Need some advice

[Kiryon]

For one year now my mom was taking care of my 2 cockatiels. They came to live with me yesterday (last year I couldn't have them with me because of the horrible apartment I lived in it was all I could afford at the time I was, and still am a university student but I managed to get a well paid part time job)

During that year, I got pretty lonely out in the city alone so I got a cat. Now I'm trying to get kitty used to the birds but it's proving very stressful. I got the cat from a shelter that saves strays and I'm guessing he s hunted birds before because he s been having a single minded focus on the birds.

I considered just putting the birds in my bedroom and never allowing them to even see each other but I feel that's an accident waiting to happen

So now I've put the cage in a living room and am allowing the cat in the room in my presence (otherwise kitty is put in the bedroom) and I watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't hurt the birds.

The other problem is that these birds actually lived with my other cat for years before now (he passed away last year ) he was old and very mellow and Oz actually preened his whiskers once (I hadn't realized the cat was in the room at the time, nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw them all cozy on the bed). I was glad for it back then but now it seems the birds hold no fear for this new cat and even seem curious about him so come to the bottom of the cage to investigate and stare back which puts them in range of his claws.

Do you guys have any advice on how to make this process easier. I'm very much against using a water bottle to 'discipline' a cat but I'm starting to think I may have to. He s tried to climb the cage twice and has been staring for over an hour now.

 

[noodles123]

If I may be so bold, I wouldn't put either in a room alone, but you will have to separate them...So, if I had to choose, the cat is the less intelligent of the 2 species...not by any fault of its own...I am just saying...birds are more emotional/smarter/social so if one species has to be alone for a while, I would think the cat might do better....though, neither scenario is ideal.


If the birds are in their cages, could you put some sort of matting down that would be uncomfortable/un-jumpable to the cat...? That would only be if you couldn't put the cat in a room for the day. I mean, I am generally against things like electric fences (I even feel bad about spraying with watery, so I cant believe I am even hinting at this)...BUT HONESTLY, cats are STUBBORN and if you can't close him off and if you can't keep him away, it is very clear that he means your birds harm...the second you leave of he finds a loophole, all bets are off...You could end up with dead birds.


The issue is, whatever you do, you have to protect the birds. Anything you put down to keep the cat out could hurt them if you forget for even a second....and I do not trust the cat...

 

[GaleriaGila]

Yes, yes, what noodles said.

Our forums are sadly full of tragic threads where a predator-by-nature (cats, dogs, etc.) maimed or killed a pet bird. There truly *IS* no safe contact. Even a cat who is tame/disinterested in your presence is a potential killer if given access for a moment.

Even just now, there are three operative threads of this sort. Even a tiny wound from a claw can cause sepsis and death.

I can't know your circumstances or options, but... I'm glad you're reaching out for input.

 

[Kiryon]

Oh believe I hold no trust for my cat. Even my old kitty whom they grew up with and got along with wasn't allowed intentional contact (the time I talked bout where Oz preened his whiskers was a complete accident)

I've decided to keep the bird in the living room and put the cat in the bedroom. So far Im allowing the cat out 9f the bedroom under supervision to try and get him used to the birds presence so that he might start simply ignoring them. When Im sleeping, at school or at work the cat will stay in the bedroom at least until he s both used to them and I can find a sure fire way to avoid him getting to the cage.

Birds have a large cage with 1/2 inch spacing that the cat has no way to topple and cant put hus paw in, but Im still worried about him catching a foot or tail or something if he has the right timing.

I think I ll just have to go the water bottle way even though I dont like it. Everytime he s been out today he's had a single minded focus on them. Even after I covered the cage for the night he kept putting his head under it and stressing them out so I put him back into the bedroom.

Right now they re huddled up and happily grinding their little beaks. Man I missed that sound

 

[reeb]

I have two doggies, a pair of miniature pinschers, and although they are small, the breed is known to be ratters, so they hunt small animals. My birds live in my room, and when they are out of the cage the door is ALWAYS locked. The dogs have shown little interest in them, but nevertheless, I go to substantial lengths to prevent them from ever coming into contact with the birds. Since the dogs have the roam of the house, it makes sense for me to have a room dedicated to my birds. If you feel comfortable with that being your bedroom, then you can simply prevent you cat from going inside by always keeping the door closed, or locked if you are worried about it.

 

[ChristaNL]

cat: "Oh my...she got me some edible new toys, boy did I land on my feet here! Nice person, good house and now... living treats"

birds: "Hey don't we know this breed already? It's mostly harmless, so no need to panick here."

so...no do not even think of letting these near each other!

There is a reason they do not keep the gazelles *in* the lion-enclosure even though the lions are fed almost every day and never really hungry.
Predators and prey do not mix without some gruesome death occuring once in a while..

 

[Kiryon]

As I said, I'm not planning to keep the together when im not there and they ll never be outta the cage while kitty is in the room. My goal here is to try and get the cat used to their presence to the point where he ll ignore them. They could possibly spend up to 15 years together, I'm just trying to take into account the fact that sometime in those 15 years the cat might somehow end up in the room with the cage while Im gone or even in the room while they re loose because of human error. I just think the chances that the birds will come out of such an accident alive will be much better if the cat was trained to leave them alone in a safer way.

Edit: the way Ive set it up is I put the cage in a corner, and put the couch against the other side. This way, the cat can only approach from 1 direction and I can be ready to intercept him quickly as Im right next to the cage.

 

[itzjbean]

It's possible to keep both and have peace and harmony but it will take many precautions on your end to make sure birds stay safe.

I have two cats, a huge dog and two cockatiels. Here's how I make it work...

1.) The bird's cage sits on a stand that's about 3 feet off the ground. It helps tremendously to keep the cats from climbing or stalking the bids while they are inside the cage.

2. When birds come out for more than 20 minutes, cats get put into their bedroom with the door closed. That's where their food, water, litter boxes and toys are so they are fine in there for a couple hours.

3. I never let the birds roam around on the ground. They are either on top of their cage/playstand (5+ feet high) or on my shoulder.


Both of my cats are ragdolls I've had since they were kittens but even then, one has shown high prey drive with the birds and I cannot trust him around them alone. However, when birds are caged, the cats get free roam of the house and do not show interest in getting into or climbing the cage.

 

[Kiryon]

Thanks for the advice Bean! My kitty has, unfortunately shown interest in climbing the cage.

I went ahead and bought a spray bottle today. I dont like it, but this could be a matter of life or death and I have a very stubborn young cat.

Im very worried that when told that cashier at the pet shop about my problem, she advised I take my bird in hand, take him out of the cage, put him inches from the cat s face and scream to startle him when he goes to sniff. Yes, lady, I will take my flighted bird out of his cage, hold him against his will right in front a cat thats been wanting to eat him. Im sure Ill have a fun time chasing a cat thats chasing a panicking bird flying around into walls because I shoved him at a cat and screamed. That sounds very safe.

 

[ChristaNL]

LOL good thinking and not following that crazy advise!

I am just extra worried because you have a cat that needed to hunt&kill to survive (lots of housebred-cats will to the same - for fun of course, not for food) so I do not think that you train a honed survivalskil out of this one.

You know abou the risks, and are prepared to do everything to keep everyone safe.

So glad you have a house full of birdsounds again

 

[Kiryon]

The birdsounds are great haha I can keep trying to teach Oz the imperial march again! Three spritz in and the cat already seems much more reluctant to bother the birds. I also trimmed his claws to be as blunt as possible just in case.

Edit: added bonus of the spray bottle, Oz got to enjoy a nice misting after kitty left

 

[reeisconfused]

Hello there!

How old is your cat?

Since your cockatiels think the cat is safe, it’s best to never let them have contact. Sadly, I don’t think there are any other alternatives seeing that your cat has a high kill drive. Cats are natural predators and will strike if angry / frustrated / hungry, no matter how trained they are. I agree with the answers above. Make sure that the cage is high enough where the cat can’t get to them. Make sure you don’t have any furniture close by, because the cat can jump from there to the cage. Ofcourse, it may not be able to directly kill them, but her paws snapping at the cage is enough to give the poor birds a heart attack. Also, the cat’s saliva is deadly to birds.

Make sure your cat’s nails are always trimmed.

They can coexist in the same house but you have to take MANY precautions.

If you have cat toys that have feathers, get rid of them. Establish a routine with your cat that becomes a rhythm for her. What time does your cat nap? You can let your birds out then (in another room, ofcourse). Play with her everyday, enough to tire her out. If she’s exhausted from play time, she won’t focus on the birds. Cats are usually very active because they get over stimulated from not doing anything. Make her foraging toys with treats she can’t resist and let her play with it in the room the birds are in when they are in the cage. Keep a sharp eye out. If she still chooses birds over her favourite treat, remove her from the room immediately.

Additionally, birds sometimes shed feathers and you have a little fluff of feathers floating around. Clean. Clean. Clean. No feathers should ever come in contact with your cat because it’ll only encourage her hunting instincts.

Are your cockatiels flighted? If they have playgyms, make sure they are higher (5 feet and above) and that they don’t have to ever come lower than that for anything. Again, playgyms away from furniture which the cat can access.

It’s always best to keep your cat and birds seperate to avoid accidents.

 

[itzjbean]

Wow, that is some terrible advice from the shop lady!

I've used the spray bottle with my cat before and it does work. As sad as it is to use it as punishment it really does deter them. I've only had to use it a couple times and he got the hint. And I imagine it would work much better than shouting at the cat.

 

[EllenD]

That lady at the pet shop should be smacked...just sayin'.

This is going to be a tough one, as getting this cat "used to them" to the point where he ignores them isn't going to be easy, and probably won't happen. Doesn't hurt to try, you know the risks and what you can and cannot do...The biggest worry right now is the cat really stressing the birds out, simply with his constant "staring" at them. The birds know exactly why he's staring at them, they know that they are prey, so this can cause them great stress. I've known people who actually think it's okay to allow their cat to sit right in front of their bird's cage and just sit and stare at them all day long, and when I said something to them they said "He's fine, at least he's not touching them"...yeah, he's fine, meanwhile you're birds are literally frozen and don't feel safe to even more an inch inside of their own cages...So trying to keep the cat away from their cage all-together is probably the better option than just trying to keep him from trying to climb them...You know how much psychological stress can effect a bird's physical health...

 

[Kiryon]

Yes, I realise how bad stress can be for them! Its why last night when they were hissing at the cat putting his head under the cover I removed him immediatly.

When not in the dark though, as weird as it may seem, they dont seem to find his presence too stressful. They've been playing and chirping as usual. Both enjoyed a misting as kitty stared at them. They ll go so far as to come play near the edges of the cage which sometimes puts them rather close to him.

I've also been spraying him everytime he makes contact with the cage and there's already a drastic difference. I had to spray him about 3 times in the first 20 minutes and only 3 more in the past 5 hours. He's only been staring at them on and off now instead of the obssessive staring of yesterday.