Saved a baby bird from a cat - what now?

Question

My girlfriend and I (or, rather, my girlfriend) saved a bird from the pet cat. It wasn't injured, and it recovered from shock a little bit ago. Right now it's exhausted and cold, and allowing us to pet it so long as we don't remove it from its towel.

We did some looking up and we think it's a Savannah Sparrow. What do we do? Are there any viruses we or our other animals could catch? We have rats, and we don't want them to catch anything from the wild bird.

Answer 1

Take it to the vet or the animal shelter.  Many years ago we had a baby bird for a little while but it got weak because we didn't feed it right.  The bird can be carrying viruses so keep the bird away from your other pets and wash your hands after every time you touch the bird.  Good luck!

Answer 2

First of all, the first bad thing you did was touching the bird. If it was clearly uninjured, you should have gotten the cat away from it and waited to see if the bird was being watched by its parents. Oft-times, mother birds (especially sparrows, due to their size) will attempt to scare away the threat (in this case, the cat) with squawks and angry twitters. They will then usually either pick up the baby or continue to watch over it when the predator has left.

BUT, since you've already done the worst,

     The best thing to do first is to alleviate as much stress as possible without touching and getting your scent all over the animal. The best way to accomplish this is to pick up the bird with a towel that has preferably been rolled around in dirt (to eliminate any cleaning odors) and put the bird somewhere it won't feel threatened (i.e. a corner or possibly outside near the area you found it) and it can't see you (the potential threat).

After that, contact your ASPCA, as some other answers have mentioned, and they will hopefully tell you what to do from there. =)

And if you're thinking about keeping it as a pet, don't; it's illegal to take a wild animal from its natural habitat to train it to be a domestic animal. You could get slapped with a fine or at least a very stern warning once the ASPCA finds out. ;)

Answer 3

Keep it warm and quiet (don't pet it or try to pick it up, we think it is soothing but it is very stressful for them). Do not offer it any food or water. Call your local SPCA to see if they have a wildlife rescue department. There may be certified wildlife rehabilitators in your area that will take in. If it wasn't wounded, it may be ok to release. If it starts getting more active, you can try letting it go. If it can fly it will be alright.