I'm thinking about getting a bird

[Whitelightning777]

The species I'm considering are Pionus, Alexandrian, Ring neck, Superb (Barraband) or Mustache parakeet. My family had budgies when I was a kid. When one of them was deaf and albino that my brother bred, I kept him by himself in my room. Question: Are there hardened cages that are cat-proof. Yes, they can be separated. We had 3 cats with the budgies without issues when I was a kid.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The species I'm considering are Pionus, Alexandrian, Ring neck, Superb (Barraband) or Mustache parakeet. My family had budgies when I was a kid. When one of them was deaf and albino that my brother bred, I kept him by himself in my room. Question: Are there hardened cages that are cat-proof. Yes, they can be separated. We had 3 cats with the budgies without issues when I was a kid.

In general, cats and birds are a bad combination. You should keep the cats out of the room where you keep your birds. At the very least, even the presence of cats strolling around where the bird can see them will make the bird very nervous and will be bad for its emotional well-being. A cat may climb on the cage terrifying the bird. If you keep a bird closed up in a room that you don't spend most of your time in the bird will be very lonely and you will have more difficulty forming a bond. A bird should be in the room where you (and your family) hang out because you (and others) will be his flock. Parrots are very social creatures and only thrive as a member of a flock, avian or human.

All that said, there are cages, especially the larger heavy ones that are very sturdy and have doors that a cat can't easily open.

 

[zERo]

I also want to add, cats carry a bacteria on them in their saliva called Pasteurella that is very dangerous for parrots if the cat were to lick/scratch/bite the bird.

I think one can keep cats and birds as long as great care is taken to keep them far away, as in a different room permanently as @DonnaBudgie stated above.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The species I'm considering are Pionus, Alexandrian, Ring neck, Superb (Barraband) or Mustache parakeet. My family had budgies when I was a kid. When one of them was deaf and albino that my brother bred, I kept him by himself in my room. Question: Are there hardened cages that are cat-proof. Yes, they can be separated. We had 3 cats with the budgies without issues when I was a kid.

And don't let all those cute videos of cats and birds happily living together, loving each other, that people post online. It's not typical.

 

[Owlet]

And don't let all those cute videos of cats and birds happily living together, loving each other, that people post online. It's not typical.

Dittoing this. And we don't see anything outside of that short clip of them interacting. For all we know the bird got very sick afterwards or the cat ended up hurting them. ETC

 

[ravvlet]

We have a cat and parrots and I agree with all of the above! Our old man and our soon-to-join-us baby bird live in my office. I make a point of spending as much time in here as I can and made sure the kids arts and crafts table is in here (markers, crayons, colored pencils and watercolor paint only; any toxic or chemical art supplies like slime or soap making kits are in a different part of the house).

This way the kids have stuff to do if they come in here and it’s where I work and read books in the evenings.

You can have your bird in a separate room that isn’t the main room of the house for safety but you will need to make it so you have reasons to spend time in there with them, and I would suggest if you take that approach you get them a buddy.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

We have a cat and parrots and I agree with all of the above! Our old man and our soon-to-join-us baby bird live in my office. I make a point of spending as much time in here as I can and made sure the kids arts and crafts table is in here (markers, crayons, colored pencils and watercolor paint only; any toxic or chemical art supplies like slime or soap making kits are in a different part of the house).

This way the kids have stuff to do if they come in here and it’s where I work and read books in the evenings.

You can have your bird in a separate room that isn’t the main room of the house for safety but you will need to make it so you have reasons to spend time in there with them, and I would suggest if you take that approach you get them a buddy.

Get the bird a buddy? Like another bird? Is that because it's not the main room of the house?
Are you getting Broccoli in part to be a buddy for "The Old Man", whoever that is?

 

[Whitelightning777]

When I was a kid. The 2 budgies my brother had bred and increased to 5 of them. Our 3 cats were kept distant from them. From what I've observed, domestic cats are primarily preying on insects and rodents. Even at our bird feeder, the feral cats were constantly catching mice & ignoring birds. Cats use smell to track rodents. Birds fly which eliminates that.

 

[Whitelightning777]

If you look at cat species like Caracals and Servals which ARE specialized in killing birds, the differences such as a much higher jumping ability and daytime hunting are obvious. When my brother took in another bird with clipped wings, all 3 cats were surrounding that cage alone ignoring the others.

 

[ravvlet]

Songbird populations are regularly decimated by domestic cats allowed to free roam.

Cats and Birds

Cats and birds are an unhappy combination. Instinctive hunters, free-roaming cats threaten birds and other wildlife.

abcbirds.org

Get the bird a buddy? Like another bird? Is that because it's not the main room of the house?
Are you getting Broccoli in part to be a buddy for "The Old Man", whoever that is?

The old man is Kirby, my orange wing Amazon! Broccoli, or count Brcoccula, Brocco the Taco, Spicy Avocado, etc, is first and foremost my buddy! I miss having a small bird after Cricket passed, as did my kids. We interviewed many a feathery fellow before we picked Brocc-a-Rama. But Kirby’s vet and I also felt that having another parrot in the house would be beneficial for him, even if he ends up hating their guts and just staring daggers at them while shredding his toys. Our vet has met both birds already, actually! They have both been very good patients. As I have mentioned previously they will be housed separately and get separate out of cage time.

Yes, I suggested they consider a second bird if they aren’t going to have them in the main part of the house. I realize that is not ideal for every bird; some are perfectly happy to not share their space with another bird. There are also many complications in getting two birds - but many rescues have bonded pairs available for adoption, and that might be more fair to their feathered friend if they know from the start that they’re going to have to divide their time between pets.

 

[Whitelightning777]

In general, cats and birds are a bad combination. You should keep the cats out of the room where you keep your birds. At the very least, even the presence of cats strolling around where the bird can see them will make the bird very nervous and will be bad for its emotional well-being. A cat may climb on the cage terrifying the bird. If you keep a bird closed up in a room that you don't spend most of your time in the bird will be very lonely and you will have more difficulty forming a bond. A bird should be in the room where you (and your family) hang out because you (and others) will be his flock. Parrots are very social creatures and only thrive as a member of a flock, avian or human.

All that said, there are cages, especially the larger heavy ones that are very sturdy and have doors that a cat can't easily open.

The bird will be in my bedroom on a stand next to my bed so it'll get used to me. The main thing with the cage is getting something that'll take a padlock so the bird or cat can't open it up. When I was a kid with 3 cats and budgies, I used those twist ties from trash bags to keep the doors shut. The thing is that birds can chew those. Nyx the cat does watch my tarantulas but doesn't get on top of the cages or anything like that. A padlock loop on the doors would be perfect.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Cats will go after birds, please do not allow yourself a false sense of security. My cat will make a bee line for my budgies' cage if given the opportunity (which is rare, by accident, and I always remove her promptly from the room). The number of wild birds I removed from the mouths of domestic cats is very high.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Cats will go after birds, please do not allow yourself a false sense of security. My cat will make a bee line for my budgies' cage if given the opportunity (which is rare, by accident, and I always remove her promptly from the room). The number of wild birds I removed from the mouths of domestic cats is very high.

The thing is that so many cats are outside that if even 1% or 2% of the prey are birds, it'll be a huge impact.

But no, they won't be in direct contact. I'll feed Nyx first. Get her in a good play session. Lock her out of the room and then work with the bird in question.

I'm hoping that bird tricks method actually works but I'm awaiting confirmation.

The one time my cat did attack my budgie's cage, she hit the food dish and pulled out 2 mice at once. Of my 3 cats from childhood, Sonya was an excellent mouser. The bird feeder created a vermin problem and several times I saw hawks take song birds. Getting to many in one place is a problem.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The thing is that so many cats are outside that if even 1% or 2% of the prey are birds, it'll be a huge impact.

But no, they won't be in direct contact. I'll feed Nyx first. Get her in a good play session. Lock her out of the room and then work with the bird in question.

I'm hoping that bird tricks method actually works but I'm awaiting confirmation.

The one time my cat did attack my budgie's cage, she hit the food dish and pulled out 2 mice at once. Of my 3 cats from childhood, Sonya was an excellent mouser. The bird feeder created a vermin problem and several times I saw hawks take song birds. Getting to many in one place is a

Songbird populations are regularly decimated by domestic cats allowed to free roam.

Cats and Birds

Cats and birds are an unhappy combination. Instinctive hunters, free-roaming cats threaten birds and other wildlife.

abcbirds.org

The old man is Kirby, my orange wing Amazon! Broccoli, or count Brcoccula, Brocco the Taco, Spicy Avocado, etc, is first and foremost my buddy! I miss having a small bird after Cricket passed, as did my kids. We interviewed many a feathery fellow before we picked Brocc-a-Rama. But Kirby’s vet and I also felt that having another parrot in the house would be beneficial for him, even if he ends up hating their guts and just staring daggers at them while shredding his toys. Our vet has met both birds already, actually! They have both been very good patients. As I have mentioned previously they will be housed separately and get separate out of cage time.

Yes, I suggested they consider a second bird if they aren’t going to have them in the main part of the house. I realize that is not ideal for every bird; some are perfectly happy to not share their space with another bird. There are also many complications in getting two birds - but many rescues have bonded pairs available for adoption, and that might be more fair to their feathered friend if they know from the start that they’re going to have to divide their time between pets.

I get it. Your post was confusing to me. Thanks!

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I've always had a cat whilst having my birds. The first one was quite old and hated my birds so would avoid them at every opportunity, I think they were too loud for him, though they loved him. They were never unsupervised and he never stayed around them for very long because he didn't like them and hated them flying. I once watched him stalk them in their outside aviary from across the garden and then stop dead about 6 feet away and walk off without any intervention from me. I think he knew they weren't to be eaten, and this is a cat that loved catching and eating wild birds. He passed away and my parents got a kitten and I don't trust her at all, though she has snuck into the room I keep the birds in on occasion (when I leave the room for five minutes and haven't closed the door properly) and she just watches them in their cages but doesn't try catching them. I introduced them to each other when she was young and stopped her from trying to play with them so she knows not to play with them, but I would never trust her around them.

My birds are kept in my room only since my parents don't like them either and don't want them in the house, so even without the cat they only have one space. I do have a greenhouse which I converted into an aviary and they spend a lot of time out there too which has been a lifesaver as keeping them in one small room can get very boring for them. In the winter they get a little stir crazy as it's too cold to go outside.

If you really want a bird, you will have to keep them separate from the cats. They can't be allowed access to each other unsupervised at all. That being said they should know each other exist, but you need to teach the cats not to hunt them. That's just in case of accidents, not so you can leave them unsupervised or allow them access to each other. Also make sure the birds will have access to more than just a single room as that won't be enough enrichment for them, or at least a big room. I struggle to spend much time with my birds unless I'm in my room, so finding somewhere that people spend a lot of time is a must as the bird will get lonely. Even with 8 birds that are allowed out together for much of the day, my birds need a lot of my time. They're social animals and need more input than a cat or a dog. They want to be a part of what you're doing, all the time, unlike a dog who wants to play with you or go for a walk and then is fine on their own for a bit. A parrot wants to be with you whilst you're cooking, whilst you're getting ready in the mornings, whilst you're eating so they need a lot of social interaction which may not happen if they're locked in a room that no-one goes in to.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Cats will go after birds, please do not allow yourself a false sense of security. My cat will make a bee line for my budgies' cage if given the opportunity (which is rare, by accident, and I always remove her promptly from the room). The number of wild birds I removed from the mouths of domestic cats is very high.

Do you let your cats roam free outdoors?

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Do you let your cats roam free outdoors?

This is not my thread and that's not a topic I am going to go into here.

 

[Whitelightning777]

No. Nyx is exclusively an indoor cat. When I was a kid, we had 3 cats and up to 5 budgies. We always fed the cats first and got them running and tired out before getting to the birds, who learned to wait. With Nyx, a good 10 minutes running after the laser dot will result in a Naptime minimum of 2 hours, usually twice that. This should be enough time to train a bird, or just hang out. The cage will be in my bedroom so the bird can watch me sleep, watch TV etc

 

[wrench13]

@Whilelightning - cats and parrots never mix. For every 1 person who says 'oh my cat is not interested in my parrot' there are 9 who have issues with them or have already lost a parrot to kitty and are too ashamed or hurt to admit it. The cutesypie videos on youtube and reddit give people the false idea that this interaction is safe. Just a FYI before you get your parrot.

 

[Whitelightning777]

The bird will only be out when Nyx isn't in the room. The other point of research is getting a cage that a cat can't open, including access to food or water dishes. Nyx does sometimes watch my tarantulas but hasn't tried breaking into their cages.