# Advice on keeping a cat from budgies?



## Utero (18 d ago)

I've had my budgies for about 5 years now, soon 6. They are healthy and fine, and have lived with a cat for their entire life. I've always had my budgies in my closed bedroom, in which the cats has never been without supervision. But recently one cat fell ill, and needs to be with me in my bedroom so i can keep lookout for him. He has seizures and other similar issues and therefore i have a necklace that starts beeping when it detects my cat shaking. For that reason i need to keep my cat in my bedroom basically 24/7 so that i can hear it. But the issue is that i needed to move my budgies down to a desk level, meaning the cat can get to them. I always had them on top of a high-ish shelf that the cats couldnt get to, but it began to get a bit wobbly and i decided not to take a risk. The cats has never tried to harm them, but he stalks them. a lot. I put a basket on my desk so that he will always be next to me and i can try to stop it by blocking his line of sight or distracting him. My birds arent annoyed or nervous about his presence by the look of it, but when he gets really into stalking them every now and then they get nervous. Does anyone have experience with this? A few years ago one of my (two budgies by the way) injured herself for an unrelated reason, and has trouble flying. The vet checked her out and shes completely fine, with the exception of preferring to CLIMB the cage when moving around. Im afraid that one day when she is climbing, my cat will sprint up and scratch her or worse. Like i said, my family or my 2 other cats, would disrupt both the birds and my cat at the time if i moved them, meaning they both absolutely have to be in my room. What can i do?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being*
*Locating an Avian Veterinarian**

If you have mixed genders, it is very important to do everything necessary to prevent breeding.
Budgies are much healthier and happier when they are never bred.

**A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*You are definitely in a quandary as having your cat in the same room with the budgies is definitely NOT in the budgies' best interest. 
Even if the cat is ill, it can still stalk and/or attack the birds. 

I don't understand why the cat must remain with you at all times -- why can't another family member monitor the cat? 

You are taking a huge risk at having the cat in the same room with your budgies.
IF there is no other choice, then I strongly advise you to have the "high shelf" reattached to the wall properly with the necessary hardware so the cage can be kept as far away from the cat as possible at all times.*

*A Healthy Diet for your Budgie*
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*Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and all of the Stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.
Additionally, please be sure to read the thread "Posting on the Forums" which is linked below.

Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.
(Stickies are threads “stuck” at the top of each forum sub-section)
These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*

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*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
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*Cage sizes.*
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*Resource Directory*


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## karenblodgett3261 (11 mo ago)

Please, please, please take seriously the excellent advise FaeryBee has given you!!! Even if the bird is in a cage a cat can still slip a paw in. When I was young we had two budgies hanging from a ceiling hook, six/seven feet from the floor. The cat managed to leap up, pull the wing through the bars and kill one of the little birds. One other thing that would concern me is, assuming your kitty regains it's health, it will now see your room as having a welcome mat at the door, and it will be harder to keep kitty from getting in. The beeping necklace is very cool! Is it loud enough to wake you when you're sleeping? If so even better! But if it does wake you, is there any reason kitty can't be right outside your bedroom? I know a seizure can't be stopped. We can only ensure no injuries are incurred during one. One of my children used to have 7-10 grand male seizures a day so I know this to be the case.

The staff members of this group (I'm just a regular old member 😊) have combined, several decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge. I just wanted to share my real life experience.

Those who run this group truly care about the welfare of budgies, and I for one, admire their dedication 🥰.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and welcome to the forums, 

As mentioned above, this is definitely a serious problem and I admire that you're trying to do your best for both animals. Is there any way you could have someone else watch your budgies while your cat gets well? Obviously, this is only a solution if you know someone whose home is suited to watching budgies (ie. no cats or dogs, is a "bird-safe" home, etc.) so I realize there's a very slim chance of this, but just in case I figured I'd mention it. It's hard to take care of a sick animal round the clock without also worrying about your other little ones' physiological and physical well-being too. 

I agree with FaeryBee that if there is absolutely no other option than reinstalling the high shelf is the best bet. 

I was also wondering why another family member couldn't monitor the cat; that would be ideal even if it is your cat given the situation with your budgies. For example, if you are outside your room where the budgies are, you can monitor the cat, but when you are inside, then have another family member do so? 

You've come to a great place to learn even more about the best of budgie care practices. If you have any questions after reading through the links provided above, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help. 

Hope to see you around! 👋


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