fledgeling blackbird

[snowy]

I am new to this forum so hope that my message makes sense and is not too long!
Yesterday afternoon I heard alarm calls from some birds outside on my roof. when I went to look there was a fledgeling blackbird on the back garden path. My cat had pounced on it and I thought that its wing was damaged. I was afraid to leave it outdoors as there are cats 'everywhere' in this area (including my own). There isn't anywhere 'safe' for this fledgeling in my garden (i.e bushes /trees) and I'm unsure as to the location of the nest. I contacted our local bird hospital and promptly took the fledgeling to them. I was assured that they had years of experience of handrearing birds and were very successful; they would also give it some anti - biotics. Ideally I should have found a way of returning it outdoors to be near its parents, however I was afraid of injury /infection/ death etc. I'm sure it would have been killed by a cat. Its parents have been looking for it & I feel terribly guilty but hope I've done the right thing under the circumstances. Can anyone advise me re: proximity of nest /more fledgelings etc. I am keeping my cat indoors just incase!!
Snowy.

[RKB]

They will roam up to 50 metres from the nest, and parents will locate them by calls.

If it was uninjured (no wings hanging off) then it should have been out back in some thick cover (long grass, tangles of nettles, thick bushes) within 30m of where it was found.

If it has minor injuries (scratch, bit of blood, even a broken leg) then these would have healed by themselves. Cats can give them septicaemia, but unless they have an obvious large open wound then I think it's best to get them back to their parents and take their chances with their immune system rather than taking them into captivity. There is very little evidence that hand-reared birds actually survive when released into the wild, so it's very much a last resort rather than a first.

[snowy]

Thanks for the reply, this is very helpful! Snowy