Cats and Birds

Guinevere is a typical cat. She patrols her yard and keeps other cats at bay. She chases wild birds in the yard. She hunts at night. Guinevere followed her instincts, the way most animals do. The question I had was: Could I live in the back house behind the home where Guinevere reigned supreme and not spend half my time wondering if she was terrorizing my birds? Eventually my question was answered: Guinevere was an exceptional cat, and she quickly learned that these birds were pets and she was not to mess with them. My experience taught me that SOME cats do have the ability to live in relative harmony with pet birds. Other experiences (a neighborhood cat that had to be chased off with a hose at 2 am on a few occasions) showed me that some cats are ruled by their instincts and will never be appropriate in the same home as pet birds.

Guinevere's Journey

At first I realized that Guinevere (right photo) was shocked by the slow but obvious increase of my flock. She seemed a bit insulted by the chastisements and stern commands to stay away from the cages. Much of my aviary was outside where I could not prevent her from getting around the birds. However, an uncanny transformation began to occur. Guinevere seemed to "understand" that she was not to touch, harass, or otherwise intimidate my birds. She, in fact, came to act as a sort of guard for the birds, keeping other neighborhood cats away. We used to joke that Guinevere bragged to the other neighborhood cats about her "collection" of birds as she nonchalantly groomed herself: "Yes, these are all mine. Now run along you silly beasts. Go chase a wild bird or something. Don't bother me. I'm busy watching my flock."

The most amazing thing was that on two occasions Guinevere actually saved birds. In one incident a baby parakeet had managed to escape from an outside cage. It was not quite fully flighted (its flights were coming back in), so it was quite vulnerable. Guinevere sat on the ground and watched the bird--not in predator stance--and meowed insistently until I came out to see what all the fuss was. I came over and rescued the bird. It was an impressive act for a cat! On another occasion, my neighbor's daughter had not properly secured her green cheek conure Jake's (left photo) cage and he was wandering up the back stairs of their house to find her (he was obsessed with her and wanted to be with her all the time). The girl's mother was coming out the back door, her foot raised to go down a step, when Guinevere meowed and ran in front of her legs as if to stop her. The mother looked down and saw Jake standing where her foot was just about to land. She picked the bird up and returned him to his cage. (Please note: These were very dangerous incidents and there is no excuse for allowing such incidents to even occur. The lessons were learned and no bird ever got into this kind of risky situation again.)

No one should take these examples as proof that cats will be kind toward birds. Guinevere was an exception to the rule. Birds are prey and cats are predators. This is a simple yet profound truth. It should never be underestimated. You can "train" a cat to tolerate and ignore birds on some occasions, but never to the point where you should trust them as pals with your birds. The main reason that birds and cats should NEVER interact, even if the cat seems to adore the bird, is a microscopic one: Pasteurella bacteria. This bacteria is a normal part of the cat's flora. It does no harm to cats. However, it is deadly to birds. Even saliva from a cat transferred to a bird can cause them to become ill and die. If ever your bird has contact with a cat--even if this contact seems incidental--an immediate vet visit is in order.

Neighborhood Cats

Cats & Birds in the Home

Often I receive e-mail from cat owners who are considering buying a bird. They want to know how to keep their home as harmonious as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee harmony even if all the proper steps are taken. Some cats just can't get it out of their head that the bird is a potential meal. Therefore, the first step is to make sure you can set your bird up in such a way that he is not vulnerable to the cat. Often these homes find that hanging the cage from the ceiling is the safest thing. Stands can be flimsy so you want to be careful with them; a cat can turn over a stand and send a cage crashing to the floor. Another trick is to put the bird in a room with the door closed when the owners are not there to supervise. This is a good idea in many situations.

Training Your Cat

Cats are not stupid. They might act stubborn and undisciplined at times, but like any domestic pet, they enjoy positive interaction with their human keepers. A cat can learn through experience. A cat can be told 'no' and be given verbal cues to influence his or her behavior. The information you give your cat about its expected behavior can do much to increase harmony in the home. Guinevere seemed to learn by the tone of my voice and the voices of her human family members that these birds were off limits. The interesting part is that Guinevere still occasionally went after wild birds. Her ability to discriminate between these birds and the pet birds baffled us, but was quite apparent. This is not to say we enjoyed these incidents; they were rare fortunately. Cats are predators and cannot be prevented from ever going after a wild bird unless they are kept indoors at all times. This was not my cat so I could not control this factor. It should be noted that cats that kill wild birds regularly are a threat to the balance of the environment and steps should be taken by their owners to limit access, or a bell should be placed on the collar to serve as a warning to birds. They are a nonindigenous element in the local ecological system and responsible owners understand the implications of this fact. For example, wild birds impact the insect population. A dramatic decrease in their numbers is not a good thing, unless you enjoy an explosion of a population of the six-legged variety.

Common Sense

In the end, keeping cats and birds in the same home requires common sense on the part of the owners. Just as a parent monitors the behavior of a human child to prevent accidents, you must monitor the activities of your pets to ensure their health and safety.