| I'm sorry. Cruelty is keeping bird feeders and letting your cats out. Remember this, too: each time your cat kills one adult bird with nestlings in the nest, the entire brood dies. Maiming a bird kills it, too. one superficial puncture causes infection and death. How do I know this? I used to do avian rehab, and I had to deal with the corpses. The following birds were injured by cats and brought to The Raptor Trust in May and June of 2003. The outcome of their injuries are listed as follows: D/24 = The bird died within 24 hours of its injuries.
E = Euthanized; the bird was injured so badly that it would never recover.
D = The bird died of its injuries.
R = The bird was released 1. 5/2 Mourning dove D on arrival
2. 5/7 Mourning dove nestling D/24
3. 5/11 Baltimore oriole Severely infected wound R 6/28
4. 5/14 Mourning dove Infected wing fracture E 5/26
5. 5/14 Carolina wren Compound left wing fracture in the joint. E
6. 5/15 Mourning dove juvenile Gasping blood R 6/15
7. 5/17 Magnolia warbler R 7/11
8. 5/20 Mourning dove R wing destroyed E
9. 5/18 Tufted titmouse Right wing destroyed E
10. 5/27 Cardinal D on 6/4
11. 5/24 Grackle fledgling D/24
12. 5/24 House finch fledgling D on 5/27
13. 5/27 Mourning dove fledgling D/24
14. 5/27 Cardinal nestling E 6/4
15. 5/29 Mourning dove fledgling Severe R wing fracture E
16. 5/30 Grey catbird Feather loss D 6/12
17. 5/30 Ovenbird Puncture R 6/9
18. 6/2 Robin fledgling D/24
19. 6/2 Robin nestling Laceration D/24
20. 6/3 Downy woodpecker fledgling Head and eye injuries D/24
21. 6/3 Blue jay L wing destroyed E
22. 6/3 Mourning dove juvenile L wrist injured R 6/15
23. 6/5 Mourning dove nestling Spinal damage D/24
24. 6/5 Red-bellied woodpecker nestling Fractured leg R 7/19
25. 6/8 Mourning dove D/24
26. 6/8 Mourning dove juvenile Laceration D/24
27. 6/8 Mourning dove Puncture D/24
28. 6/9 Starling Fractured shoulder E
29. 6/10 Mourning dove Fractured wing E
30. 6/10 Cardinal juvenile Spinal damage D/24
31. 6/11 Catbird D/24
32. 6/11 Mourning dove fledgling Head and neck lacerations E
33. 6/12 Robin nestling Belly ruptured E
34. 6/12 Mourning dove Lacerations and punctures D/24
35. 6/12 Mourning dove Neck lacerations R 6/30
36. 6/13 Blue jay fledgling Punctures D 6/17
37. 6/13 Baltimore oriole Internal damage E
38. 6/14 Blue jay fledgling Lacerations R 7/28
39. 6/16 Rose-breasted grosbeak nestling Punctures E 6/20
40. 6/16 Mourning dove nestling R shoulder fracture E
41. 6/16 Mourning dove fledgling Punctures and feather loss R 7/19
42. 6/17 Common grackle juvenile Spinal damage E 6/28
43. 6/19 Mourning dove nestling Punctures D 8/22
44. 6/22 Downy woodpecker D/24
45. 6/22 Robin fledgling Lacerations D/24
46. 6/23 Mourning dove juvenile R wrist destroyed E
47. 6/24 Blue jay fledgling R 8/4
48. 6/24 Cardinal nestling L leg fractured D/24
49. 6/26 Robin juvenile Punctures R 8/20
50. 6/26 Cardinal fledgling R 7/25
51. 6/27 Mourning dove fledgling D/24
52. 6/29 Common grackle fledgling Spinal damage D/24
53. 6/30 Robin R wing fracture E
54. 6/30 Robin R wing fracture E Cat-caught birds released: 12 (22%)
Cat-caught birds died: 24 (45%)
Cat-caught birds euthanised: 18 (33%) Young birds caught (nestling, fledgling and juveniles): 32 (59%)
Adult birds caught: 22 (41%) These notes do not include the dozens of birds that showed symptoms of being cat-caught (i.e. suffered from puncture wounds or ripped apart); only birds that were seen by the finders in the cat’s mouth were listed in our informal study. It is also possible that some of the birds in our study were injured previously (i.e. collided with a vehicle or window) and subsequently grabbed by a cat. However, the notes do confirm some sad facts: 1. Most birds caught by cats are young birds, not yet able to fly or fly well. 2. Most birds caught by cats (78%) are killed. | 
