Rainbow, Myrtle & Cockatiels

[liz]

The thermal cup makes it sort of like a pressure cooker. The grains burst open and because it was not boiled and stirred each grain keeps it's stuffin in. They are not hard but they are also not mushy.

[liz]

Thursday I opened all the cage doors and invited them out to fly. Lacy, Lola, Flutter and Phoenix did not come out. Everyone stepped up to go back in. Thursday night I realized that Phoenix door was still open. I closed it and it never dawned on me to check Flutter's door. Friday Rachel's black cat was in the sunroom looking guilty. I saw fluffy white feathers on the floor and went bolistic. I could not find a body. I could not because Flutter was camouflaged on a white window sill. He is fine but I used a lot of adrenaline looking for him.

[Harpmaker]

(Huge sigh of relief). I am soooooo glad Flutter made it! I got up to find feathers yesterday too. My cats brought in a wild bird. I disposed of the body before Corsair came out.

[liz]

Rachel's black cat is a killer and brings her dead things in. One morning I checked the 'Tiels and Tammy was missing. There were feathers all over the floor but no blood. I searched all day but no luck. The following morning when I went out to let the chickens out of their coop, there was a battered Tammy hanging onto the wire trying to get in with the chickens. It was the closest thing she could find to a cage and she was desperate. Nothing was broken but she was battered and has nerve damage that makes her twitch. GOD answered my prayer.

[Wolf]

This is one of the dangers of having birds that are out of their cages with predators like dogs and especially cats sharing the same space. While you may be able to trust a dog at some point, it is simply not a good idea. Cats on the other hand can never be trusted around birds, especially little birds that like to be vocal. Since I brought Harley and Marley home with me, they have successfully attracted the attention of four of our cats, which means I must keep constant surveillance on them to keep them safe. Of all of our domesticated animals the cat is the only one that is proven to adapt back to being wild without starving to death first.

[marie83]

Tbh wolf I don't believe you can ever fully trust a dog either. Everyone thinks they can trust their dog "knows" they can trust the dog until something bad happens. Of course there are some dogs that will live their entire lives and never even look at a bird, then there will be others that live the majority of their lives so the owner thinks they are proven trustworthy then the unthinkable happens. There may be subtle warning signs of which dogs may be higher risk but most pet owners would miss them, I'm most experienced with dogs as far as animals go but I still wouldn't trust myself to make that judgement tbh. IMO it is never worth the risk.

Not to mention the stress to the bird- I do believe the birds know a predator even when brought up with them.

I'm not saying people shouldn't have multi species households, I have in the past and will in the future have dogs again and possibly a cat but they will be 100% separated from the birds and small furries and back up systems will be in place to prevent accidents. It just means I will have to divide my time more. I do feel most people are not careful enough though and animals are too quick for humans to intervene quickly enough.

[Wolf]

I don't recommend trusting any predator species around birds, ever.

[liz]

It had to be my error just like with Flutter. One time I left Sweetie out by error. Sweetie was smart enough to call me when she realized I forgot her.
The black cat is a killer.
Fancy as a kitten saved Bubba. Amy opened the door and let him out while we were gone. When we came home Fancy was stretched out on the floor and all the others just sitting there and looking at her. When I looked into the corner behind Fancy I saw Bubba in the corner. It was quite clear that Fancy was protecting him.
Fancy has never killed. She used to bring me birds and I would take them out the front door and release them. None were harmed. One time I was busy and noticed Fancy sitting at the front door. She had a bird and since I was busy she wanted out the front door to release it.

[Pajarita]

Well, I would not be so sure that Fancy was actually protecting the bird. I have seen a couple of my cats bring live prey to the others both to tantalize them ("Look what I got and it's all mine and you cannot touch it!") and to teach them how to hunt (they put it in the middle of the cats and lay down next to it and, when and if the poor creature tries to get away, they just grab it and put it back (alive) in the middle). Two of my cats would kill the mouse they caught but the others would just catch it and let me know (they bring it to me and, if I don't pay attention, they make a special sound in their throats they only make when they have prey in their mouths). And, the older ones would actually release it to me when I tell them to (not the young ones, though, those I have to chase all over the house to get the poor mouse away from them).

[marie83]

Thanks for clarifying your position on that Wolf, I knew you would say that but didn't want anyone new to parrot keeping to assume you can 100% train a dog to leave a bird alone.

Liz accidents happen no matter how careful you are so you mustn't blame yourself. Your a good parrot parent and know the cats are a threat to the birds and you do what you can to lower the risk- that is all anybody can do when they keep both prey and predatory species. Besides the shock to you and your parrot there was no harm done and I know you will be treble Checking from now on because you care a lot.