Contact with cat.

[kiwi_sdesp]

Hello. I'm new here. I'm here to ask about my budgie, Kiwi. Today I left Kiwi in his usual spot up high, but since there were chairs nearby, my family's cat was able to climb and reach Kiwi. I heard the conmotion (the cat climbing up) and when I reached them, the cat was on the side of the cage, with my bird near. I don't know if there's any scratch, or if he got in contact with the cat's saliva, I don't really know, but I'm very worried. All that happened this morning. I had to put Kiwi away in my room (closed off ofc) he didn't lose any feathers and he was chirping okay, ate okay, drank a lot of water, did lots of preening, scratched his head as usual, took a nap for a bit (pretty normal for him also) but I can't shake off this worry off me. He seemed fluffed up a bit, but I don't know if I'm just misinterpreting it. He was perching fine, jumping around, even had the energy to bite me (as usual) Ate a bit of mango, chard, shouted his feathers off (when he hears other birds around) everything as usual, but I'm worried ! What should I look for tomorrow? Maybe I should pick him up and wash him? (He is not tamed at all) Maybe I should take him to a vet? Look around if there's a scratch somewhere hidden?

 

[LaManuka]

Hello. I'm new here. I'm here to ask about my budgie, Kiwi. Today I left Kiwi in his usual spot up high, but since there were chairs nearby, my family's cat was able to climb and reach Kiwi. I heard the conmotion (the cat climbing up) and when I reached them, the cat was on the side of the cage, with my bird near. I don't know if there's any scratch, or if he got in contact with the cat's saliva, I don't really know, but I'm very worried. All that happened this morning. I had to put Kiwi away in my room (closed off ofc) he didn't lose any feathers and he was chirping okay, ate okay, drank a lot of water, did lots of preening, scratched his head as usual, took a nap for a bit (pretty normal for him also) but I can't shake off this worry off me. He seemed fluffed up a bit, but I don't know if I'm just misinterpreting it. He was perching fine, jumping around, even had the energy to bite me (as usual) Ate a bit of mango, chard, shouted his feathers off (when he hears other birds around) everything as usual, but I'm worried ! What should I look for tomorrow? Maybe I should pick him up and wash him? (He is not tamed at all) Maybe I should take him to a vet? Look around if there's a scratch somewhere hidden?

Welcome to the forums, @kiwi_sdesp, I'm glad to have you and your little one aboard! You are correct to be concerned about possible contact with your cat, as contact with bacteria in their saliva, teeth and claws can indeed be very dangerous to them. For your own peace of mind it might be a good idea to at least contact your vet and see what they think, since there may have been contact or even a tiny scratch that you're not able to see. He probably won't thank you for giving him a quick wash, but that might be a good idea too. Your little one is very lucky to be loved by someone who cares about him as much as you do, and I hope he'll be ok!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I would keep your budgie and your cat in separate rooms when you aren't present to supervise or somehow set up the room so that the cat can't reach the budgie cage. There are quite a few members with both birds and cats who may be able to give you some advice on how to keep the two separated. Good luck and I hope your budgie is okay.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Washing a budgie that's tame isn't easy- washing an untamed budgie is even more difficult. I had to rinse my very tame budgie under the faucet because she fell head first into a glass of artificial sweetened lemonade and almost drowned. She is very tame and doesn't bite but doesnt like to be restrained.

I pulled her out of the glass of lemonade and held her encircled by my hands as I carried her to the bathroom and shut the door. I turned on the water (room temperature) and held her body under the tap, making sure the front of head wasn't under the stream, and gave her a quick rinse. Then I held her close to my body as I blotted the excess water with a clean towel. She was very upset by the whole experience but after she dried off in a warm room she was fine.

If you decide to give your budgie a rinse off it will be much more difficult and because your bird is more likely to bite and try to squirm away. You will need to protect your hands from his bites so I would wear some lightweight gloves.
Personally, I wouldn't put him through the stress of being held and rinsed off. If he got cat saliva on his feathers he would have gotten it into his mouth already by his normal grooming. It sounds like he's okay so I would concentrate your efforts on preventing this from happening again. It would be best to keep the budgie and the cat in different rooms.