Cats and Pet Birds

Hello all,
I am fairly new here and have never had a cat of my own other than when living at home with my parents. Anyways, I now have a cat. Long story short, I have neighbors that think that pets are disposable and this beautiful orange and white tabby male came along. I was feeding him for the last three months as they were making this poor guy live outside and never fed him. The last straw was a few nights ago when it was below freezing and the poor guy was shivering on my doorstep all wet. My fiance let me take him inside and he slept in my bathroom. I took him to work tested him for felv and fiv vaccinated him and neutered him. He has a clean bill of health. well we wanted to take ownership of him so went to ask our neighbors. They didn't really want to give him up and actually brought him in the house. The girl said we might be able to have him but her husband wasn't around. Well she kept him in all day and we were getting anxious, but sure enough she threw him outside as it was getting cold. Well my fiance brought him inside and said well that was their chance, they don't feed him or assume responsibility, he's ours now.

So now I have a cat. I also have three small birds and two rabbits. So far he hasn't really noticed the birds. Are any of you bird owners? How do you handle it? I am very attached to my birds and they have lots of out of cage time. Is it ok for the kitty to be locked in the room while the birds are out? He has the spare bedroom where his litter box, food water and toys are. I just want everyone to be happy and don't want any mishaps to happen to my birds. My dog is trustworthy with the birds as my lovebird can hitch rides on his back, but I know that that can never be with the cat. Any tips on how to handle multiple species households would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Becky

Lock kitty up when the birds are out. The average cat will not be able to resist a small moving animal for long, so he would eventually try something. Cats will actually catch and eat smaller rabbits, too.

When away from home or sleeping I also suggest you have some way to keep cat and birds separated. Never underestimate the jumping and climbing ability of a determined cat. One of mine proved the other morning just how acrobatic he is. I'm guessing he'd find a way to hit the ceiling if there was something that high up he wanted.

I recommend that you be careful with your dog, too. There's a member who's sister (iirc) recently came home to find her bird shredded by her dogs.

Predator + prey animals never truly mix well due to instincts. You just can't expect either to ever be anything than what they are.

Hi there,

I have 2 cockatiels (7yo and 4yo), 1 8-month old kitten, and 1 adult semi-feral. Quite the clan.

We live in a house and my birds (prior to these cats entering our lives) had their cage in the living room and they were basically out of their cages when we were home unless we were cooking or in another room. We have had the oldest for 7 years - so they've been very loved on and spoiled.

This summer we found a litter of kittens in our backyard! We got them all inside and kept them in the basement bathroom (since they were teeny and needed a small area to get used to). I wanted them all adopted out because I didn't want anything to happen to my precious birdies. I love cats (had them growing up with my parents) but having got my birds in college, I just accepted early on that I would never have cats in the birds' lifetimes.

Long story short, we got REALLY attached to the last kitten - our Batman. My husband and I started talking about if we could have him and the birds. I spent a lot of time perusing the cockatiel message boards to see what people do.

Everyone does things different, but I didn't want to risk anything after reading horror stories - so the birdies are now in the office. It was a really hard thing for me to do - I felt horribly guilty for doing it the first few weeks during the transition. But I only did this to them because I know I'm a computer junkie and that I know I would be spending a lot of one on one time with them still. I made sure it would work for the birds before we officially decided to keep him. I personally would never feel comfortable with having a cat around their cage, even if locked. Stuff happens. So I chose to sadly isolate my birds, yes, but they are very safe. And I really do spend a lot of time with them daily still.

We recently took in the mom cat to the litter - and she is an excellent hunter. Having seen her kill birds.. and watch her eat them.. is not a good thing to get in my head. Again.. a risky thing for my birds but we really thought everything through, made the decision based on what works best for everyone, and what we feel we can control while keeping everyone safe. (She is in a spare bedroom as I socialize her.)

I'm happy to say that the birds did adjust well to the change - after the first few weeks.

Edit: One thing we are getting in the habit of doing now is if someone is in the office with the birds, they lock the door. That way someone can't just walk in that room with the birds out and have them flying everywhere and having the cat jump in the room or the birds fly out of the room...

I would keep them separated and not let the cat in the area where the birds cages are kept when you are not there to supervise. Even a small scratch from a cat can be fatal to birds. Cats have a bacteria (Pasteurella) in their saliva and claws which can cause septicemia in birds.

So far so good. The cat is really laid back but no I would never leave him near the cages unattended. The cages do have to stay in the living room, as they are too large to all fit in my spare bedroom. I do have the spare bedroom set up as also the kitty room, I have his cat tree, bed, litter box, food and water up there and he is learning that that is his little sanctuary and goes up there when he doesn't have to. What I have been doing is closing the door to that room when I have my birds out and then letting him out when I'm done. When the birds go to bed he gets free range, when we are downstairs, but he comes upstairs with us when we go to bed. It takes a little more thought than to just take the birds out whenever, but so far it is working. I know very much how deadly cat saliva and scratches are as I work at a vet, so we are being very cautious. So far no one feels left out, and I do think he really loves the room. Hey it beats being outdoors and cold and wet.

Originally Posted by Kattiekitty

So far so good. The cat is really laid back but no I would never leave him near the cages unattended. The cages do have to stay in the living room, as they are too large to all fit in my spare bedroom. I do have the spare bedroom set up as also the kitty room, I have his cat tree, bed, litter box, food and water up there and he is learning that that is his little sanctuary and goes up there when he doesn't have to. What I have been doing is closing the door to that room when I have my birds out and then letting him out when I'm done. When the birds go to bed he gets free range, when we are downstairs, but he comes upstairs with us when we go to bed. It takes a little more thought than to just take the birds out whenever, but so far it is working. I know very much how deadly cat saliva and scratches are as I work at a vet, so we are being very cautious. So far no one feels left out, and I do think he really loves the room. Hey it beats being outdoors and cold and wet.

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That is good news! Nice to see another bird person here!