Should I take in a cat?

[kalikat]

Maybe take the bird to the lady's house & see if the cat shows an interest. I would also ask the lady if the cat is easily trained & how active she is. I would go for it. As I said in my previous post, I didn't even know about this subject. And nearly had a bird & cat. The budgie I had when my boys were little used to talk & fly around the room. I think we had my persian at the same time & there was no problems.

 

[catlin]

Thanks everyone again!
I was not thinking of letting my bird fly about with the cat around and now I know about the saliva thing I definately wont EVER try it even after I've know the cat for years.
She "is" supposed to be coming for a visit when the lady is better (has a really bad cold that is going around), I can't take the bird there because of her circumstances ..

I will speak to my husband today when I get home from work perhaps he can think of something to put above the cage that isn't going to make it inviting for a cat to jump up to. Half the cage is covered by one of those bird gyms
so that is one side taken care of. The bird goes under that side when he's sleeping.
He's not the kind of bird that will draw attention to himself he's very quiet, I think he's just a smidge smaller than a cocketiel in size.

I will keep reading about this so far I have found a lot of 'bird' forums with cats as pets some of which obviously don't know about the saliva issue..eek!

I do now remember my moms cat drooling a bit when it was kneading on my knee once so thankyou to Kalikat for pointing that out..

 

[sakura]

Originally Posted by BabyWukong

I have never even laid eyes on a declawed cat, but I imagine they would need their claws to grip surfaces when they jump to high places. Looking at the placement of your birdcage, is it possible for a declawed cat to jump/get to a surface higher than the top of the birdcage and drool on the bird?

If this is completely impossible, then there should not be a problem.

If it IS possible for her to jump, I don't recommend you take the risk (need help from people who know physics of a cat's jump and how their claws play a part, if at all).

For the bird's safety, try to shut the cat out of the room as he takes his 5 minute free flight around the room.

My good friend works at a wildlife rescue centre and they have had many birds die from cat bites (not drool). Do not put your bird at risk unless you are sure of the cat's temperament.

Would it be possible to go for trial adoption where you have some time to train the kitty not to treat the bird as food/toy?

My cat Matilda is de-clawed and she has no trouble jumping on high surfaces. She is timid and lazy and is the type of cat I can see living well with a pet bird.

I had no idea about the saliva thing. I would keep a separate room for the bird so that the cat can roam free about the house.

 

[nekochan]

I've read that the transfer of saliva from a cat's paws (due to the large amount of grooming they do) and then to a bird by the cat reaching a paw into the cage can also transfer the bacteria.

 

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by Sakura

My cat Matilda is de-clawed and she has no trouble jumping on high surfaces.

neither do mine... but if the surface is a slippery one, & they're moving really quickly, they do sometimes slide off. depends on whether they've been able to 'grab hold' with their rear claws [both of my declawed cats are front only, of course].

 

[missymotus]

A friend of mine has 4 cats (all with claws as declawing is illegal here) and a large bird cage in her kitchen area. The cats leave the birds alone, and don't bother with them at all.

Also, this is Farley's brother, he lives with rats and a bird