How to make sure my cats down get my bird?

[happycat]

Im going to put my new Kakariki in the living room ( I think) and I have 2 cats that are allowed anywhere in the house. One cat wouldnt even poke at the bars ever. One cat thumps at my dwarf hamster cage and paws at it. And once killed one of my hamsters
How do I make sure my cat dosent paw at my parrots cage? We also have a dog, she can be yappy. Could that make the bird sad?

 

[DerSchniffles]

We have a 10 month old Bichon who is yappy as well and Scarlet is already used to it. I wouldnt worry about the dog too much, its the cats I would worry about. All it takes is one scratch with all their claws and infection is imminent. You are just going to have to be really cautious. If your lucky, maybe the birdy will nail the cat when it tries to play with the cage and the cat will learn. Our puppy learned the hard way....

 

[Birdlover11]

Train the cats to not paw at the cage . Reward them if they sit by it.

 

[crimson]

you can train your cats without them misbehaving around the birds cage....but that takes time, 100% commitment, and if you are not around even once, that is all it can take for something terrible to happen. I have 4 cats and all my birds are behind closed doors.
It really depends on your cat, you know your cats better than anyone, just go by your gut instinct. hope it works out for you.

 

[Tammy]

Perhaps you could set up two cages, One in the living room & one in your bedroom so if you weren't going to be around you could close the door to keep the bird safe from your cat. Personally speaking, if I had a cat that already killed a hamster I would NEVER let them alone near my bird. My boxer puppy sniffed too close & Mr. Precious nailed him. Dogs seem to be better learners when it comes to birds. Either that or design a cage stand that would not allow the cats access to the cage.

 

[lpolliard]

Don't think dogs are safe around your birds, big mistake. Many smaller dogs were bred to be ratters. And there is not much difference between a rodent and a bird in a dogs mind.

 

[Birdlover11]

I agree with the above, many dog breeds were bred to kill small animals especially if it's a terrier . Never underestimate a pet. Even though the cat doesn't seem interested in the bird a cats instincts could come out. Most cats were bred to kill rats on ships and in houses. I would reccomend a seed guard or somthing that could prevent a cat from touching the cage. You could find a website that teaches you how to train cats. Also try to find a realistic bird stuff animal that looks a lot like your bird. It must also be the same size. If you have bird food rub some on it so it smells like a bird. Now put it on the couch or in the sight of the cat and see how they react to it. If they stalk it or attack it you have to keep the bird cage out of reach and only take the bird out if the cats are in a carrier or shut in another room.Hope that if the bird is intimidating enough it could give the cats a lesson about its property and itself.

 

[MaraWentz]

Not all terrier are killers. Depends how well you socialize your pets- my mastiff bulldog mix loved Erin more than anything and my rat terrier was just a few steps behind. But we also take our pets dogs included to all sorts kf settings and from puppyhood they have been raised around reptiles, mice, hamsters, fish, birds etc. It just depends how well you raise your pets.

 

[Sherry]

When I was a teen I had many pets. I prided myself with a baby rabbit and a kitten that slept together and spent almost all of their time playing together. They did this for about 4 years. I felt very comfortable with leaving them alone together because of their relationship. Big mistake. In the end I came home to a slaughter. My cat finally decided that the "friendship" was over. The reality is animals are animals. I learned a valuable lesson (unfortunately my bunny did too). My cat now shows no interest in any of my birds. I however would never leave without making sure that they were separated. Better safe than sorry.