Cat keeps going on Darcy's cage + cat germs

A while ago Darcy had runny poop and was sneezing. Turned out that he had cat germs. The holistic doctor gave him some remedies (the regular vet couldn't find anything wrong), and the symptoms went away.

My mom had put the litter box in the fireplace (doesn't get used, ever), which is behind Darcy's cage. After this, she moved it away. However, the cats kept pooping in the fireplace. So we put a bunch of boxes in there to keep the cats out. Then my mom put some shelves in front of the fireplace.

The last couple of days I have found Cousin, the more predatory of the two cats, lounging on top of Darcy's cage! Both times I have chased her off, but since she is a cat and doesn't care about making anybody happy, so she just comes back! We sanitized the top of the cage where she was, and moved the cage in to the middle of the room so she can't use anything to jump on top of the cage, but this isn't practical for long term. Any ideas on what to do about the cat? Do they make something we could put on top of the cage that would discourage her? I'm not sure if I could convince my mom to get rid of her (I'm not a fan of cats anyway). I'm also considering moving Darcy's cage into my bedroom until the spare bedroom is fixed up to useable condition. He'd have less company during the day, but he'd be safer.

Puck had runny poop for a while before he passed away, and I can't help but wonder if this had something to do with it. He never saw the holistic doctor, so we wouldn't have found it. (Both birds tested negative for parasites.)

Squirt bottle?
We have 3 cats but all of them have been conditioned to think parrots mean getting yelled at or squirted. Even when one of the birds bails right in front of a cat, we have enough time to rescue. But we never leave the cage open unless we're there to watch.

A consistent round of squirt bottle negative conditioning might do the trick.

NWQuakers said:

Squirt bottle?
We have 3 cats but all of them have been conditioned to think parrots mean getting yelled at or squirted. Even when one of the birds bails right in front of a cat, we have enough time to rescue. But we never leave the cage open unless we're there to watch.

A consistent round of squirt bottle negative conditioning might do the trick.

Click to expand...

I have absolutely no faith in this cat being trainable. She also drinks out of the water on his table perch, no matter now many times we yell at/hiss at her. She hasn't gone after him yet, but I wouldn't put it past her.

Something like this? Pet Training Products: Sofa Scram

Otherwise being n a safer room would be better. Maybe with a tv or near a window for entertainment.

Put something on top of the cage pyramid-shaped that wont allow the cat any way to access the roof.

Or, feed the cat to a local coyote.

Or get/rent a Golden Eagle to hunt the cat.

One more legitimate concern, the bird being hunted like that can cause a heart attack from stress. Moving the bird is the best plan unless you can get control of the cats.

goalerjones said:

Put something on top of the cage pyramid-shaped that wont allow the cat any way to access the roof.

Or, feed the cat to a local coyote.

Or get/rent a Golden Eagle to hunt the cat.

One more legitimate concern, the bird being hunted like that can cause a heart attack from stress. Moving the bird is the best plan unless you can get control of the cats.

Click to expand...

OMG... I actually laughed at this... I don't like cats, mostly due to their predatory instinct... No matter how well fed they are, they still love to chase and kill small animals, including birds...

My kids left me with 3 cats, when they had all moved out of home, and the oldest one killed a cockatiel, who was out flying, because the neighbours thought it was a good idea to let the tiel get some exercise... When they came door knocking, all I could do was show them the feathers my cat had left on the ground...

Is there any option to making them outdoor only cats?

NWQuakers said:

Something like this? Pet Training Products: Sofa Scram

Otherwise being n a safer room would be better. Maybe with a tv or near a window for entertainment.

Click to expand...

Those things are great for couches! I'm afraid Darcy might chew it up if it was on the cage though.

goalerjones said:

Put something on top of the cage pyramid-shaped that wont allow the cat any way to access the roof.

Or, feed the cat to a local coyote.

Or get/rent a Golden Eagle to hunt the cat.

One more legitimate concern, the bird being hunted like that can cause a heart attack from stress. Moving the bird is the best plan unless you can get control of the cats.

Click to expand...

I like the way you think. I have a friend who rescues raptors. Maybe she will loan me a Great Horned Owl. (jk)

Wait, wouldn't that eat Darcy too?

goalerjones said:

Is there any option to making them outdoor only cats?

Click to expand...

I don't think my mom would go for that. Both of the cats (only one of which is a problem, the other one is too fat to get on her cage, and has never shown interest in the bird) have been indoor/outdoor their whole lives. It would also be hard to enforce, because the bratty one is very fast.

I think I am going to fix up the spare bedroom. It still smells slightly like my ex roommate's perfume (after FOUR months of having the windows open and fan on!!), so I put an air purifier in there. Going to move the old bed frame out, and put Darcy in!