No, we didn't have a cat then. As far as I know, there's something in cat saliva that's toxic to birds, which would explain why they hardly ever survive, after being rescued from cats.
Thanks for the response. I suspected the two species wouldn’t be compatible though I’ve heard of stranger relationships between individual animals.
I searched (DDG) for “cat saliva toxic to birds” and I found this very informative article [1] on the subject of rescuing birds from cats (also bringing the topic back to corvids). It concurs with what you say
> Regardless whether injuries have been found or not, every cat caught bird requires antibiotic treatment.
But more distressingly, it goes on to say that
> Releasing a seemingly uninjured cat caught bird or animal without pain relief and antibiotic treatment is therefore irresponsible and cruel, and will condemn the animal to prolonged suffering and death.
Now I know better. I’ll have to try getting a louder or more sensitive bell that makes it harder for the cat to creep up on its prey. The cat hasn’t brought back any birds or mice in the past couple of months but I don’t know whether that’s because it’s harder to catch prey at this time of year or because he has learned that we’ll just take the injured animal from him and keep him upstairs whenever he does.
