Mama Cat Trust

🐦🐦🐦 Stringfoot Sunday was in the Kilburn area this week. Last time we went there to destring pigeons, there were so many needing help, it was literally one after the other so we were very surprised at the distinct lack of pigeons this time. There had been changes to the Kilburn High Road market area where there had previously been a big flock but it was much diminished.

One thing that hadn’t changed was the horrible attitude of some of the locals and we had to put up with some miserable people being very vocal in their hatred of pigeons. It was similar last time with the worst verbal abuse and bad feeling we had ever experienced simply for trying to help struggling birds.

In some ways we could see why these people are so brainwashed as it is such a hostile environment there for pigeons with many signs telling people not to feed. These signs are so negative and misinformed-actually they are downright dishonest. We spotted one of the most ludicrous anti-pigeon/anti-rat signs we had ever seen. The head of a rat on a wood pigeon’s body and awful/ridiculous accompanying words. 😢

These poor creatures are just trying to survive and have to put up with so much animosity there in that really scruffy area where they are actually the only beauty on the grim landscape.

Luckily, for the pigeons, caring people are ignoring the signs and putting down food although there was quite a huge mountain of rice left on the ground which probably would draw negative attention if not eaten.

Despite this negativity we were all in great spirits and welcomed several new members who had travelled all the way to join us from such far flung places as Bognor Regis, Brighton and Kent!

We moved onto some other areas but the pigeons were making themselves scarce. There has obviously been some sort of dispersal but we kept hoping to stumble across the elusive missing flock!

We tried Queens Park but there were only around half a dozen pigeons who were so full of picnic leftovers that they weren’t very interested.

Our last stop was Paddington Old Cemetery where we did find a lovely flock but alas by that time they had gone to bed and nothing could get them back down from their picturesque perch!

All in all, it was a very positive day with a group of happy like-minded people who could talk all day about the fabulousness of pigeons! 🩵🩵🩵

Join our London Pigeon Stringfoot and London Pigeon String foot & Rescue group here!

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/kk6KZTkhEEpkyE9U/?mibextid=K35XfP

‼️Urgent‼️
Please please can anyone help with an injured fox cub in N16 stuck in someone’s garden since yesterday with no food or water in this heat?
My car is going to be fixed today so I have no transport and doing everything on foot. 😭

🦊 Double disaster for Dinky! 🦊

Yesterday was the first time I had seen Dinky since releasing her 10 days earlier after having her broken leg fixed. She was away for over 3 months so I was thinking she would take a little time to assimilate back into her family and life so I wasn’t really worried.

I was so happy to see her yesterday with her little face poking up above the wall in her old spot just like she used to but quickly noticed she was again injured. It was the other leg this time and she was limping heavily. When I got closer, I could see she had swelling and wounding-it looked sore. It was obviously giving her problems and she was having to put all her weight on her recently healed broken leg but she could put her foot down and she could still run!

I don’t know what has happened but she also has ticks on her face and head which means she’s probably lying around in the undergrowth resting, the little love.

Poor Dinky-it seems so unfair that she has just got over her rehabilitation only to be injured again virtually immediately but it just shows, we can do our best to look after them but we cannot control anything!

She refused to take antibiotics in food yesterday which was a big worry but I went today armed with her favourite Swiss roll and with some cajoling, managed to get the meds into her!

I realise that I have quite a small window of opportunity between my arrival when hopefully she is waiting for me and when the other foxes come and want to join in. Because she is feeling a bit vulnerable, she really wants to have a quick tasty snack then take herself off. She did the same when her other leg was first broken. I know her moves!

Wish us luck for tomorrow 🧡

📣 STRINGFOOT SUNDAY📣
SUNDAY August 4th
TIME - 3.PM
Marble Arch
(meet up- under the arch)

Come along & join the team
Pigeons need our help!

Join our London Pigeon String foot & Rescue group here!

https://www.facebook.com/share/m81oCVLEavZzsHN7/?mibextid=K35XfP

📣 STRINGFOOT SUNDAY📣
SUNDAY JULY 28th
TIME - 3.PM
Regents Park
(meet up- Regents park station)

Come along & join the team
Pigeons need our help!

A man I met in the cemetery yesterday admiring the foxes. A pigeon flew down. John. I call all the pigeons there John!

Him- ‘oh, rats with wings’

Me-‘you have been brainwashed-and what’s wrong with rats anyway as long as they are not in your house?’

Two minutes later…😂❤️

📣 STRINGFOOT SUNDAY📣
SUNDAY JULY 14th
TIME - 3.PM
Muswell Hill N10
(meet outside Planet Organic)

Come along & join the team
Pigeons need our help!

Join our team here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/XFaWQcfDvzmfBHp7/?mibextid=K35XfP

🐦🐦🐦 Our Stringfoot team went East on Sunday as we had been asked to help the needy pigeons of Dalston and we were kept really busy non stop as there were so many hobbling pigeons needing our help!

We focused on Ridley Road market and with it being such a busy area, the pigeons had managed to get various things stuck on their feet, with many having multiple kinds of thread, fibres, plastic thread, human hair, extension hair and all sorts tangled on top of each other in embedded layers. We had some very tricky cases!

We welcomed new members keen to learn how to catch and destring pigeons and also met plenty of kind people who were interested in what we were doing. One lovely mother and daughter who were passing by stayed with us a while and are now eager to join our team next weekend.

We destrung so many pigeons one after the other that we actually lost count but think it was around 30 pigeons.

Lots of happy feet! 🩵🩵🩵

Join our team here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/omAmQcu2RabJsUFX/?mibextid=K35XfP

🦊🦊🦊👀 Eyes on the prize! 🧁🍰

Obviously a diet solely comprising of cakes is not to be recommended for foxes but they have a very sweet tooth and the odd cake now and then makes them very happy! 😍

Binky, Amber and Raisin who carry most food to Binky’s cubs-but not cake! The cake is not for transporting! 😂

⚠️⚠️⚠️WEDNESDAY WARNING ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Please use this link to find your local rescue if you need help
https://www.helpwildlife.co.uk/

📣 STRINGFOOT SUNDAY📣
SUNDAY JUNE 16th
TIME - 3.PM
KINGS CROSS STATION
(Outside main entrance forecourt -Benches underneath the clock)

Come along & join the team
Pigeons need our help!

🌼 Daffodil has had her final dose of antibiotics at last….fingers crossed!🤞

Since I first met this plucky girl a few months back, she has had one thing wrong after another-she is high maintenance! 😂

It started with really bad mange which I treated immediately then various wounds and limps (also treated) and finally a few weeks ago a limp AND an open wound. I felt she may have been attacked by a dog as evidence did strongly suggest that.

The skin has at last knitted back together and healed-it’s been a very long process…but absolutely stress free for her….if not me 😂

In any case, she is now back to full fitness….for now at least!

She is such a delightful character! 🧡🧡🧡




(All pics from today with her ‘new’ leg!)

🐦🐦🐦
We aimed for a more low key Stringfoot Sunday this week as last week was so very busy and full on!

A few of us met at Green Park and no sooner had we arrived at the first group of pigeons, we were straight into a drama!

A crow tried to attack a pigeon right in front of us-crows are opportunistic and especially when they have babies to feed, will take advantage of a situation where a pigeon is weak or poorly. We quickly grabbed the pigeon who must have been under the weather and kept him safe but then the crow went on to attack another young crow. The crow had an injured wing and could not fly so we now had two casualties. Thank goodness Danny saved the day and was able to come to our rescue to transport them to our lovely rehabber.

After destringing a few pigeons there we moved onto St James Park where there were the usual mixture of pigeons, parakeets and lots of water birds all hanging out together-it’s always beautiful to see!

We helped a few more pigeons and untangled their feet and met some really nice people who were interested in what we were doing-we also met some not so nice people but always best to focus on the positive…and there was lots of positivity!

And lots of happy feet! 🩵🩵🩵

Join us here-

https://www.facebook.com/share/RFKi3HCYR5se3FPR/?mibextid=K35XfP

🐦🐦🐦 Sunday was National Animal Rights Day so what better way to spend it than getting together to help our beloved pigeons!

We met at Piccadilly where unusually there were no pigeons! They normally hang out by the statue of Eros but it was so hot, noisy and busy, they had decamped elsewhere!

We welcomed a few new members including someone who had come all the way from Brighton to join us.

We moved onto St Anne’s Gardens where we had to immediately tell off some guys who were showing off by grabbing a pigeon and swinging it ‘as a joke’-I don’t think they will be doing that again in a hurry. We also picked up a poorly one there who we took into care.

We covered several other areas including Leicester Square and the Strand and destrung lots of beautiful pigeons. We also met several people who really appreciated what we were doing which is always a joy!

It was a lovely day with lots of happy feet! 🩵

Join our group here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/VpABJookZb9KvyMG/?mibextid=K35XfP

📣 STRINGFOOT SUNDAY📣
SUNDAY JUNE 2ND
TIME - 3.PM
PICCADILLY CIRCUS
(The steps by Eros)

Come along & join the team
Pigeons need our help!

Join our Stringfoot team page here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/Z26sf9bNQPnNNpEe/?mibextid=K35XfP

🐦🐦🐦 This weekend’s Stringfoot Sunday officially started at 3pm at Marble Arch but some of us arranged to meet earlier as we had a couple of extra pigeon cases to attend to.

We met at Tottenham Court Rd to try to find one that had been reported by a member of this page near the University College Hospital and were so happy we found them! Still just a little youngster but struggling with Stringfoot, we soon had them back on two good feet!

We also wanted to look nearby for another youngster with Stringfoot who had eluded us last week but who we couldn’t get out of our minds-luckily this one was also found and destrung too so it was a really positive start!

We picked up a poorly pigeon at the same location and found quite a few other stringfeet en route including a few at Cavendish Square so it was a bit of a staggered start at Marble Arch by the time some of us arrived!

We welcomed a few lovely new pigeon loving members there and soon set off again to Cavendish Street where we ALWAYS find some needing foot care.

We caught and destrung a few more pigeons there and picked up one who was under the weather.

Throughout the day we picked up a few poorly pigeons who needed to go into care and we also released one from last week who must have been very glad to get back home!

Lots of happy feet! 🩵🩵🩵

You can join our team here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/JNkSxytzrcjQiA8V/?mibextid=K35XfP

STRINGFOOT SUNDAY 26TH MAY
MARBLE ARCH -3PM

Come along, meet the team and
learn how you can help our pigeons!

Join our group here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/TPQgMeiYgaQ3f1TX/?mibextid=K35XfP

The day of the magpies…

To be honest, most days are the days of the magpies as they nest in my garden and hang out in most places I go so they are a constant. However, earlier this week when trying to treat a fox with a wound, this little magpie fledgling caught my eye-not yet able to fly and in danger of being preyed upon by cats or foxes, I had no choice but to pick him up.

Less than five minutes after I did, Binky appeared looking very purposeful and sniffing the air. This baby had a very lucky escape.

Strangely Binky is never usually in that location-she had to cross the road to be there-it was bizarre. And I wouldn’t normally have been there either!

The adult magpies are not at all bothered by the foxes and are very bold with them…and quite rude! They pinch food from under their noses, immediately dig up what food the foxes have just buried the second their backs are turned and rudest of all, peck the foxes tails! 😂

These photos were all in the same half hour 😅

---Stringfoot this Sunday----

Sunday May 19th
Meet up is at Euston station by the benches opposite Itsu
Time - 3.00pm
We will be doing a fair amount of walking this Sunday to try and cover a few different sites so please be prepared 😀

Join our group here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/r6cGn98LuL7AXPcf/?mibextid=K35XfP

🦊🐦🦔 Netting of all types, from goalpost net to garden mesh, is lethal to all types of wildlife-please always put netting away safely and don’t leave it around your garden where it can cause severe injuries and loss of life.

There have been so many tragic cases this last week of animals caught in netting and in particular, very many fox cubs. They are very playful and adventurous at this age and can quickly get into trouble in netting. If they are lucky enough to be found before they die, they can still sustain bad injuries in their struggle to escape.

A further problem which is almost worse is when well meaning people cut a fox free and let them go thinking they are doing a kind thing. Sadly, although the fox may appear to be uninjured, constriction injuries are invisible at this stage and take a few days to become apparent.

It is essential in all netting entanglement cases for a fox cub or adult to go into care for observation even if they look completely unscathed. They will often need further treatment including antibiotics. To decide they are ok and just release them is an absolute disaster. Please always safely contain the fox in a secure carrier and get professional advice from a reputable fox rescue or wildlife hospital.

This also goes for when foxes get something stuck round their neck like a plastic bottle. The fox cannot just be released when it is removed.

Also, please never release a fox cub in a different area from where you found them. They are not independent at the age they are now and still need their parents.

‼️ Please share to protect wildlife ‼️

🐦🐦🐦
What a wonderful start to the Stringfoot Sunday season!

Although members of our team are out stringfooting every day throughout the year, it’s so lovely to get together every Sunday as a team and to train new people who want to come on board!

We welcomed several new members who came along to be among like minded pigeon people and to learn how to safely catch and destring pigeons as well as other essential care. It was so heartening to be able to share the pigeon love!

We started near Russell Square station where we immediately found some wobbly pigeons needing our assistance, then went onto Brunswick Square, Russell Square, Tavistock Square and Bramber Green.

Although we cover these areas quite frequently, we found lots more pigeons needing our help and finally finished up at Kings Cross.

We also needed to bring a couple of poorly pigeons into care with various issues which needed further treatment/rehabilitation.

A very happy day and lots of happy feet! 🩵🩵🩵

Join our London Pigeon & Stringfoot Rescue group here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/BuUqr8Ghv3u62Xn4/?mibextid=K35XfP