Hi all!
My husband's mother can no longer take care of Sonny, an African Grey timneh who has been in their family for at least 40 years.
Little history...
Sonny lived with us before we had our own children about 15 years ago for about a year. Then mom wanted him back so we returned him. We see him frequently because we visit several times a month and holidays.
Fast forward to today...
Mom's health is deteriorating and she can no longer keep Sonny at her house. She called my husband today at work and asked us to pick him up and keep him permanently because he's home alone most of the time since she's in an out of hospitals, etc.
We said ok and picked him up a few hours ago.
Situation...
We have 2 kids now and a CAT. Ariel is a 5-year-old adult female Persian/Tabby housecat who generally minds her business and likes to be left alone. But she is showing extreme interest in this new member and has not left the room. She's just observing him but she walked very close to the cage and Sonny lost it. He started to growl and shake, so we gently started to pet the cat to show Sonny that's she's sweet and that we like her. (And hopefully he will too!)
We are extremely nervous because while Ariel is usually calm and harmless, we now have predator and prey under the same roof.
What are some things we can do to make this work?
If anyone has brought a bird home with an adult cat already in the house, I would love to hear how your transition went.
Thank you!