Thinking about a Parrot, Own Several Cats

[flamingo]

some cats have way to high prey drive like bengals and abby's and egyptian maus

when i was young we had a farm cat that took out 3 weasels that were killing our chickens, i think a lot of people underestimate how capable some cats are. I love cats though and cant live without them.


I DO FIND catsa nd birds mix better than cats an dogs. Dogs and birds dont seem to mix well not in my life. For others they have.

[Pajarita]

My cats (all rescues) have their own room on the finished attic and although they have the run of the house, they usually stay up there in their room or with my husband in his study (which is also on the third floor). My dogs (also all rescues, 2 abused, 2 strays adopted from the shelter because they have chronic medical conditions -epilepsy and a faulty heart valve- 1 ex puppy mill breeder with terrible skin allergies, 1 that had had 4 homes and was twice at the shelter before he was 2 years old -he lifted his leg everywhere and barked like a maniac and he was not going to be put up for adoption any longer so I adopted him before they'd put him down- and a 70 lb one that was not trained at all and became unmanageable -he would jump up and grab you with his teeth, ripping your clothes and hurting you in the process) are either in the kitchen (gate at the opening to the dining room), or with me in the master bedroom (yes, all seven of them and five of them sleep on the bed with us, one of them a 15 year old 120 lb mastiff mix), all the birds (except a female Senegal) are in their own room and only two of them come out (a CAG which stays on my shoulder all the time and a LSC2 that likes to explore but they only come downstairs when the dogs are not there). The Senegal which has a cage in my dining room stays on my shoulder or flies between it and her cage all the time she is out and, when this happens, the dogs are put in the bedroom. My dogs are all very well trained (I used to train at a shelter I used to manage) with the exception of the golden retriever (the one that grabs with his teeth) which we took in some months ago from the couple who raised him from a pup and could not handle him and, although he has made a huge improvement, I am still working on him and will take another year or so to get to the point where I will be happy with him (still very rambunctious but he'll just be 2 next month). But, regardless of how well trained and used to new dogs, cats, birds, etc my dogs are, I still would not risk it. I've never had a single incident of an animal been hurt by another one but to ensure that I never will, I will continue not trusting myself or anybody else. It only takes a single second for a tragedy to happen and I simply could not live with myself if an animal died or suffered because I thought I was in control.

[flamingo]

one thing i noticed though birds of parrot species arent that scared of dogs and cats but one look at a ferret they become terrified

I did not understand it because my cats and dogs were the hunters my ferrets could not hunt if their life depended on it.


When i was a lil kid i was cleaning out a doves cage and i had just gotten a kitten my parents got me from a shelter, tiny 6 week old the dove got out of his cage and my kitten killed him in 2 seconds. A kitten the size of a guineapig. I was depressed for so long and felt so much guilt. I still do even though i was young and didnt know better. The dove was so sweet and cage trained it still bothers me to this day thinking about it so much. On the farm we lost our own chickens and ducks to our dogs also.

[flamingo]

one thing tho if you keep birds outdoor its good to havea few cats around. Snakes get into ANY bird enclosure and the only thing that would attack the snakes and give them hell (scared the crap out of the snakes) was cats, same with rats and mice, a cat taught how to hunt by its mother is hell on bird predators

[Wolf]

With all of these replies as to how to make it work, having cats, dogs and birds at the same time, it appears that the single most common answer is to separate them from each other. Even in the ones that appear to utilize it the least, separating them plays a very important part of making it work because as has been pointed out it is very easy to miss something and it could cost your bird its life. One should never assume that they are in total control of a dog or cat or any other animal for that matter, to do so would be foolhardy at best. Constant supervision can work as long as you never miss a thing, but most of us will miss things and even if it is not taken it still exists. I hope that these all help you in your decision.

[Nokota]

Hey Mercy.

I think I may just have an answer to your issue.

As Michael says, cats instinctively react to specific movements in a certain way. This is hardwired into them for rodents, but not for birds.

This is because predatory birds in the wild sometimes preyed on small wild cats and the same instincts that tell them to hunt some birds tells them to be wary of others. Dogs also carry a slight wariness with regard to predatory birds, but not to the same extent. The trick is to teach them that the parrot may be a potential threat so that they respect it, and reward them for ignoring or moving away from it once that is established. We need to make "Parrot" fall into the category of "Birds to respect and be wary of" in the mind of your cat.

My old budgie, Milo, who was eight years old at the time, died a month after a friend of my fathers surprised us with a purebred golden retriever puppy. The puppy couldn't help himself. They are bred to hunt birds, after all. My mother informed me that I could under no circumstances get another bird of any sort unless I could guarantee the dog would not eat him or her. It took me a year to think of this solution.

Using a dummy bird (a block of Styrofoam shaped into a head and body with feathers jabbed into it in the shape of wings and tail, slightly larger than a budgie and rubbed all over the bird cages at the pet store for parrot scent) I first used negative reinforcement to train the dog away from this "Parrot". I hung it from the ceiling fan from a thread, turned the fan on low, and got out my trumpet.

Then I opened the door, letting the dog into the room, and hid behind the couch.

Any approach of the "parrot" earned the dog a horrible noise. It only took two or three times to get him the idea, after which I switched to positive reinforcement: Taking the thread from which the "parrot" dangled in hand and slowly following him around the house with it. His moving away from the "parrot" immediately on approach was rewarded with a treat. I kept this up for about three weeks to be safe, though he had it down by the end of the first training session, and repeated it many times a day during those weeks.

I have had Peeper for five years now and Vivi for 13 months. To this day, Cooper turns around and slowly walks away if either one comes within five feet of him.

I believe this method could work fairly reliably for most indoor cats too, but not likely for outdoor cats, as 2/3 of outdoor pet cats actively hunt and kill birds and have already reinforced that instinctive behavior towards them. Just make sure that whatever you use for negative reinforcement can't be directly traced to you, so that the cat/dog thinks the threatening sound etc is coming from the bird dummy. It should also be a unique noise that you haven't used for training purposes before, so the animal associates the noise only with the approach of the parrot.

Make sure that you reinforce the "Bird avoidance" behavior really well and for an extended period, making sure all the cats understand it to the point of reflex before you consider bringing home a bird, and continue to exercise caution in their presence even after you've had the "real" parrot home for a good while.

A good test is to hang the dummy bird from a ceiling fan again and hide. If the cats avoid the bird like the plague even without your presence, consider this a success.

[flamingo]

predatory birds never preyed on cats like the african wild cat

Cats have bacteria in their mouth that can kill even the most powerful eagle


Predatory birds have killed cats but they die later in about 24 hours from infection, cats evolved to fear large canines and larger cats

great horned owls that eat skunks are usually careful to avoid cats they are poison


hawks and eagles can handle a snake bite easy even a snake with venom but 1 cat bite ends it for them, they can also handle canine bites like foxes

[Nokota]

predatory birds never preyed on cats like the African wild cat

Cats have bacteria in their mouth that can kill even the most powerful eagle


Predatory birds have killed cats but they die later in about 24 hours from infection, cats evolved to fear large canines and larger cats

great horned owls that eat skunks are usually careful to avoid cats they are poison


hawks and eagles can handle a snake bite easy even a snake with venom but 1 cat bite ends it for them, they can also handle canine bites like foxes

Nevertheless, a relative of mine had a cat that was eaten by an eagle and my neighbors four cats all dart under their deck whenever one of the hawks that live in our area passes overhead. It stands to reason there is some instinctive fear and history even if it is not great.

And my point stands: My method worked on a thoroughbred bird hunting dog who had already eaten one budgie, it could work for some cats. It is worth a try, isn't it?

[Pajarita]

LOL-No, it's not, my dear. In my personal opinion, nothing that would endanger a life that is under our care is worth 'a try' just so we can make it easier on ourselves. Besides, cats are only half-domesticated and not like dogs but even dogs cannot be trusted 100% and 100% of the time. They are not people, they are animals and the prey drive is very strong in them.

[KimberlyAnn]

My childhood cat was terrified of our rabbit. Terrified! We kept them apart by showing the cat the rabbit when it came out to play. The cat showed us great fear of the rabbit. Would hide under the bed. My fat, lazy, no excitment, scared of everything cat.

Then came the day that bunny was out and the cat decided out of the blue that bunny needed to be attacked. I had never heard a rabbit vocalize before. The scream was horrible!

Thankfully it ended with no major issues or infection, but it could have.

There is no amount of training you can give a cat. No amount of fear you can instill in them to keep away. Like they say, "Curiosity killed the cat." Eventually, it can kill your bird too. And no human can move faster then a cat can pounce.