work update - III

Work has been insanely slow... probably because of that holiday that just happened.... what's it called... oh right, Easter! And it has been raining so people aren't going outside to discover orphaned animals. Next weekend should pick up a lot because its gonna be 70s and sunny!!

Onward....

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies, grp of 9) - Still doing good. On tube feedings, starting to be more active and get into trouble. Peeing and pooing on their own! This is a big deal because it takes forever to stimulate 9 opossums after feeding... the feeding itself takes me about 30sec/opus but the stimulating... probably 2min/opus... do the math... it is a long time...

2. Barn Owl - Dirty oil bird, remember? He was washed 4x and kept for a day in the hill raptor cage. Released by a volunteer on Sunday. So YAY!

4. Bald Eagle - Still nothing new with him. Just needs to get his endurance and conditioning for flight but the creance flying hasn't ocurred yet. So we (and he) waits. In case you wanted to know, he eats 2 quail or 5 herring a day.

5. Opossum (adult) - Left leg use is still improving, just giving him time. OPUS are non-native, so during the busy season (summer) PAWS has a limit to how many can be taken and the level of treatment provided (no surgeries, etc.).

6. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - Moved to Ekker (bigger flight cages for songbirds). He is flying and no longer being hand fed! Just waiting for him to be old enough to go.

7. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female) - This is the bird we had to go capture after he collided with a window... he didn't survive through the night due to internal bleeding.

8. American Crow (adult) - Suspected West Nile Virus, but test results hadn't come back. No improvement, so euthanized.

New Cases:

9. Opossums (babies, grp of 11) - These guys came in on their dead mother after she had been hit by a car. All were in great shape. They are older than the group of 9 by quite a bit, they probably had started leaving mom's pouch. They are cute because they'll hold hands and things :) Also, they are at the age where they start to pretend like they are going to attack or bite you. If you open their cage, they all sit there with mouths open wide, and one even fake charged me. They are in the 75g region, so they are still small and barely have teeth... not so intimidating. Just mind-blowingly cute.

Since they came in on a dead mom, they have to be on Clavamox (antibiotic) because of the bacteria/toxins that may have been in her milk. If there is a moral to be learned here it is this: IF YOU RUN OVER AN OPUSSUM, CHECK TO MAKE SURE IT IS INDEED DEAD AND THAT THERE ARE NO LITTLE BABIES HANGING AROUND!

10. Eastern Grey Squirrel (young, eyes open, 131g) - So, we have about 15 squirrels, but this one came in yesterday and is more interesting than the others. I actually had to go on a rescue mission for this one because the lady didn't have a drivers license and couldn't bring him.

The reason he need to come ASAP is because he was the victim of a catbite. Cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths that can make an otherwise non-fatal injury deadly. They need to be started on antibiotics as soon as possible. I actually SAW the cat that did it. How nuts, right?

The lady acted like she couldn't fathom how on earth her cat was doing this and explained to me that he doesn't get along with her 4 other cats so she can't keep him in the house.... HMMM... maybe you shouldn't have the cat then?? She also told me that young birds come in and eat the catfood in the garage and the cat then eats them and it just made her "sick to her stomach." HMMM #2... at the very least don't put food down where birds will find it and be lured into the cats domain???

Squirrel had a deep puncture wound on right side. Applied a pressure bandage to stopt he bleeding after flushing the wound with Nolvasan. Started on Clavamox.

MORAL TO BE LEARNED HERE: DON'T LET YOUR CATS LIVE OUTSIDE. Indoor cats live MUCH longer (10-15 yrs) than outdoor cats (2-4 years) too. Plus, you can save money on medications and things because you don't need to worry about feline leukemia or fleas or whatnot.