Who says cats and birds can't co-exsist

gailc

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 18, 2004
Messages
11,567
Purraise
13
Location
Wisconsin
I have a birdhouse that it mounted on an old shovel and to our amazement bluebirds are nesting in it. Bluebirds aren't as fussy as everyone makes them out to be. It's located about 12 feet from my front door. We have a porch with a 6 foot overhang and a lawn chairs to enjoy the garden views. Sheba will sleep in that chair in the afternoon and the birds don't seem to be bothered by her!! I should try to take a picture to include the birds perched on top of the house and the cat in the chair!!
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
I don't think bluejays are bothered by much of anything. My dad had a major stroke and was confined to a wheelchair for close to seven years. He used to sit out on the back deck and coax the jays with peanuts. The result is that now the jays (I don't know what generation this is - the 9th or 10th?) come and tap at the door to the deck every morning, because they want their peanuts. They'll take them right out of your hand. It doesn't seem to faze them in the least that my mom has two dogs and a cat.
 

cilla

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 6, 2004
Messages
1,689
Purraise
2
Location
Manchester UK
I once had an outdoor cat that used to let the willywagtails dance around her, and she never bothered about them at all.
 

sammie5

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 3, 2002
Messages
1,690
Purraise
3
Ah, I think that Gail was talking about bluebirds, not bluejays, which are notoriously fussy about their nesting locations, or so people say. They are supposed to be very shy about nesting close to people, and there are whole books written about how to build a bird house that will attract bluebirds.

Blue Jays are very bold, I love them! When I was a kid, there was one that would sit on the lowest branch of our oak tree when the sprinkler was on, getting a bird shower.
 

monica's six

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 21, 2004
Messages
237
Purraise
1
Yeah there is a big difference between Bluebirds and Bluejays. In the last year or so we've somehow gotten lucky enough to have a swarm of Bluejays take over the trees in my back yard. They can be real nasty and they squalk too. But they are beautiful to look at and it's been neat having a whole clan of them around.

When I was a kid living at my parents house we had a cat named Sylvester (black tuxedo and all) who was de-clawed and demanded to go outside regularly. In the summer when the Bluejays and Mocking Birds would come around he would hide from them because they would swoop down to try to take a peck at him. His favorite place to hide was under the close-line thing we had in our back yard... I think he just thought it'd be funny if one day one of the birds swooped down and got a feather or two caught in the lines. De-clawed or not... Sylvester did bring us home some birds, frogs, once even a rabbit... He was a very athletic cat!
 

auroraviva

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
2,136
Purraise
1
Location
Georgia
Pic's would be great!
I don't really think I've seen a bluebird or know what one looks like, although I could guess it's color.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

gailc

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 18, 2004
Messages
11,567
Purraise
13
Location
Wisconsin
They are smaller (almost sparrow sized) The male has the blue body, wings but breast has some reddish on it along with white. The female is more reddish. They are a bird species that is slowly disappearing but if you can get them established in your yard they will return ( or their offspring) every year. They are voracious insect eaters!! They like to sit on the power lines and we'll watch tem swope into the grass and go back up to line. The cats that go outside don't seem to bother them thankfully!!
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
I misread the post - yes, there's definitely a difference! Actually, I don't think I've ever actually seen a bluebird in the wild. We have a pair of magpies here that like to tease the cat - his greatest ambition is to catch one of them. They seem to realize that he's on a lead, and parade past him just out of reach. They're so funny - one actually stole a necklace right off my throat by snatching it and breaking the chain (they'll take anything shiny). Unfortunately, they seem to have driven away all the blackbirds. We used to have a lot of them around here, but the numbers started to decrease after the magpies showed up, and right now we're not seeing any blackbirds.
 

otisbird

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
62
Purraise
1
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
I am new to this site. I have 10 parrots & 2 indoor only cats. Every one gets along fine. One og the parrots(african gray) walks around on thr floor. The cats always give him a wide birth.
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
Originally Posted by otisbird

I am new to this site. I have 10 parrots & 2 indoor only cats. Every one gets along fine. One og the parrots(african gray) walks around on thr floor. The cats always give him a wide birth.
Welcome to TCS! The African Gray parrots are so smart! I always marvel at "Alex", the one they sometimes show on TV that can count and distinguish colors.
 

talon

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 2, 2003
Messages
2,299
Purraise
3
Location
NVA, USA
I second your welcome from another cat/bird person. I have 11 parrots and 3 cats. Two of them are African greys (they are my fav, but shhhhh don't tell the others!)
 
Top