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Hi,

I love my parakeet and since he is so people friendly I don't want to get anther parakeet. Does anybody have any advice on how to have a cat and a bird in the same home? I've seen cats who could care less that there was a bird flying about and I wonder if there was specific training involved or if it was just the cat who knew better. I would love to add more animals to my home but don't want to risk losing my bird. I am willing to make as much effort as needed and keep them separate if the end result will be a safe home for all my animals.

Tips are greatly appreciated!

Annie

My advice is don't...
either have a bird or a cat. Not both. the potential for trouble is high.....

We all answered this question in another forum. If you're looking for justification for keeping cats and birds in the same home, you probably won't find much support here. Birds and cats together are asking for trouble, plain and simple.

I'll second all this. My college roommate's girlfriend's cat used to stand outside my bedroom door and wait for me to open the door so he could rush in to bat at the bird cages. Luckily it didn't visit very often. Unfortunately, both cats and dogs are hard to have around birdies.

DONT.

There is an extremely high risk that the bird will not remain intact. PLEASE, do not put small birds and cats together, it's so likly to end badly.

- AllX

I have to say that I have had a very different experience from the other respondents to this post. I have kept birds and cats but it works because my set up is probably somewhat unique.

I keep a small flock of budgies in an aviary indoors (4x4x8). I do not handle and socialize with them the way people who keep a single budgie do. The aviary is always locked and runs from almost floor to cieling. As you can imagine, the birds spend virtually all their time up top.

I have three cats. They LOVE to watch the birds and dream of catching them, usually from a few feet away. They swatted at the aviary bars at first, but soon realized it was going to be a vicarious experience forever. Perhaps they are used to the flock of budgies now, because they show more interest in the wild birds that perch outside the windows.

As I said, this is not your typical set-up. Most people with budgies have a smaller cage they keep on a stand or hang from the wall, and they handle the bird and take it out of the cage daily. I would say that this certainly would invite more unwanted interaction than what I have.

Even this situation puts undue stress on the birds.

I have three cats. They LOVE to watch the birds and dream of catching them, usually from a few feet away. They swatted at the aviary bars at first

Imagine the stress on the birds watching THREE cats drooling over them...[/quote]

A sad new year's day post: http://www.quakerparrots.com/forum/inde ... =20505&hl=

Easy to see how unexpected things can come up and still cause everyone to lose. The birds died, the cat lost its home. I'm surprised to hear she's considering putting yet another bird in the situation with a cat still in the home.

I love cats, too. I have fostered tiny kittens in my house twice now, but as soon as they get old enough to seriously stalk the birds, they go to their permanent homes. But I wouldn't ever keep an adult cat in my home with a bird.

In a way, it's like the whole wing-clipping debate. Even though we are vigilant with our flighted girls, I still know that there is a risk of them flying out the door one day. I feel the psychological benefits for the birds outweigh the risk when we're so careful about doors and other hazards. In this situation, though, there are no benefits for the birds, and tragic risks...

I beg to differ since my budgie and my cat got along GREAT! see the pic http://www.flickr.com/photos/11126218@N00/

I had gotten my budgies almost a year ago, and I have 3 cats and a dog in the house. I admit, I've gotten lucky so far, The only cat I really have to watch at this point is a 2yr old tom, who is an indoor/outdoor cat. When I first moved the cats in, they attacked the cages a couple of times, but the squirt bottle stopped most of that. I've since moved the birds to another room because my 21 month old daughter wouldn't leave them alone. The cats still have access, in fact Tiger sleeps in the room 99% of the time, but they don't bother them at all. I still watch them closely, but it works for now. I guess it comes down to what you are willing to do to have both in the house. When I turn the birds loose, the cats get shut in the bathroom, and the dog goes outside(close call with the dog once, really scary!).