A.Lee wrote:
> Christina Websell <spamfree@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> "A.Lee" <alan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>> news:1iiujrb.1kwht8d14g12z6N%alan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> A cat attacked one of my ducks on Tuesday evening. She didint look as
>>> though she would survive the night, as she was so limp. but remarkably
>>> she is still alive.
>>> The only apparent wound was a scratch type puncture mark on the lower
>>> back, with around an inch square area of feather missing. There was
not
>>> too much blood.
> snip
>
>> Puncture wounds from carnivore teeth will introduce bacteria into the
wound,
>> so at the very least she will need some antibiotics. It's up to you to
>> decide whether she's worth a trip to the vet.
>
> She was took to the vets yesterday. The vet seemed to think the bite was
> on the spine, hence the partial disablement. The wound has healed fine,
> he didnt think anti biotics/anti-inflammatories would be any use, as,
> apart from the limp leg, she was fine.
> He checked all the joints/bones, nothing out of place/broken, so the
> only thing was to give her a little more time to see if she recovers.
> He reckons if no improvement in 10 days, then it'll be the chop for her.
>
> I think she will get better - she is fine in herself, preening and
> eating again, and today after putting her in the pond for 10 minutes
> (this is a duck who will not go in water, she dips her head in and that
> is all), when I got her out she did stand up for 30 seconds or so, then
> flapped her wings and promptly fell over!
> So, yes, I think she'll be alright.
> Alan.
>
That's great news, Alan. Sounds like she'll recover well enough to get
on with her life.
I'm surprised that a cat attacked her in the first place. I have cats
and - unintentionally - ducks. Mallards that come and go and are so
laid-back they don't move when I walk less then a metre away from them
on the way to the chicken house. They come into the outdoor run and
steal food when the cafe scraps have arrived. Twice I raised foundling
ducklings from fluff-balls to (1) half grown at which point a stoat took
her and (2) full grown, eventually mastered take-off and flying and
disappeared in the direction of some charming females, I hope.
But would the cats touch them? NO WAY!!! Both ducks found out that one
of the most amusing sounds on earth is the KLONK! that you get when a
duck's bill hits a cat's forehead. The first one, Frankie, was
particularly funny. It was such good fun for her that whenever she saw
an innocent cat wandering along she'd advance with head down ready to
strike. Boy, did those cats move!
A L P
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