Kity AND Birdy!?!?

[SushiGURL]

I can't decide to leave my cat and bird alone (?) i normally close the door to my bird's room before i leave, but is that really necesary>? I meen what can she do, his cage is closed. What can I do? So confusing lol

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p209/lucyscat43/DSC00249.jpg + http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p209/lucyscat43/DSC00251.jpg = ??????????

[BirdieBabi]

Well it brings down loads of stress for the budgie if your cat was interested into getting it, and what tapping the cage and trying to get it withn her paw. You have to try a supervised session for them to meet with the budgie in thre cage, and see if the cat wants the budgie, if not, then you can leave the door open

[A-n-M]

Cats are often unpredictable, I would say just to leave your door closed you wouldn't want to come home one day and you find you know what. Cats have predatory instincts, cats become easily amused by things.

[Ruta<3]

I have three dogs(terriers so they hunt aswell) so I know what your aiming at. My budgie's cage is in a wide open room that goes into the kitchen and a hallway so there's no doors. Usually somebody is in one of the rooms and if we're going away for a long time we plan to bring him to a safe room with a closing door. I say its nesscary to close and make sure its fully shut. Your cat can claw it and he may bleed to death or knock the cage down and you budgie would be injured.

[JuliesGonnaDance]

I wouldn't leave the door open. The only time my cat comes in my room is supervised. (the budgies are in their cage of course) Your cat could give the bird a heart attack by trying to get at it, knock its cage over, or just stress it out a lot. Your best bet would be to leave the door closed in my opinion. :)

[softie]

First, I love the picture equation you did :P

Cats can get into anything if they tried hard enough. Just keeping the cage's door closed won't do a thing, really. Like everyone else has said, the stress will build up on Tuffy if the cat starts to harass him.

Keeping the door closed is the best option for now.

[sammy2850]

midnight did harass missy when i had missy because one night we went out for a hr and midnight got in and just sat near missy she does the same thing with heidi but im very careful.

[sammy2850]

i meant midnight didnt harass missy or heidi

[zarrion101]

To a cat a bird can be a play thing, something to hunt or just for amusement as said. Is your cat an indoor or outdoor cat meaning does the stay in all the time or go outdoors?

If your cat goes outside then it will have more hunting instincts mostly so be very careful. I would just keep to the method your doing otherwise there can be trouble lurking ahead. :o

[SushiGURL]

To a cat a bird can be a play thing, something to hunt or just for amusement as said. Is your cat an indoor or outdoor cat meaning does the stay in all the time or go outdoors?

If your cat goes outside then it will have more hunting instincts mostly so be very careful. I would just keep to the method your doing otherwise there can be trouble lurking ahead. :o

Oh she's definetly outdoors lol

[idlewild]

Okay, I have THREE cats (used to be 4, but the fourth got banished to the outdoors this past summer...). And my birds are in the main family room and there is no way to shut the cats out of that room without sutting the rest of the family out.

So, here is what I did. I've taken to keeping a squirt bottle handy on a counter or end table near the cage. If a cat is trying to go after the birds I just grab the bottle and squirt away.

With my oldest cat he tried to go after the bird while I had little budgie out (and was unaware of the cat being around), long story short, I paniced, swung, and WHAM hit the cat full on the nose. I am proud to say that that cat has never even so much as glanced at the birds ever again (and that happened a good 4 years ago).

With the second cat, who is now going to be 3 years old. He pulled the smaller cage down once and got spanked a couple times and had things thrown at him (pens, pencils, a remote even, whatever was at hand). He's a smart cat and learned very quickly that the birdies where a NO-NO. Recently I have seen him get up on the end table (which is near but not close to the cage), then put his paws on the stand and without even thinking about the birds he proceded to watch out the window for the OUTSIDE birds!! Of course I chased him away as I didn't like him being that close, but that goes to show you that he doesn't acknowledge the budgies as being a food source.

Now for our kitten... that's a different story. She can be stubborn. She pulled the old cage down several times before I got the larger cage. She's been squirted, spanked, chased, *sigh* it's finally starting to sink in. Though, I think the most imact was as of late when I brought my baby budgie home and she was living in the old cage and I just had a bad feeling that the kitten would bring it down. Sure enough, a couple days later she did, and oh boy, did that kitten feel my wrath. My sister caught her, then I grapped her, walked her over to the cage, and not to gently rubbed her nose into the cage and spanked her HARD, I was a little mad for being woken up early to the sound of the cage falling down.

Since then she hasn't tried to jump up on the cages. i have caught her every now and again sitting and staring or stalking the cage. She is getting better and better, but it's taking time. Now all I have to do is say her name and she runs away.

I know this post is kinda long, but I want to explain what works for me. With the kitten I have taken to sitting for a couple hours at a time in the recliner by the cage with a squirt bottle in hand and I'll pretend to read a magazine while I wait for the kitten to try and do something so I can catch her in the act.

Cats are not dumb, they are very smart animals and they are not untrainable. Yes, they are still predators and need to be watched at all times, but you can teach them that the colorful little birdies in the cage are a BIG NO-NO and they will learn and respect that. All of our cats are indoor-outdoor cats (except for the kitten, she chose to be an inside cat), and they regular hunt and catch mice and birds. But they know better about the birds in the house. They know that those are not for hunting.

I hope that helps. But like the others said, if you don't have the time to train and reenforce to your cat that the birds are off limits then keep the door closed.

[zarrion101]

idlewild you method is really good because I have read of it before on previous forums and sites. I thin the quirt/spray bottle idea is brilliant and can be there for caution if anything happens. ;)

[SushiGURL]

wow thanks! thats a really good idea, my cat HATES water lol

[pipp4]

i wouldn't ummmm keep ur birdie in a different room

[zarrion101]

wow thanks! thats a really good idea, my cat HATES water lol

Hehe, it's used by many so should be the trick but just be careful. :o

[parakeetluverr]

Yeah, I have 2 cats. 1 declawed, and one not.The one who's not is ALWAYS trying to get my birds, so when I walk across the house to give the birds a bath, I have 2 lock my cats downstairs. My dog doesn't care, and she's blind anyway. Lol...cat's DO have instincts, hunting instincts, but I left my birds on top of their cage the other day. My cat was under my bed and I didn't know it. I left my room, and when I came back, you wouldn't believe it. My birds were sitting on the floor carelessly, as my cat OBEYED me, and sat right there next to them without attacking them. You don't know how overjoyed I was with her. I mean, she's a cat, but she made the choice not to eat them. I almost cried, I hugged her and thanked her because right then and there, was my bird's life at stake. Needless to say, no more unsupervised birds for me!!

[sammy2850]

lol thats a good trick one that i dont have too use.

[pal0m1n0]

When my cats were much younger they would hop on my bed and disturb my sleep by trying to wake me up or such. I broke them of that habit by picking them up and putting them in their cat carrier and putting them in the basement. A couple of nights of that and they never again bothered me while I was sleeping. Of course as soon as I woke up, I was fair game. :) My one cat was a real little so and so. If he wanted something my me and I was ignoring him, he would start knocking things of my dresser or knock stuff off the fridge door (the magnets and stuff). After each item he would look at me with a look that said, "well, are you going to pay attention to me now?"

Anyway, the point is that you could try confining them for a while when they do something bad instead of spanking them or other things.

[zarrion101]

Yeah, I have 2 cats. 1 declawed, and one not.The one who's not is ALWAYS trying to get my birds, so when I walk across the house to give the birds a bath, I have 2 lock my cats downstairs. My dog doesn't care, and she's blind anyway. Lol...cat's DO have instincts, hunting instincts, but I left my birds on top of their cage the other day. My cat was under my bed and I didn't know it. I left my room, and when I came back, you wouldn't believe it. My birds were sitting on the floor carelessly, as my cat OBEYED me, and sat right there next to them without attacking them. You don't know how overjoyed I was with her. I mean, she's a cat, but she made the choice not to eat them. I almost cried, I hugged her and thanked her because right then and there, was my bird's life at stake. Needless to say, no more unsupervised birds for me!!

That is fantastic! Imagine if all cats could be likes yours. :D

[Star]

Cats are descendants of big cats(tigers,lions,ect.) and they have the immediate instinct to hunt and kill a bird. My friends bird lost a leg to a cat she was babysitting for. DO whatever you have to do to keep your cat away from your bird(s) unsupervised. at the end of the day, it can save your birds life!

[zarrion101]

That's true Star and all cats are carnivores likes dinosaurs. :D But they only eat certain types of predators, let's out rule thier owners. :p

[BUUZBEE]

What is your birds cage on? if its on a secure stand it should be ok. We have 3 cats that have free rage of the house, with 5 cages around. But my cats have been with birds all their lives. if you dont feel comfortable and 100% trusting of your cat then close the door :)

[Tsunami]

After reading all this, I'm pretty upset. Hitting a cat or any animal for that matter does not teach it anything other than to fear humans. Throwing things at them does just the same. Abusing an animal for anything even if it is to try and protect another animal is just wrong. If you care about your budgies so much that you would hit your cat to try and teach it something then maybe you should find your cat a new home. I'm so upset and I'm sorry if this makes anyone mad. I'm a huge animal lover and I work at the Humane Society where I see animals that were abused and hear awful stories. Please, don't hit your cat, there are plenty of other ways to teach it what not to do. I have four cats and two budgies. The cats are only in the same room with my budgies when they can be supervised. Just a stern 'No' or saying anything in a stern voice is enough and they know to stop whatever it is they were doing.

[zarrion101]

I haven't read all through this thread but I would agree hitting or throwing is not the right methods. The water squirting I would not class as abuse or server punishment and a good workable method. I don't think speech can sometimes stop an animal which has natural instincts and is a carnivore to stop attacking birds. It might work but not in ever case.

[Budgietom]

Your cat is sooooooo CUTE!

[budgiriotic]

I agree,hitting ur cats might not be the best thing to do, but the water bottle is a good way, u must find other methods,another good way is giving them other toys and distractions that keep them entertained and not pay attention to your birds, and its always the best idea to keep the door closed when u leave ur birds un-supervised,but try to give ur birds some cat-free time in their room and let them out each and every day as much time as possible to mae sure they will stay happy and vocal :D

Anna xx

[Emmer]

cats are very very sneaky.
i have to check under my bed before i go out incase 1 of my cats is hiding there.
my 2 cats actually tried to work together to bring the cage down, and they would have managed it if i hadn't came back in.

i wouldn't risk it, just keep the door closed when your out.
even if she doesn't find a way to get in the cage, she might climb on it and frighten your little birdie.

she's so cute btw :P

[Jessie]

I have a REALLY bad story about a cat. My budgie was in a cage in my room and the door was open my cat knocked the cage, or somehow gott the door of the cage open and killed two of my birds one escaped and flew into the couch(serenade) that was a year ago. I would always make sure the door is closed, cats are very clever and they'll find a way to get it open, they don't have anything better to do so they'll try until they get it right.

[SushiGURL]

JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS.
this thread is really old, and i would never hit my cat! Also i have a sepret room where i am housing Delorean and Tuffy, and havn't had a problem between them. I try to be as cautious as possible. Thanks for the advice everyone! =]

[Budgietom]

I am so sorry SushiGURL. I posted a comment about your cat and how beautiful it is and then it must have showed up on the forum and people started to reply. Woops!