."

Yeah, right...

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Amos
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 07:33 PM

Man, what an attitude!! Love that story!! Honk!! LOL!!!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Ebbie
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 02:32 AM

Reminds me of my parents' experience. They had chickens, a neighbor about a half mile away, and a collie. Periodically, the collie would come home across the fields carefully carrying Neighbor's Chicken to join my parents' flock. Neighbor's chickens became so inured to the trips they would lie in the collie's mouth and look comfortably around, sightseeing all the way.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Genie
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 03:33 AM

Great stories, folks!

Yeah, I always find it rather droll to hear people bemoaning the fate of a chipmunk, bird, or mouse that has fallen prey to a falcon, or cat, or a cat that has been carried off by a coyote, while they eat their hamburgers.

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 04:40 PM

Our larger cat, Bramley, was about 20 pounds of lean cat. How something that size could continuously sneak up on birds, I don't know. He was so large that we often were able to rescue birds that he brought home in his mouth and release them back outside. He always looked foolish with tailfeathers hanging out of the side of his mouth.

One time, a young male rat came into the house through the back door. Bramley spotted him and, after a brief chase with me moving furniture to avoid giving the rat a place to hide, got him. Domino just watched and cheered him on. When I picked the victim up, he was about 1 pound and very cleanly dead. No playing with this one.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: JenEllen
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 10:18 PM

Today there was a rescue I wish I could have performed.....

On my drive back from the station, I pass this car-lot/junk-yard, and never really give it much thought. Today, however, I passed and saw at the front gate, the BIGGEST dog I have ever seen (and I've seen some big'uns). The poor pooch was sitting at the gate, staring out at the road, looking left and right, with positively the most forlorn look. It took me about half a mile to figure out what was wrong, then I started laughing and had to pull the truck to the side of the road.

Yup. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, and no one told the dog! "Guys? Guys? You're, like, an hour late... Guys?"

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 10:59 PM

I've rescued a whole lot of spiders and assorted bugs from people who for some reason were frantic to kill them. I simply take them outside. I don't get why people go hysterical at the sight of a spider, considering that it's the spider who is normally in danger from them.

I've also rescued a variety of birds, mice, chipmunks, and so on...usually from a cat. I don't actually object to cats catching these creatures in a general sense, but if it happens right in front of me I tend to react by trying to save the little guys.

Why? I identify with the small and oppressed...they remind me of my own situation all through public school!

As for cats...I really like 'em a lot! Cats are cool. Dogs are okay in some cases too, but I prefer small ones like dachshunds and Jack Russel terriers. One of our dachshunds was a genius at stalking and killing small animals (including cats, rabbits, muskrats, mice, chipmunks, and so on). He would get the chipmunks by waiting silently around the corner of the foundation of the house and nailing them as they came around. Poor little chippies never knew what hit them. I once rescued a muskrat that he had driven inside the front opening of our snowblower. It was scrunched in behind the blades, and I have never seen a more miserable looking animal...it clearly figured it was a goner. You could see it thinking "So this is how it ends! Dying miserably inside a snowblower, hounded to my doom by an unspeakable horror from the pit of hell!"

Well, I dragged Oscar (the dachshund) off to the house and watched from the window. After about 5 minutes the muskrat peeped out from the front of the snowblower, and then ran like hell for the river. Oscar was not impressed. He figured I had really screwed things up badly that time.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 11:02 PM

LH,

I too release spiders. I thought I was the only one.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 11:36 PM

I do the spider/bug thing, too.

In fact, I once saved a youngish Oriental cockroach (Blattella orientalis) that arrived at my work in a box of t-shirts from Pennsylvania, I think. (Yeah, I think I've mentioned this before...) I took him (for he was a male cockroach) in, fed him (he liked bagels, pizza, muffins, tacos), and built him a home out of plastic cups and popsickle sticks. I never could think of a good name for him, though I started calling him "Stumpy" when he got old and lost a leg or two. Got to see him moult, drink water from my hand, scurry, all that. I had him for one and a half magical years before he died in 2000, at age two+... :(

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:18 AM

JE-I thought we were the only ones messed up by the change in clocks. He must have looked truly forlorn.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: Amos
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:00 AM

LOL, JE. SOunds like you got it spot on.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcatter Saves Itty Bitty Tweety-Bird!
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Oct 02 - 09:56 PM

Is it still alive Rick and do you know what species?