AboutJonathan Wright Expertise I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos.
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation.
IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch.
I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.
Experience I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.
Publications Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.
Question Thank you, Jon, for taking the time to help people on allexperts.com. Very cool of you. Last night (06/28/09) my cat came out of the bushes with a very young baby rabbit. Less than two weeks old, I think, as it's eyes are not yet open. We are trying to feed it evaporated milk through a kitten bottle, but it isn't eating much at all. It ate only about 1/8 tsp. today. We aren't sure how much or how often it should eat, and don't want to hurt it by overfeeding or underfeeding. If you could offer any specific advice about what we should be doing to help it survive, we would be very grateful. Thanks again, Jon.
Answer Dear Michelle
Thank you for your question and your kind comments. I also wish to thank the authors of th websites I used.
Please note that I am not a vet and I think you need expert advice. You can contact www.rabbit.org/vets, a wildlife veterinarian or charity or one of the experts at http://www.allexperts.com/browse.cgi?catLvl=3&catID=703 or http://www.allexperts.com/el/Rabbits/. Please note that it is difficult to look after baby wild rabbits and that your cat may have injured the rabbit you are looking after. I have some information that I gave to earlier readers at http://en.allexperts.com/q/Wild-Animals-705/raising-wild-rabbit.htm. I obtained the information off the internet and cannot verify that this will help your rabbit. That is why I suggest you get someone to look at it, especially as it may have some internal injuries.
