Recently hopping down the bunny trail was not Peter Cottontail,
but a cat carrying a little baby rabbit in its mouth!
 The cat’s owner quickly rescued the baby and brought it to
WERC.Â
Recently hopping down the bunny trail was not Peter Cottontail, but a cat carrying a little baby rabbit in its mouth! The cat’s owner quickly rescued the baby and brought it to WERC. Upon returning home, she found the cat had caught another rabbit, and back to WERC she went.Â
Sadly, despite intensive care and hand-feeding, the first rabbit became ill from the cat’s bite and died after one week. A cat’s saliva can contain bacteria that could be highly toxic to other animals, and a tiny scratch could be fatal.Â
Fortunately, the second baby rabbit had not been injured and thrived under WERC’s care. It soon transferred to the large outside enclosure for room to hop around and grow healthy on alfalfa hay, miner’s lettuce and other natural foods. After six weeks, the rabbit weighed seven times more than when it arrived and was “hoppily” released near the area where it was found, in grassy habitat near a babbling brook.Â
During the springtime “baby season,” WERC receives many baby wild animals that have been caught by cats and dreadfully wounded. It’s especially important at this time of year to keep your house cats in the house so that young birds, bunnies and other critters have a chance to survive.Â
WERC, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, provides the community with rehabilitation services for orphaned, injured and sick native wildlife. Through its educational programs, WERC encourages a peaceful coexistence between civilization and our native wildlife. WERC does not receive operating funds from any government agency to care for wildlife and is not allowed to charge a fee for this service. It is supported solely by donations from businesses and the public. To contact WERC, call (408) 779-9372 or visit www.werc-ca.org.
Get to Know WERC
You are invited to WERC’s annual barbecue and auction fundraiser June 10 at San Martin Country Park. There will be superb barbecued food with all the trimmings, fun games and activities for the children, toe-tapping music by a DJ, exciting door prizes, and more. Don’t miss the silent and oral auctions of a fantastic variety of items, including the rare opportunity to train with an educational raptor. Meet WERC’s animal ambassadors, including the newest, a peregrine falcon named Horus.
Tickets must be purchased by June 2. Info: www.werc-ca.org
