Introducing conure to new set of cats

[bogsc]

My partner and I just combined households. She came with 3 cats and a conure. Need to introduce Joey the conure to my 5 cats. Suggestions for how to do that safely. Her cats have a healthy respect for bird but mine don't yet and bird will be very isolated until we can safely bring him into room with cats. Obviously would never leave him out of cage with cats around when we aren't there but given that between the two of us we have 8 rescued cats, we need bird to be out with cats around if he's to get sufficient attention.

 

[Bobioden]

8 cats and a conure? Sorry for the bird, Maybe try rehoming it.

 

[cdog]

8 cats and a conure? Sorry for the bird, Maybe try rehoming it.

I dont think that's a reason to rehome the bird, I have a cat and a very large dog and havent had any problems.
I dont think you should introduce them, I think you should keep them away from each other. I keep my breeding pair in my room so they are out all day, and I keep my other three in the living room so they only come out when i put the dog and cat outside. I do this 4-5 times a day for 1 hour each time and havent had any problems. The reason why I dont think you should introduce them is because it only takes a tiny nick from a cat to kill bird, I read in one of your other threads that your cat got bit by your conure, why would you let them get that close. Do you have cat like reflexes so you can stop the cat from doing anything to your bird? I beleive you can own cats and birds as long as you dont let them interact together because once your bird gets scratched or licked, it's going to go down hill very fast and can die within 24 hours. Keep your cats AWAY from your birds!

 

[bogsc]

Bobioden, we're open to rehoming the bird. If we can find someone who's experienced with conures and willing to give him a good home where, most importantly, Joey would be happy, we'd give him up. It's not something we would ever do lightly however as bird has become very attached to me over last 9 months and my partner has had him for 15 years. He has some behaviorial issues (he screams and bites when unhappy) and we don't want him to end up in a shelter. She took him in originally to keep him from that fate.

Cdog, please don't misunderstand. I'm not thinking I'll ever be able to have a bird and a cat on my lap. I have rehabbed pigeons in the past (indoors) and my cats quickly developed healthy respect for those pigeons 'cause they can be pretty mean when they are feeling threatened. Joey is absolutely ferocious when upset and scares the heck out of most of the cats when he starts screaming and flapping. I believe one of my partner's cats was nipped when it became a bit too inquisitive around bird's cage. At any rate, my partner's cats have learned to give Joey a pretty wide berth. Joey literally rules the roost when he's out. In my partner's previous home he was allowed free reign in bedroom during day with cats locked out. Unfortunately that is an impossibility in current setup as our cats have not yet been completely integrated and there's always a cat hiding under the bed at the moment. So Joey's spending most of his time in his cage and understandably is becoming pretty upset about that.

I have had cats and rabbits and cats and guinea pigs. My cats never attacked what would normally be prey because they viewed the rabbits and guinea pigs as part of the "family." While I'd never turn my back on a cat and bird, I'm hoping that cats can come to see bird as off limits so that Joey can be safely out of the cage when we are in the room, even if there is a cat or two somewhere in the room as well. It's going to be very difficult to give Joey attention he needs if he has to be completely sequestered in a room that never has any cats in it.

I'm quite fond of this bird. More so than I would ever have thought possible. Trying to find a solution that will satisfy humans, felines and bird.

 

[cdog]

I know what you're talking about. I'm trying to teach my cat that my birds are off limits too. She is getting better, she doesn't try to stalk them anymore she just lays there looking at them. It is probably easier for me because my cat is 17lbs and extremely lazy, she only gets up when she want out or food/toilet.
Good luck, your going to have to work very hard teaching 8 cats.loo.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

I dont think that having cats is cause for re-homing your bird :-( that makes me sad. We have 2 LARGE dogs, which are not allowed out while the birds are free roaming or even perched on top of the cage. We use baby gates for the dogs. It is not to say that sometimes things happen, however with lots of training and a good schedule you can prevent bad things from happening.
Let the bird out in another room, or put the kitties in another part of the house, so that they all have time to be with you, just seperatley. Each time I let the dogs outside the birds get to come out to play. sometimes when the dogs come in I put a baby gate up in the entry way between the living room and dining room so that the puppies can play in a large area and can still see us, but the birds can play as well.
We also have a seperate bird room that the dogs are not allowed in at all.
Baby Bongo's cage is in the living room for now until she gets better at being alone without being able to see us. It was tough to train the dogs to ignore her cage, but it has only been a couple weeks and they pay no attention to her at all anymore.
It is possible to live happily together without having to get rid of a part of your family

 

[Spiritbird]

Alot of this depends on the cats. Some cats are laid back and easy going. They just like to watch. Other younger cats may chase the bird around some but should eventually learn that cats are part of your flock. I would worry about kittens more that cats.

If the cats are the indoor/outdoor type they may be used to killing birds. That would have to be considered.

 

[bogsc]

Dear Cliffordsmom and Spiritbird,

Thanks for your advice and for giving me hope that I can find a way for 8 cats, 2 humans and a conure to live together peacefully. Spiritbird, all the cats are adults, most are seniors. None of them are allowed outdoors so they aren't used to stalking/hunting birds. Some of the cats have no interest in Joey. Some are terrified of him. Some are intrigued. I'm closely monitoring those that appear to be a bit too interested. 2 of the 3 cats that were relocated when we combined households are still somewhat tramatized and are refusing to leave back bedroom, which is where we have Joey's cage. Fortunately, those are 2 of the 3 cats that have been living with Joey for many years and have a healthy respect for him so we've been able to take him out of the cage and give him some closely supervised play time when they are in the room. I've been making sure that any cats that are a little too interested in him for my comfort (ie my cats who aren't used to sharing space with a bird and seem intrigued by new addition) are locked out of the room when he's released from cage. I wish I had a huge house where it was easy to maintain a "bird only" room, but I live in a railroad apartment in Brooklyn. In this setup it's difficult to keep all cats out of any room if they are determined to get in there.

 

[Spiritbird]

Sounds to me like you are making the best with what you have. That is all anyone of us can do. Good luck.

 

[evesta]

I have two cats and I just keep birds and cats seperate but my cats are indoor/outdoor cats and have killed birds. It works well, my one cat doesn't even know we have birds and the other one gets a squirt anytime she even eyes the cage When birds are out both dogs and cats are outside or in another room and doors remain shut. It works well actually. I know I was nervous about it but it has been much easier than I thought it would be and everyone is safe and happy