Can cats and macaws coexist?

[riddick07]

Still not an insult. I was honestly a vicious little thing in middle and high school. I would have said a million worse highly offensive and pointed crap. Trust me when I say I'm not even being vaguely mean. Sounds like you just misinterpreted the original post that wasn't directed towards you. Which is fine but theres no point in this conversation. I don't care about your situation and you don't care about mine, which is an honestly beautiful end point.



I lived in a tiny condo with 5 cats and something like 14 birds I think it was at one point. It was tight but the cats didn't even bother the little birds then either. Though long cat hair is a pain but they are pretty lol. The only issue we have had is keeping the idiot macaws from drinking from the cat water. One of the running drinking fountains worked in keeping them away. You can also put out their own bowl but if the macaw likes it on the ground like mine the cats might think its for them too. We ended up just offering water periodically over the time they are out usually. Having a hanging water bowl is just asking my macaw to fling it everywhere so that wasn't the best option for me.


Also, if your bird likes dark spaces and bins....the cat litter box should be away from their sight....my macaw made a beeline for it a few times before he was yelled at enough times to remember it was an off limit area of the house. My macaw is a giant weirdo though so I'm not sure this is an issue for anyone else lol. He is the only bird I've met so very obsessed with bins & boxes. Its like christmas and easter all rolled into one when he spots one the giant freak of nature.

 

[Cycletim]

Birds and cats do not mix. Instincts are instinct. Cannot be ignored or denied. Never trust a dog or a cat around a bird. We put our cats and dog in another room when birds are out (6 hours per day) they don't care and sleep anyways. Try to find a plan to separate them if you have to. Cats and dogs are domesticated pets. And birds are not. A attack on them can cause psychological problems etc... Good luck

 

[Birdman666]

Not a fan of cats and birds.

Macaws have been known to go after cats.

I have a friend whose bird torments the cat mercilessly... the cat is scared ****less of the bird. The bird considers chasing the cat "a sport."

I also know of a B&G Macaw that KILLED a stray that came in through the doggie door. Cat was dumb enough to put the paw through the cage. We know that for a fact because we found the severed paw inside the cage.

When the cat lost a leg it fell against the bars of the cage, and the bird took the point of the beak and slit it's throat. They can and will defend themselves...

The opposite is also true. A cat bite can kill a bird with bacteria alone.

I wouldn't.

 

[JozePhoby]

Cat's rarely do this, actually

 

[wrench13]

While there are cats/dogs and parrots that peacefully co-exist together, the wise thing is to keep them separated. Birdmann666's example above is an extreme case but his statement that cat saliva (and claw bacteria) can literally kill a parrot are true. Also true is that some parrots seem to hate cats/dogs and will torture them or at least endlessly tease them. The same holds true for some cats and dogs - they simply cannot resist the allure of birds as prey. Each animal is its own personality. My Salty cannot resist trying to bite our Cairne terrier while my daughters designer terrier will obsessively try to get to Salty, even thru his cage!

Cutesy pie videos and memes of parrots with cats or dogs notwithstanding, the wise thing is to keep them separated.

 

[ravvlet]

I have cats and dogs and birds. It’s a total pain. To anyone reading this rather old thread looking for advice about a similar topic - if you don’t have to, don’t do it. If you’re stressed out enough to be searching the forum, it’s probably going to be overwhelming for you, your bird, and your new cat or dog. Trust me, I get really overwhelmed some days myself!

We have our birds completely separate from the dogs and cats with locks, cameras and Wi-Fi alerts on the doors so I know if a kid accidentally leaves one open. It’s A LOT. Before I knew better I had a parrot and a cat who commingled and thankfully nothing bad happened, but it only takes one mistake! It also means you’re dividing your daytime between areas of the house. This is ok for us because we have our parrots in our offices as we are in there during their awake hours, and cats are crepuscular. It’s still annoying and a hassle.

 

[ShanCaz]

For some people it works, for others it doesn’t. I guess that’s as simple as I can put it. This is a lively debate section haha.
The thing with a rescue is that you don’t know how they’ll react or respond to a giant bird in the house. Most cats don’t grow up with macaws! That’s the most dangerous aspect. You don’t know this possible rescue cat very well yet or how it’ll adjust to your household. You would also have to keep a VERY close eye on them, preferably not letting them ever interact just in case. As said above, any amount of bacteria or saliva from cats can kill the bird. Just don’t risk it…
There’s also a story on here of a macaw straight up biting off the paw of a cat that stuck its paw in the cage in attempt to get to it. If that bird feels threatened, it’ll most definitely use its beak at full force. And cats have pretty thin skin so it won’t be a little nip or scratch.
It’s risky for everyone. Maybe you can make it work, but it depends on how dedicated you are about keeping them away from each other while giving the both of them ample attention. Your bird may not enjoy the limiting precautions either if they were a free roam bird previously.
In my opinion, I wouldn’t risk it. But in the end, we’re both adults and i can’t control what you do either and if you want to try anyways. <3

 

[MomofMango]

I live in a house of animals but Mango is king.

I have two cats but they are kept on a separate floor from him. He has lived with an indoor cat on main floor before(first 10 years of life) but as others have stated, macaws can be brave.
He is quick to climb off the cage to get to any dog (mine are all 100lbs+) or other animal. Think of a rhino rushing

I take Mango down to where the cats are and they all watch each other. He isn't as territorial on other floors but the cats are very interested. I have no plans of them being friends. The damage they could do to each other could be lethal.

Be careful, love your bird.

 

[DavyBlaid]

I wouldn't say there's something you should be scared of. Cats and parrots can easily become friends, you just have to follow several rules. It will be an advantage for you, if you get the small kitty, as he will get used to the bird and identify him as a part of the family. In such cases, he will play with your macaw or maybe even playfully bite him, but no more. There are a lot of people having birds and cats at the same time. However, it is unwise to buy a small bird when having a grown cat, as he will assume it as a toy or even food. If you need more proves or still have concerns, read this https://www.catpointers.com.

 

[Owlet]

I wouldn't say there's something you should be scared of. Cats and parrots can easily become friends, you just have to follow several rules

no. even if the bird and cat are the truest of friends as they can be, cat saliva is still lethal to birds. birds groom their friends. bird grooming a cat = ingestion of the cats saliva from the cat grooming itself. tons of other dangers too. even if the cat has absolutely no ill intent, things can go horribly wrong.

 

[HeatherG]

I wouldn't say there's something you should be scared of. Cats and parrots can easily become friends, you just have to follow several rules

I think one of those rules should be “no contact”. I’d be so scared of my cat forgetting it’s manners and “accidentally” swatting or biting my parrot. Size of the parrot doesn’t matter. The biggest bird would still die of Pasteurellosis if it got cat saliva in a wound.

I have lived with cats while I had a YOUNG MEAN QUAKER, but I kept my door closed. Cats were hugely obese, or terrified of everything due to past abuse. But the door was closed if I was not right there.

It’s easy to get in that habit if the bird is caged in the bedroom.

When I lived in a co-op someone opened my door and I found my bird being stared at by a predatory cat. That scared me badly. Cat got a swat and yelling at, and it was brought up at our weekly meeting. I started locking my door.

I think I may have a blind or otherwise disabled cat sometime in the future. I’ve given this a lot of thought. I really like cats but their predatory nature scares me for my parrots.

 

[smwboxer]

Late reply but,,,Six dogs, one cat, two Amazons, one pionus, one ringneck, one military macaw and a raven. All loose all day and never a problem.

 

[Terry57]

Late reply but,,,Six dogs, one cat, two Amazons, one pionus, one ringneck, one military macaw and a raven. All loose all day and never a problem.

I'm glad that you have found a way to make it work, and I truly hope that it continues to work for you. I have 3 dogs and my birds, and the dogs stay on a different floor than the birds. We all have to make decisions about our birds, and I'm too afraid of an accident happening to have them out together.

 

[TenthDoctor34]

Honestly depends.... I mean mostly my cats I owned never were too interested in any my birds, but I never would trust a cat alone with a bird, always supervised and cage secure. Had one incident as a kid where my cage for bourkes parakeet Bertie's cage was knocked over when me and family were away and one my more interested cats killed him. But the older cats would just sit there while the cockatiels sat on their heads. One those cats back then was grumpy as well.
But my more recent cats(now one) never bothered with the Frodo my Alexandrine when he was around, he'd be on my shoulder and his tail in their face and all they cared was laying on my lap. I think they also were uninterested because he couldn't fly.
I dont know if a cat would be brave enough to mess with a Macaw though, but cats and birds always a risk and just be alert and make sure bird has safe space where cat cant get to it. Probably depends on the cat too as well as the bird.
I mean cats are predators and birds will always be prey so always risks.

 

[mochima]

Probably, but I don't think I'd chance it. There's too much potential for big damage on both sides, and I wouldn't want either pet getting hurt.

It can work if you keep them completely separate. I have a cat but I only have small birds and they are kept completely separate. I spend time with my bird when my cat is sleeping and time with my cat when my bird is sleeping. But I don't think I'd ever do this again because my bird can't come into the rest of the house from her two bird rooms.

 

[kme3388]

I have 3 birds, and 2 dogs (one being a ducking hunting dog that is professionally trained). I try my best to understand my husbands perspective with duck hunting. I’ll just leave it at that. My house hold definitely has an odd dynamic.

My one parrot has gravely injured other parrots at the shelter he came from. They had to move him from the small to medium sized parrot area to a large parrot area. He is a scrapper for food (particularly seed), and he will enter other parrots cages, and fight for food. He is never to be left out unattended with my other parrots, and his main area isn’t even on the same floor.

My dogs honestly don’t even care about my parrots. Both of my dogs were introduced to parrots as puppies. I myself would never leave my parrots out unattended with my dogs as I’ve read horror stories on here of what can go wrong. None of my parrots stand a chance against a Labrador retriever, or German shepherd if either of them decided to attack my parrots.

I think this depends on the dynamic of each situation. Everyone’s situation is different.