Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 11/8/2006

Question
My friend purchased a 6 month old parakeet last week as a gift for me and a friend for my female budgie.  Two days later, while my friend was trimming my female budgies wings, she accidently let out the new guy, Azule.  A young cat pounced on him, but I immediately scruffed the cat and picked up my new budgie and cuddled him (to try and look him over) and then put him back in the cage.  He didn't have any obvious injuries, no bleeding.  He had a few ruffled feathers.  He was fine for 2 days then on day 3 he started sitting on the bottom of the cage.  I called a small animal vet, that I have used for my rabbits and guinea pigs, that is 1 hour away and told them of the situation and that my local vet doesn't usually see birds because she doesn't know the correct dosing of meds.  Long story short, the exotic animal vet called my local vet and they prescribed Baytril, 0.05 ml, 2 x daily.  (We are shooting for the possibility of a nail or tooth scratch from the cat that we can't see and possible infection.)  My keet seems better at times, perching on the food bowl or even a low perch that I have provided during this time.  Mostly though, he sits on the bottom and eats and drinks from the bowls I have supplied for him down there.  How long should I give the baytril and when should I expect to see an improvement.  

Answer
Hi, Donna.  Thanks for posting!

Since I'm not an avian vet, you'll need to call the vet that prescribed the Baytril and ask for how long the meds should be given (I'm surprised they didn't tell you this when the meds were prescribed).  Normally, antibiotics are given for 10-14 days and sometimes a second round is necessary, however, Baytril is a powerful antibiotic and may only be prescribed for 5 days.  You should also ask the vet about when to expect to see improvement.  This time period depends on what's wrong with the budgie.  This incident must have been extremely stressful for your budgie, as cats and birds are natural enemies.  You'll need to ensure your birds are kept separated from the cat.  A cat can get to birds through the cage wire, so also be aware of this (a cat can stick a paw through small openings in cage wire and actually kill pet birds or cause much injury).  

Often times stress or shock can affect the health of a bird more than an injury itself.  I suspect this "near death experience" was a bit more than your budgie could handle, coupled with the fact that the recent move to your home was stressful in itself.  The fact that your bird has moved from the cage bottom to the food dish and/or a low perch tells me s/he is getting better gradually.

Chrys