Conference misery::feline

    I had 2 finches one of whom died last year. I had gotten them both at
    the same time -  8-1/2 years ago (my daughter was a freshman in HIGH school
    and since graduated from a four year COLLEGE last year). At one point
    I had seven cats all of whom were indoor only cats and they wandered
    in and out of the room where the birds were kept - at will. The cage hangs
    from a bracket mounted on the wall (I would not recommend a standing
    cage).
    
    What I found with some cats was that on the initial introduction the
    cats stared at the birds and did try to jump on the cage. I yelled 
    at the cat and only a couple times had to quirt a cat with a spray bottle 
    of water. Very quickly they figure out that the birds are not for their 
    pleasure. (I believe caged birds are not "fun" for a cat.)
    
    I will say that on one occasion a bird flew out of its cage while I
    was cleaning it and while some cats dove for cover, one of them did 
    try to catch it. A flying bird is fair game apparently - but that
    happened about three years ago, and it seemed not bother the bird too much.
    
    (Also, I can now clean the cage without removing the cats from of the
    room.)
    
    I'd say- go for the finches if you want them and just be cautious for
    the first 1-3 days after bringing them home. Most of my cats learned
    immediately they were off-limit, but the most stubborn cat took
    about 3 days.
                                                  
    Pat
    
    
    But since both birds lived for years - one still living- cats and
    birds can peacefully co-exist.
    
    Pat

    With 10 cats..and one parakeet I would say it could work but only
    if your willing to take precautions.  As the last noter stated you need
    to put the cage high (as high as you can get it.) and you should not have 
    anything underneath the cage that the cats could use to get at the bird.
    My other rule is NEVER trust the cats with the bird when you are not at 
    home...I always close off that room completely.   When we are home...we 
    just monitor the situation and keep a squirt bottle close by.
    
    My parakeet is 10 years old and has lived with cats for quite awhile...
    he has no fear and constantly teases the heck out of them.  He will
    peer down at them... chirp his head off and then start flying
    around the cage. I do have one female that climbs the door frame 
    just to peer into the cage....she has tried on numerous occasions
    to get the birdy...so I know I can't trust her alone.
    
    Let us know what happens.....
    
    Sandy
    

    Hang the bird cage high?!!!     How about Westminster Cathedral?
    
    Any advise on how to repair the walls after the cats take up sheer-face
    mountain climbing?
    
    But seriously, cats learn how to hunt from their mothers, if they never
    learn then they don't do it (I believe).  Christopher likes blue bottle
    flies, baked beans, jelly nougat, yogurt, and anything I'm eating at the 
    time.  Birds?  I don't think so, not unless they come with gravy and 
    mash pototes.

    my cats- all 7 - were originally outdoor cats - all strays who probably
    were experts in mousing and catching birds to survive. But once
    they came indoors and were reprimanded a few times, they soon learned 
    that the caged ones were off-limits. Like Sandy said- try not to put 
    anything nearby on which the cat can climb, altho I now have a bureau next to
    the cage and no one bothers with the finch. that wasn't so in the
    beginning tho.  
    
    After a while, and depending on the cat's disposition, you may not have 
    to close off the room. I did early on, but haven't done so for years now. 
    You might be lucky too. 
    
    
    The cage is high - its door is about eye level or maybe a little
    higher. You just want to keep the cage (bird) out of way so as not
    to tempt the cat.
    
    Pat
          

    I have seen situations where cats have ignored pet birds for years
    ..and without warning decided to have them for lunch. We have about a
    dozen finches and a cockatiel that manage to survive in our house in
    spite of our rule of 'at *least* one cat in every room. The solution
    for me was to use a 'cat proof home'.  The unit is 4' square and about
    6' tall.  The bottom half is a wooden cabinet with doors on the front.
    I use this to store bird food and pet supplies.  The top half is framed
    in wood but covered with small mesh hardware cloth. We added a 'shop'
    Vita-lite to the top and a cat proof latch to secure the door.. Once in a
    while Corey will spook the birds a little by hanging on the wire by his
    front claws, but no harm is done and it has worked out very well.
    
    The finches live in one of these units in the living room  ..and the
    cockatiel, Sammy, lives in one in the bathroom. It must be cat proof
    because Sammy has survived this long and he keeps repeating the phrase
    "Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty"!   This solved the cat/bird problem ..now
    if I could only figure out a way to stop Sammy from giving a
    wolf-whistle every time someone steps out of the shower.....
    
    Linda  :^) 
    

    If you check into FELINE_V1, there's a lot of notes on cats and birds.
    
    Unfortunately, I had to give up my bird when I got my cats.  Because of
    one incident.
    
    Tabitha had been watching the bird for quite a while, but we could
    divert her attention, no problem.  Well, one night I had JUST gone to
    bed and heard a CRASH in the living room.  I got up to see what had
    happened, turned on the light and Tabitha had charlie in her mouth. 
    She ran away from me into the bedroom, then ran out into the living
    room again.  She let go of him and charlie flew up onto my shoulder. 
    Needless to say, he had a few words for me! (-:
    
    But I HAVE heard of good stories about cats and birds as well. 
    
    Holly
    

    and i bet that tabitha just sat there looking innocent with a "who me?"
    face? :-)

         My guess would be that the smaller the bird, the more temptation.
    
         We've had an adult chicken and an adult pheasant in the house
    while recovering from injury/illness.  All three cats have shown *no*
    interest and have run away when the birds made any noises (and one of
    our three is a former indoor/outdoor mouser).
    
         We are currently raising 25 chicks, though, in a separate locked
    room.  They are *very* curious about this, and like to hang around the
    door at least two or three times a day.  I think this is because they
    sound like the "outside" birds (bluejays, sparrows, etc.) and they
    think that these would be "tasty morsels" (when the day-old chicks came
    home, we joked about them being "chicken nuggets").  I do *not* trust
    those three with the chicks, although I don't think that they would
    bother adults; Fouracre's Intervale Farm has cats in the barn, and
    although those birds are caged, occasionally one gets out, but never
    are there problems between the cats and chickens.
    
         I would guess that the larger birds (cockatoos, large parrots,
    etc.) would be safer, especially since they have more "artillery" to
    defend themselves with!
                                                
    					- Andrea

    Andrea,
    
    I just read about the pheasant you were treating and it made me think
    - two of my cats actually ran under the bed when the tiny finch was
    flying around the room; if they saw a pheasant in the house - I'd
    probably still be waiting for those cats to emerge (3 years later).
    
    Pat
    

    I have two parakeets that lived with us before Maggie, and their cage
    is suspended from the ceiling.  She looks at them from time to time, 
    but has not tried to reach them.  
    
    Last night, we discovered a mouse in the house, and she never batted
    an eyelash. So I don't think she would hurt anything, she just doesn't
    seem to care.  
    
    kim