SAFE for me to get a cat (kitten) if I own cockatiels?

[StormyPica]

The older the animal, the more difficult it is to overcome its natural instincts. Cats and cats are territorial animals, they are not going to share personal space with other pets.

Hi, this thread hasn't been replied to for a while. If you wish to talk about this subject, please start a new thread! Cheers!
-Ollie

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

if you have safe practices, any sized bird is fine.

Just never in the same room. Size doesn’t matter, this is not negotiable.

You correctly note regarding those YouTube videos. They are irresponsible accidents waiting to happen, and do nothing but perpetuate horrible myths.

Many people in my daily life know I keep parrots -- and I am frequently sent videos from well-meaning friends who know nothing of birds, but know that I do, so they send me these "adorable" videos of heartwarming interactions between....

You guessed it, a cat and a parrot.

And every single time, i take time to respond that while I appreciate their intent and understand they meant it to be something heartwarming and uplifting -- here's why the video is an issue, and how dangerous it is not only for the cat and the bird (I really don't want to see a pissed off parrot gouge a cats' eyes or shred an ear anymore than I want to see the cat claw the poor bird!).

None of them had ANY clue, and were frankly horrified to learn about the bacteria and why it's dangerous to allow them physical interaction. I'm hoping this is something that discussions like this can help perpetuate into becoming common knowledge.

I shudder whenever I see videos of people letting their cats "paw" their poor little terrified budgie around like a toy, or lick and groom them. I rarely see anymore videos of that same bird ever again.

I love cats. I'd love to keep cats. It's not feasible for my current household, though -- my mom's allergic anyhow, and I couldn't bear the thought of keeping a kitty confined to only one room of the house or my parrots no longer being in the center of the household where everyone likes to be. So I live vicariously through my friends, and go and cuddle their kitties

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

Hi, this thread hasn't been replied to for a while. If you wish to talk about this subject, please start a new thread! Cheers!
-Ollie

Oops.... I guess I should have finished reading every page of the thread it came up on my news feed as a recent thread and down the reading rabbit hole I went. Sorry!

 

[HeatherG]

I have considered getting a blind or special needs cat that wouldn’t be ABLE to locate or catch a bird.

I lived with a morbidly obese cat and my Quaker in same apartment (Quaker in closed off bedroom) and felt pretty safe as we had a game called “get _____ (cat’s name) to move”. He was so hefty he usually wouldn’t.

I really like cats and I did see a blind cat looking for a home but cats are more costly than birds so I decided not to pursue.

I think a blind cat would get along fine and would have that essential “catness” you’re looking for, besides that it would need a home.

 

[wrench13]

This is one of those situations where it's fine - until it isn't. And you only get one chance to be wrong. You either accept that cats and parrots make very poor, possibly deadly (to the parrot) house mates and act accordingly, or you don't, at which some time in the future you may be proven very very wrong. Blind, declawed or obese or whatever, cats are predatory animals with a million years of instinctual behavior in them. And aside from that they have bacteria in their saliva and on their claws/paws that are deadly to parrots/birds. Youtube videos not withstanding, there is always that one chance things may go wrong.

So, you feeling lucky today??

 

[BirdyBee]

if it will be a kitty - then it's ok. As for me I'm an owner of a cat and a parrot (they know each other from the very beginning) and they get along with each other

I don't think it's a good idea. It just takes one moment for the cat to get upset or play too rough to kill or hurt the bird.

Also, this is an old thread, so you might not get a reply.

Edit: I meant I don't reccomend interaction. As long as they're separated there is no risk

 

[ravvlet]

I have a cat and parrots. The part of the house the parrots are in (my partner and I work from home and they are in our respective offices so they are not alone all day) has a bolt lock that my children can’t reach, a security camera, and a door sensor that texts me anytime the door is opened. In spite of all that, I am constantly worried about the possibility of her getting into their spaces because, as many people have said here, it only takes once.

I still think about rehoming the cat for my own peace of mind. She was a rescue & the oldest kid loves her, but I am neutral on cats (she gets perfect care I assure you, I am just more of a dog and bird person) and I think she could find a home more easily than two older parrots.

It’s also worth noting that dogs pose a danger to parrots as well, and we keep our dogs out of the bird areas too.

Heh, so much for this being an old thread! I think this comes up here every few months. The truth is it’s better to not have a cat at all if you have birds. No one can force you to make that call, however. If you do it, please recognize the significant risk and do everything you can to mitigate that.