My sleepwalking probably killed Cossie, I don't know if the birds are safe with me anymore (vent/wtf happened/help please post)

[StormyPica]

I don't know if I misinterpreted it. I'm just tired of talking about it honestly. I'm so sorry.

I've got lots of stress right now, so it's not your fault at all, but I'd really appreciate it if you could provide short and simple replies instead of paragraphs.

 

[Terry57]

Ollie, I am so sorry about Cossie. However it happened, this was a terrible accident so please don't blame yourself. I also would like to ask you to give yourself at least a couple of weeks before making any decisions about your flock. You're in shock right now, and that's not a good time to make a big decision. Whatever you decide, you know I have your back, dear friend. Sending you much love and comforting hugs.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Ollie, I am so sorry about Cossie. However it happened, this was a terrible accident so please don't blame yourself. I also would like to ask you to give yourself at least a couple of weeks before making any decisions about your flock. You're in shock right now, and that's not a good time to make a big decision. Whatever you decide, you know I have your back, dear friend. Sending you much love and comforting hugs.

I agree. Rehoming is huge and irreversible. Ultimately, it’s your flock and your life, but I do recommend taking a couple weeks before jumping into such a big decision.

 

[StormyPica]

I agree. Rehoming is huge and irreversible. Ultimately, it’s your flock and your life, but I do recommend taking a couple weeks before jumping into such a big decision.

I get what you’re saying, and I do agree that Oliver’s situation is far from ideal for his birds, but PLENTY of people have cats and birds in the same household. It can be done without issues, as long as you have a secure and designated bird area and make sure the cats have no way in. I’m sure Ollie would never have anticipated that something like this would happen, and it could probably be prevented from happening again if he simply placed a lock on his door.

Of course, I understand where your concern is coming from, and I agree with several of your points (although i do think they could have been phrased a little more politely). And i’m not trying to speak over Ollie, since none of us know his situation or what he’s going through, but I think as a general rule, it’s best to avoid judging random strangers on the Internet simply because of their “lack of feelings” or the fact that they might own two types of pets that don’t mix (and btw were never intended to mix according to the post).

Ok, ok, I'm really sorry and I think you're an amazing person, but there's so many conflicting signals here and I don't know what to think.

 

[StormyPica]

Also, if you can't tell from my tone, I'm a smart@ss. So lighten-up and don't it too seriously. Except for the animal abuse part, that's seriously messed-up!

This is a serious thread. If you didn't know, I forgive you, but this is not the place to be a smart@ss.

 

[MayMaroa]

Cossie is missing. I have checked everywhere. We have cats but I am EXTREMELY diligent about not letting them in the bird room. Like, extremely extremely, I always make sure they're occupied elsewhere before I even open the door, I go in super fast, then check again once I close the door. And today she didn't come for breakfast, and she's not in the room, I've searched everywhere. And there's a pile of her feathers in the living room. She was there last night, I told her I loved her and put her to bed. But she wasn't in the cage because I was tired out of my mind and didn't feel like bird wrangling (the room is totally bird proof and has a night light, they've slept out hundreds of times without incident). The others were out with her. She's always been a bad flier.

I have sleepwalking behaviors, I'm the only one in my family who does. It's all been harmless but embarrassing, but I haven't had an episode since I was a little kid (to my and my family's knowledge). I've had other involuntary sleep occurrences, but not sleepwalking. There's no way the cats could've opened the door, gotten in, killed Cossie, then closed the door behind them. It's near impossible unless my cats are literal demonic entities with opposable thumbs. They are not, they're the best kitties in the universe. So the only logical conclusion is that I sleepwalked. I think.

I don't feel safe with the birds anymore. I want to rehome them. Should I?

I'm probably going to get a LOT of hate for saying this, but either I'm in shock or I barely care. I've had this issue since I was little, and it's hell to deal with. Everyone expects me to be sad but I'm just numb or even mostly normal. Hence the lack of panic in this post. I can't help it, and I'm sorry, I don't know why (childhood trauma?), and I'm not a psychopath. So please, no huge condolences. I have very personal reasons for asking this, and I hope you will respect that.

I'm really sorry your bird, Cossie, is missing, and it sounds tough with the cats and the sleepwalking. If you're not feeling safe with the birds, maybe consider finding them a new home where they'll be safe. It's okay if you're not super sad right now; everyone deals with things differently. Also, it might be a good idea to wait a few weeks before deciding anything since you're still in shock.

 

[MayMaroa]

And maybe you could discuss with your family some stricter measures and try to find more ways to insure that they're safe.

 

[StormyPica]

And maybe you could discuss with your family some stricter measures and try to find more ways to insure that they're safe.

I will for sure. I'm installing a lock on the door, might ask my mom to put they key somewhere safe so I don't know where it is (because there's a small chance I would sleepwalk and get the key to unlock the door).

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Ok, ok, I'm really sorry and I think you're an amazing person, but there's so many conflicting signals here and I don't know what to think.

Yeah you’re right. Ok. My point is basically that you might want to wait a few weeks and let the impact of the situation subside a bit before making any irreversible decisions, but also that no matter what choice you make, i’m totally confident that you could make either choice work. Whether you rehome or not, we will support your decision; I was just saying you might want to wait, especially since i am confident that a lock could prevent this from happening again. Hope that made sense.

 

[4 way borbs]

I know, but I do feel horrible.

I'm rehoming them, so it won't. I've gotten quite an attachment to mice, and I have a 40 gallon tank, so maybe I'll get some mice and have a REALLY secure lid. I'm not sure yet.

I once thought about rehoming Andy and sky after Andy crashed in the wall and sprained her wing, I thought the house was just simply not safe for such an active bird. But as soon as she healed she treated me kindly, she knew I didn't do it on purpose. And if you did then you can just improve your situation, if your door has a lock then lock it before you go to bed, lock the front door in case you exit the house.