Is my cat okay?

[imthebae]

 Hello, I'm 15 and have recently joined this forum. 

      We just got a parrot about a week ago and I think the addition of a new pet is stressing out my cat Julian. He's shedding a lot, he's skittish, he's a little aggressive, and he doesn't want to spend time with me. 

      He is shedding so much, I could make another cat with all the fur that's falling off him. He used to spend a lot of time grooming but now I don't even see him grooming. His fur is greasy and gross. He always keeps his fur clean, shiny, and soft. And he's not so this a big concern to me. 

      He has been jumping up and hiding when someone runs by him or says something loud. He's never done this before. 

      When we first got the parrot I tried to hold Julian but he scratched and bit me. He doesn't do that unless he's scared.  He hasn't done that again but he still doesn't really want me to hold him. Which is weird because he's a big cuddle bug. He's been really impatient with my siblings and guests which ins't normal, he's great with kids but he's been scratching the kids we babysit and my cousins. He's never hurt my cousins before. 

     I try to spend more time with Julian than I normally would, but I feel like he doesn't want to. I try to play with him and he'll play for a few minutes and then walk away. He loves to play he could play with me for hours but he just doesn't seem to want to do anything that involves me. I'm home schooled so I do my work in my room. He'd go and sleep on my bed while I worked but he hasn't been doing that. Now he only comes to sleep with me at night. When I work on the computer he comes and sleeps at my feet, but now he's hiding in my brothers room. 

    I just don't know if he's stressed, depressed, or jealous of the bird. I just want him to be okay, he's MY cat, I feel like he chose me when I adopted him. But right now I feel like our connection is breaking and I really don't want that. Is there anyway I can help calm his nerves and help him get used to the new addition in our family? 

 

[hexiesfriend]

Can you put the parrot(or him) in another part of the house for now? I know a lot about intoducing cats to cats but cats to birds is a new thing. Cats aren't big fans of change and whenever you change something in their environment they don't like it. Looks like Julian is not liking that you have given his house to a bird and changed his orderly life. That's how he's thinking. I think Julian needs to feel like at least part of the home is his. The only way to do that at this point is isolate either the parrot or Julian in a part of the house and not let them meet or hear each other for a few days. I think after you do that Julian will feel better and you can start reintroducing him to the Bird. We have lots of cat and bird owners here and they can help you to reintroduce Julian. He still loves you he is just confused over what has happened. They can eventually live with one another but you have to just introduce them slowly.

 

[pinkdagger]

Is the bird in a separate part of the home Julian doesn't frequent? The presence, the smell (especially if you've got a dustier bird), and the noise can be a big adjustment for the cat (is the bird very vocal? consider how shrill some birds can be!), and if the parrot has never lived with a cat, it's a big adjustment for the parrot too. Keep the parrot in a separate room if they're not in one already, and you can work on getting the parrot on a routine and reducing stress by providing both cat and parrot with devoted one-on-one time that doesn't get interrupted by the other. He may choose to come to bed with you because he knows that at night, it's not the bird's time with you.

Maybe you could try something like a pheromone spray in small areas if he seems stressed. I wouldn't use it in the same room as the parrot - birds have very sensitive respiratory systems, so you want to keep anything that adds particulate to the air as far from the bird as possible. I wouldn't recommend the diffuser if you have birds in the home either.

When it comes to introducing cats and birds, the best thing you can do is condition Julian to be disinterested in and indifferent to the bird. That way, there's less at risk if something were to happen where cat and bird had to stay in close quarters, or if the bird got loose, you wouldn't want Julian chasing or trying to hunt it, and you certainly wouldn't want him to sit and stalk it.

I always say even the mellowest and shyest of cats can bump up their prey drive and decide to strike at any moment - everything a bird does is a natural sign to a cat to get hunting, so this kind of conditioning can save a lot of pain and worry (and a vet bill if they end up making contact, like getting bitten or scratched, or even sharing a water dish can pass harmful pasteurella bacteria from cat saliva to bird, which is toxic). Not only for safety, but for Julian's confidence and happiness, I would keep the bird's room a bird room and keep Julian out unless you're there to supervise and watch for signs of stress in either of them.

This page is a good resource for multi pet households: http://www.rationalparrot.com/zoosafety.html#catsdogs

The lack of grooming is a little worrisome. Are you able to entice him to groom himself? Are you able to brush him? Usually brushing my cats will get them interested in grooming themselves. If he still seems to be acting off in the coming days, I would consult my vet for their input too, even if just for a phone call.

 

[imthebae]

The bird is the upstairs living room right now because they're supposed to be in the busiest part of the house and that's where we normally are. Julian is really used to being wherever he wants, he's usually upstairs but his food and cat stand are downstairs and he'll sleep there sometimes.  We are going camping and the bird is going with us because we can't find anyone to watch him, we'll be gone for a few days. Would that be enough time for him to be away from Julian? I'm not really sure were else we could put the bird. Julian is getting way better at ignoring the bird. Hid instincts really kick in when the bird starts flapping but now he's really not getting triggered by that. I started combing him today and later I saw him grooming himself. He's sleeping on my bed now. Thank you for the advice I really appreciate it. 

 

[pinkdagger]

I'm wondering if taking the bird camping and then bringing it back would re-trigger Julian as if to start the whole process over again. Of course he recognizes a bird now that he's seen one in his own home, but that doesn't mean it will be familiar to him the second time around. Like how cats will go to a vet appointment and come home to be sniffed out and hissed at by the cat who stayed home because they smell different, and not like home. Taking the bird away may also make him think that his problems have gone away (or worse yet, that the bird may have taken you away, since you're all going together and he stays home alone!).

I'm someone who will always, always, always lobby to have any prey animal in its own room where the predators aren't even allowed without supervision, so they identify that space as theirs and the cats/dogs realize it's a privilege to be in there, and that they can be kicked out at any time if they can't behave calmly around the other animals. I say this regardless of the size or temperament of the prey or predator animal.

Are you camping in an RV? Best case scenario, the person you got the bird from or a vet would be able to petsit/board the bird. You certainly don't want the bird exposed to lots of bugs that will bite and bother it, and you don't want them exposed to campfire smoke/grill or temperature fluctuations and drafts that can get them sick, or to have it put in a situation where it could potentially get spooked and fly away or get lost.

 

[manemelissa]

I would give things a little more time as well. Julian seems scared and stressed out.

I have my cat, Belle, and three birds (two parakeets and a cockatiel) all in my house. The bird cages (two of them) are in my bedroom. Belle has the run of the house, and then when Kaneki (the cockatiel) comes out of his cage Belle is placed in another room behind a closed door. Usually I wait for Belle to go settle somewhere in another room and then bring out Kaneki.

I had the birds before I got Belle. So they have always been a part of the scenery of the house. You should have seen her face when she first noticed them!! She was like, "the buffet is open!" When she first ventured towards my room, I let her explore the room so that she would know the smells, sights, etc and it wouldn't be a mystery to her. After that, there was zero contact. Belle wasn't allowed to go past my brother's room in the hallway. If she did I called to her in my "angry teacher voice" and picked her up and took her back to the living room. When someone is home, the bird room's door is open. When no one is home, the bird room is closed. The message I was trying to convey was that the birds are special, and that being in my room is a privilege, not a right, just like pinkdagger said.

I would say that after about two months, Belle decided that she needed to be in my room. This happened because an outdoor cat was laying around our backyard and it was freaking her out! The best vantage point for where he got in and out of the backyard was the window in my room. Because of the cat, she ended up sneaking in my room without our knowledge, but she had no interest in the birds-- she wanted that cat.

At this point, even when the cat wasn't around, I came to realize that Belle really liked snoozing on my bed, and my cockatiel made a specific whistle (one he only uses for the cat) when she wasn't sleeping on the bed or sitting in the window. She wasn't interested in the birds (much) and I felt comfortable enough to allow her access to my room ONLY when I was monitoring it. I felt that this was the best decision I could make. Had she shown predatory anything; I would have gone back to kicking her out of my room.

Things go smoothly for the most-part. Sometimes she gets interested in the parakeets. Usually this is when they're eating (vulnerable) and flapping (exciting). I can't blame her, she's a cat. When this happens, she is not allowed in my room for a whole week. Not sure if that works, still figuring that one out!

My point is that Julian will always be interested in the parrot, and it's your job to monitor his behavior around the bird. Don't trust him alone with the parrot, and when no one is home, there should really be a way to separate the two. Cats and birds can coexist, Belle does, and so did our last cat, Sassy. Both earned the privilege to be in the bird room, and both were never fully trusted with the birds. Accidents WILL happen, because we're humans and can't be perfect 100% of the time. But you should do all you can to prevent something horrible happening.

That being said... What kind of parrot is this? Also, does the parrot come out of their cage? I would think that if it's a large parrot like a cockatoo or macaw then a cat might be pretty intimidated by it! However, little parakeets/cockatiels like mine are no bigger than the birds in the backyard and thus very attractive!

 

[imthebae]

I have a little Green Cheek Conure. And we can now trust him alone with the bird in his cage, but thats about it. The re-introduction really helped, after we came home he acted completely different around our bird, he pretty much leaves him a lone now. We let our bird hop around the carpet while we're there and he leaves him alone. And he's grooming again and everything so thank you all for your help. Everything falling into place. Thank you for all the help!