Let me first remind you that I have a cat. His name is Rover, and he is one of the unexpected joys of my life.

As a first-time animal owner, I have been able to roll with the cat claws, scooping cat poop and the occasional hairball found on my carpet.

My cat is so soft and loving that it’s easy to forget that he is also a hunter. He, like all animals of the cat family, loves to stalk and kill other living creatures. It’s a rare day that I don't find his latest offering outside my door. It may be a dead lizard, mouse, mole or bird -- all in various stages of plunder (to say it delicately).

While I am no Jeffrey Dahmer, I am also not a bleeding heart. I know about the food chain and survival of the fittest and chalk up those carcasses to Mother Nature.

It was quite another thing, yesterday, when my cat strode through the cat door with a living bird in his mouth. The bird was, as you can imagine, panicked, and his family members in the trees were screeching hysterically.

My husband and I ran to the door. I grabbed the cat. My husband grabbed the bird. Rover immediately moved to reclaim his kill, wriggling from my grasp and retrieving his prey.

Again we were able to wrest the bird from his claws and to throw the cat inside the house. We examined the young bird and could find no obvious injury, but it appeared to be in shock and could fly only a short distance and without much altitude.

So now what?

We called the local bird rescue center (BEAKS), but there was only a recorded message. We left our name and phone number and asked them to call us back with advice.

Meanwhile, we went on the Internet to read up on what to do with the injured bird. The Internet advised that we would not be able to save the bird because young birds require feedings about every 15 minutes. They advised that we put the bird in a basket and hang it high in the tree and let his bird parents feed him and nurture him back to health.

So we got out the ladder, flung the potatoes out of their basket and hung the poor birdie high in the tree – but the parents never came.

So now we are stuck with the bird and the cat ! You gotta be very careful when you have a cat that wants to eat the bird you want to save.

We finally got a call from the bird-saving folks and they say he needs antibiotics cause the cats claws carry germs and the bird is likely infected.

So tomorrow, we will have to drive about an hour and a half to get him to the rescue center.

I know it might seem like a lot of fuss for a bird, but we are committed to doing what we can to keep him alive and reunite him with his bird family.

Besides, the drive to the bird sanctuary is really scenic. We will enjoy the drive. And on the way home we can stop and get something to eat .
Chick-Fil-A has a spicy chicken sandwich I have been wanting to try.
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D. Barbara McWhite grew up in York County, S.C., and lives in Orange Park, Fla., with her husband and cat.
 

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