If you have an injured bird or small mammal:

• Place it in a secure, well ventilated container (cat basket, plastic pet cage or cardboard box) that has a good layer of newspaper in the bottom, together with a rolled up tea towel or some scrunched up kitchen towel for the animal to sit on or hide in. Keep it in a quiet part of the house (bathroom or spare room), not in the garden.


• Do not put a water bowl in the box as the casualty will only get itself wet and cold. Small birds can be offered a drink, before being placed in the box, by dipping a finger in tepid water and touching the side of the beak; very often they will readily drink one or two drops. Never open a bird’s mouth and drip or squirt water into it, as it is likely to enter the airways and kill it.


• Mice and other small rodents can be given a small piece of apple to chew and a piece of wholemeal bread or a small amount of wild bird seed.


• Hedgehogs should be contained in a cat basket or very stout cardboard box in which you have placed an old towel or a good quantity of torn-up newspaper. Again, do not put any water in the basket, but a small amount of cat food might be appreciated. Very few hedgehogs in fact harbour fleas so if possible, place the container in a quiet room (bathroom or spare bedroom), so that if it does get out of its box, it will still be contained.

Check the casualty first thing and call us from 9.00am the following morning.