Advice needed about cats and parrots

Hi there, this is my first post but I’ve been lurking for the last six months as I move gradually closer to making the decision to bring a parrot into the household. It seems an incredibly informative and enthusiastic place, and you’ve all helped me a great deal to get this far – so thank you!
So, I’m confident after careful consideration that I am able to offer the necessary commitment to looking after a galah cockatoo and I only have one thing still troubling me, which is the fact that I own a cat. I understand there is a school of thought that says the two should never mix, and I’m assuming that the numerous cute cat/parrot Youtube clips aren’t exactly a reliable guide, but searching the forum suggests there are a good few experienced parrot carers around here who also have cats so was hoping I could ask those of you who have both what your opinions are about introducing the two?
My cat is 15. She’s never been much of a hunter and she’s very timid around the local magpies, so I’m not too concerned about her predating the parrot – although obviously I realize careful supervision is needed where both are in the room together. She’s totally unfazed by loud noises, and quick moving objects. It’s usually just me and her at home but she’s always shown herself to be pretty easy going about human guests. If the parrot could be trained to top up her food bowl a couple of times they’d be bonded for life… but I guess probably not a viable strategy!
I’m also planning that the parrot will be largely limited to the front room and not allowed into the bedrooms, so the cat will have plenty of her own territory if she wants space, and whilst the parrot will be out of its cage whenever I’m home and in the living areas, I’ll be encouraging it to use a play gym and being able to entertain itself rather than be permanently glued to me. Meanwhile the cat has always slept in the bedroom with me so she’ll get plenty of one on one time.
I know there are no guarantees that the two will get on – and if people respond by saying this is a really bad idea I’ll take it on board. And, obviously if you have suggestions that could help that would be appreciated too.

Firstly, a warm welcome to our forum, Jayyj

I personally don't have cats, but there are PLENTY folks here who do, and I'm sure many will chime in.

PS. I am owned by 2 large dogs though...and I have NO issues

i own cats as well. my cats are NEVER out when my birds are out of their cages. when the birds are let out, the cats are put into the other room.

ideally, putting the cat in a different room when you let the bird out is the best idea. for the cat and the bird's safety. a larger parrot could even hurt the cat.


as for cage, IF your cat shows too much interest in the cage, then i would have the parrot in his or her own room where the cat is never allowed in.

It doesn't sound like you will have any trouble. I have three older cats, two of which were here before any birds. They aren't interested in my macaw except when she takes a swipe at a tail, and then they judiciously move the offending tail. Macaws are too big to look like prey to most cats but we also had a Quaker who's favorite toys were cat jingle balls. She used to throw them for the cats to chase. These cats think the birds are just annoying family members. They have no interest in hunting her. I would worry more about smaller birds and certainly be watchful but it sounds like your cat is a lot like mine. My cats never go outside and I think thats important because they have never hunted mice or birds. Some cats are very prey driven and that of course would be a different story. Mine are not. Just watch your cat carefully to begin with and you will know how she sees your bird. We also have dogs. I am more watchfull of them as they are big dogs and might bite the bird if she bit them. Those we never leave in a room alone. We have not had a problem in over ten years of co existing but do watch and intervene if anybody gets too close such as the macaw chasing the cat out of the room. Funny as that is I don't want the cats tail bitten or the bird getting scratched in retaliation. As long as the bird is on her play tree and the cats curled up in a chair everything's fine. Animals can and do get along but you must know your animals and work to prevent situations from happening that might lead to injury.

Thanks for your responses, much appreciated. She's basically a house cat - she'll occasionally pad around the front garden if I keep her company but is very wary of the wild birds we have locally. She's certainly never put in any hunting practice.

I'll pay close attention to how the cat behaves when the bird is in the cage. There is a room that the parrot could have to itself but I'd prefer to keep it in the front room where there's a lot more natural light and more opportunity to socialise. The cat only generally bothers with the front room if there's a warm lap to sit on, and it will be easy enough to keep a closed door between them if I'm not home. But a cat free room is an option if there's significant tension between the two.

Cat owner here - I have two cats that have drastically different personalities. When I had cockatiels, one cat was rather oblivious towards the birds. The other I had to watch much closer. While the birds were allowed out of the cage, it was never an unsupervised situation if the cats were around. The more bird-friendly cat actually got to the point where she would sleep on top of the bird cage (when it was closed), and the birds were so comfortable with her they didn't even seem to care. They even played a little through the cage bars.

I recently adopted a B&G macaw, and the situation is a bit different with her. I'm really more concerned about the bird hurting the cats now. Again, one cat is oblivious, the other is much more curious. The cats were extremely curious about the cage at first, so while Frankie (the macaw) was still in her travel carrier, I let the cats explore the big cage. That seemed to get it out of their system, and they don't really care any longer. Phoenix, the more curious cat of the two, has tried on a couple of occasions to sniff, and even chew Frankie's tail. Still more curiousity there. I've had Frankie nearly a week now, and the cats are lounging around in the room while Frankie is out playing with her toys. While I'm still keeping a very close eye on things, I'm not really worried about a confrontation any longer. I think the cats realized pretty quickly that Frankie wasn't prey, and they're starting to figure out that she could hurt them. One good scream from Frankie sends the cats running anyway, so they're developing a healthy respect for her (or maybe fear, one or the other).

Most cats are attracted to small things that move quickly...I have a declawed cat (adopted that way)and he does not show the slightest bit of interest in any of the birds....

But a particular cats prey drive would ultimately decide if you would need to take extra precautions... As I'm sure you are aware even the slightest scratch from a cat could be deadly to a bird

Good luck..

I have 4 birds three of whom do come out of their cage at times. We just adopted a 5 and a half year old female cat from the animal shelter on March 9th. She had always been an inside cat according to her history. It took her three weeks to come out of the back room and at least another week and a half before she would go into the dining room where the birds are. Now she will go under their cages but just to look out into the back yard thru the sliding glass doors. She seems to pay absolutely no attention to the birds and is free in the house even when we are not home. I would not trust them to be out of their cages when we are not here however. The one thing I have seen her interested in is the lizards that live outside. She will watch them and meow and flick her tail but she is a florida cat after all.

That's a good idea to let the cat get used to the cage before it's occupied - was planning to have everything set up and ready to go before the bird comes home so there should be opportunity for the cat to get used to the new apparatus.

Greenwing, yes, I'm aware that cats carry bacteria that is dangerous to birds if they break the skin. Knowing my cat, I don't really have much concern that the cat will predate the bird, but I could foresee a situation where a persistantly curious bird would end up winding her up and provoking an impatient swipe - so my instinct is they need to be kept firmly out of reach of each other, even if they appear to be getting on well.

A important thing to know is that you can never fully trust a cat, or a dog. Supervision is always needed. Many people trust their cats/dogs with their birds, this can go on for years, but there are many cases were the cat/dog suddenly attacked in either play or as a predator and the bird is lost. You can keep both a bird and cat, just be cautious and even if your cat doesn't seem to care about your bird still be very careful. A galah cockatoo is a medium sized bird, similar in size to a lilac crowned amazon. But their beak is small for their size and would offer little protection against a cat.

Please be aware that galahs are from harsh climates and even desert, they have a very effeciant metabolism. Because of this they are highly prone to obesity, fatty liver disease, and fatty tumors.

Galahs in captivity should remain fully flighted/unclipped! If clipped their life may be cut in half from health issues. If you don't think your house is safe, or that you can't handle a fully flighted bird(and the training that should go with that) please reconsider getting a galah. Breeders will try to tell you otherwise, but remember they may only be trying to get a sale or don't even know.

I have a beautiful 2.5yr old cat. Unfortunately he does have a strong prey drive, but he don't catch animals to kill them, just to play with and always brings them inside to show me. when i first bought my baby alex oxy home, the cage was set up in another room and scan showed alto of unwanted attention to him. Scan pretty much spends all day outside so i lock him out while the birds are out. I've since added 2 more alex's to my flock and the cage is now in the main room.at first scan showed interest with them but every time he got to close to the cage id squirt with water. Now he shows little to no interest in them but i would not allow them all out at the same time even under supervision.

I have taken care of patients on ventilators who were scratched by cats.

Copperarabian said:

A important thing to know is that you can never fully trust a cat, or a dog. Supervision is always needed. Many people trust their cats/dogs with their birds, this can go on for years, but there are many cases were the cat/dog suddenly attacked in either play or as a predator and the bird is lost. You can keep both a bird and cat, just be cautious and even if your cat doesn't seem to care about your bird still be very careful. A galah cockatoo is a medium sized bird, similar in size to a lilac crowned amazon. But their beak is small for their size and would offer little protection against a cat.

Please be aware that galahs are from harsh climates and even desert, they have a very effeciant metabolism. Because of this they are highly prone to obesity, fatty liver disease, and fatty tumors.

Galahs in captivity should remain fully flighted/unclipped! If clipped their life may be cut in half from health issues. If you don't think your house is safe, or that you can't handle a fully flighted bird(and the training that should go with that) please reconsider getting a galah. Breeders will try to tell you otherwise, but remember they may only be trying to get a sale or don't even know.

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Thanks for postng - I've read many posts about Rosie, she seems a lovely bird! I've done a lot of reading up on free flight on the understanding that it's really a necessity for galahs, and it will be a priority from a training point of view. I've been looking into a particular rescue bird that has had one wing clipped, so if that ends up being the route I go down (I love the bird but want to sort out a few financial affairs so that I have money set aside for emergencies down the line, so may be a month or so before I'm happy to go ahead) I may need to wait for the first moult: but I intend the bird to be unclipped. Fortunately I have a couple of long narrow rooms that should allow plenty of airspace.

Totally agree that I would never 100% trust the cat, whatever her personality.