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Scrape on a Cockatiel cere

Hello! I have a female cockatiel who is about 8 years old. Today I noticed that she has an injury near her ceres. It looks like a cut or a scrape. I am concerned that a kitten I am fostering may have scraped her with a nail. I put some hydrogen peroxide and pressure on the injury to disinfect it (I have a small parrot emergency kit and the manual said to do this) Do I need to take her to the vet? How serious is a scrape from a cat? I know cats have a dangerous bacteria in their saliva, is it on their nails too? Please let me know what my options are.

Any direct or indirect contact with feline saliva and your bird, including feathers-only, should be followed by immediate veterinary physical examination and probably broad spectrum antibacterial treatment. At this point in time, if your bird is alive, you are fortunate and have dodged the bullet this time. Pasturella multocida infection and sepsis is a very very nasty problem when it happens, and I would advise that if there is another event in the future you immediately contact your local veterinarian for assistance.

About Brian Speer, DVM

Avian veterinarian Dr. Brian Speer was raised in a small town on California’s coast. He received his BS in Biology from California Polytechnic State University in 1978, and his DVM degree from the University of California at Davis in 1983.

An active member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV), Dr. Speer is a much sought after guest speaker and has presented at numerous conferences in the avicultural and zoological communities both within the United States and abroad. He is well published in the AAV annual proceedings, has served as guest editor for the journal Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, the Veterinary Clinics of North America, and authored chapters in several recent veterinary medical texts on pet bird, avicultural and ratite medical topics. In 1995 he co-authored the extensive avicultural reference, The Large Macaws, and helped to co-author Birds for Dummies in 1999.

Since 1989, Dr, Speer has run a “bird’s only” practice in the San Francisco Bay area and is the President and Director of The Medical Center for Birds. He is a consultant for The Veterinary Information Network (Avian Medical Boards) and the Maui Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. In 2003 he was the recipient of the Lafeber award for excellence in private practice of avian medicine and surgery and in 2006, was named Speaker of the Year for the North American Veterinary Conference.