This is a bleeding heart dove ❤️ she’s an angel and a big ol’ lesbian. Every spring she makes a nest with our only yellow breasted ground dove (who is also female) and they cuddle and are just the cutest.
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todays bird is: this lovely lesbian bleeding heart dove!
many people don’t understand just why cat attacks are so deadly to birds. even if the bird receives what looks like a minor cut, cat saliva is extremely deadly to them and will poison them if it enters the bloodstream. even a scratch from a claw instead of a bitemark can kill them, as cats coat their claws in saliva when they clean their feet. if you find a bird that has been attacked by a cat, please bring it to a wildlife rehabber even if it seems “okay”. if your bird has been attacked by a cat, please bring it to an avian vet ASAP. it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Adding on: ASAP means “within hours,” not in a few days. It is a true emergency.
And PLEASE stop letting your cats play with your non-feline/canine pets, because strains of bacteria unique to cats are toxic to almost all exotics from rodents to snakes. Cute or not, it is never safe!
fuck i did not know this
oh looks like human saliva too which makes sense because humans actually have very deadly bites- not due to jaw strength, but due to bacterial load
mammals have gram-negative bacteria, which birds have no ability to fight off. biting food pieces off for your bird, kissing your birbs head, or allowing a bird to come into contact with human or cat saliva, including scratches, can cause bacterial infections to the bird
since they have no ability to fight it, it’s essentially like a human having no immune system
the bacterial infection spreads rapidly through their tiny bodies and they die painfully, quickly
birb owners plz learn about birbs. i don’t have birbs, but i do have stupid cats that can’t be tossed to hunt something not kibble-shaped… but I also do have a friend that has a bird. so it is in best interest to learn how to treat his Miss Birb.