It's been awhile since I've been here or posted here, but I have seen some members here having other pets other than birds. Hopefully this is the right forum to post in...

I have a 1 year old Quaker (Snapple) and we both will be moving in with my fiancee in a couple of months (or a year depending on our jobs). Here are two problems:

-He wants to get a cat and he's determined to get one. We both never raised a cat before because both our parents are allergic to cats. I am so worried that if he gets a cat, it will go after Snapple while we are both at work.
-Snapple HATES men. He flat out hates my dad and he wants nothing to do with my fiancee, which is why he wants a pet too (that will like him more than the bird's tough love).


My main question is about the cat issue. For those who are cat AND parrot owners here, how have you guys managed to, say,... keep a peaceful household without pets fighting or going after each other? In other words, is it possible for cats and Quaker Parrots to coexist with each other or would I have to keep them both in separate rooms whenever I go to work? I really want to be fair to my fiancee and have no problems with him getting a cat, but I am really concerned about Snapple's safety. Also, is there a particular breed of cat that would handle a bird better? Any recommendations or advice will help! Thanks!

My cats don't even care about the birds. They were petrified of the tiel when I got her. Even more petrified of my conure as he is much bigger and EVEN MORE petrified of the qp as he isn't afraid of them at allllll. He chased my cat right off the bed this weekend and my poor poor cat hid under the bed for hours.
But seriously, it is wise to seperate them or not leave them alone together at all when the birdie is out. I haven't had problems with the cats but have had a few with ferrets vs. parrots......and it wasn't pretty.

I love cats and have always had them until the last few years, but I would not have them around birds. I'm sure there are cats who would behave, but the vast majority could not overcome the prey drive and the bird would not be safe. Couldn't he be happy with a dog? Or a bird of his own?

My cat doesn't give a lick about the bird. She is 13 years old though. But I did have another quaker parrot that died in January, (my Miniature Pinscher got him) for 8 years, and she didn't care about him either. I do not let my bird out without my being there. I have a separate room for Chili to be in so we don't have any tragic accidents. Probably an older cat wouldn't care. I don't know about kittens, they are pretty adventurous.

Nancy

It's definitely possible to have cats and birds in the same house. All it takes is a lot of caution and common sense. Always supervise your bird when he's out of the cage. Never leave the bird alone with the cat. If at all possible, when you go to work or leave the house for an extended time, put the bird's cage in a room the cat can't access. Never let the cat's saliva or feces come in contact with the bird (so wash your hands in between cat and bird petting and don't let the cat 'kiss' the bird, no matter how cute it looks on YouTube).
Every cat is different and every bird is different. We have three cats and they aren't all that interested in our Quaker, Ava. If she flutters to the floor they might run up to her in curiosity, and she usually screams "HELP" and I'm right there. She also sits in her tree and throws little pebbles at them when they walk by. She certainly taunts them and it makes me nervous. But just ALWAYS be vigilant and you should be okay...Good luck!
Here's a picture of Ava and our distinguished lady cat, Seven.
Click to view attachment

Oh believe me I tried talking him out of it because I would really like another Quaker (1 isn't enough), but he is dead set on getting a cat. He says "Green parrots named after 7-11 drinks hate me and I've dealt with dogs for a long time... time to try something new." Typical him...I also know that dogs will go after birds because my parents' collie went after Snapple (yea... freaking LASSIE) and I never trusted him around Snapple since then. I thought collies were suppose to be gentle dogs... nope!

And thanks for the advice on the cat "kisses." I heard it's also the same thing with dogs too, but didn't know it was the same for cats. Which makes sense I guess... they lick their privates down there and it shouldn't be touching a bird... much less me!

i had my cats before i had any of my birds. when i first got my 2 budgies, my one cat showed a lot of interest in them but after a few days they were forgotten about.

before i brought cricket home, i had his cage set-up and the cats were curious about the cage and i let them look at it... inside and out. by the time i brought cricket home, they could have cared less about him.

when my parakeets are flying around, my female cat half-heartedly tries to swat at them but doesn't really go out of her way.

i swear, my cats don't even see cricket. cricket can walk on the floor, right past them, and they never look up. when cricket is walking on me when i watch tv, the cats come up for cuddles and cricket chases them away.

with that said... i would NEVER EVER leave any of my birds out of their cage without me being home. i trust everyone to play nice when i'm in the room but not when i'm doing laundry or taking a shower. it's instinct in cats to chase birds and even though my cats are old and lazy... i don't trust them out of my sight!

I have cats too.They could care less about my birds, but I would never leave them alone together ever.When no one is going to be home,my birds all go to their cages and or rooms locked away from the cats.When we are home,the birds have free range,and the cats will sleep right near them without even a second glance.Of course mine are somewhat older so I don't know if that makes a difference

My husband and I adopted a kitty after I had already gotten my first Quaker parrot. I have smaller birds too... finches and canaries. Patches, the cat, was VERY interested in the smaller birds. Something about their quick, darting movements really attracted him. He left the big birds alone and didn't seen interested at all. He actually ended up preferring to be outside with out dogs rather than inside with our birds so he can't harrass my little birds anymore. I think it depends on the cat and the supervision. Right at first you will probably want to keep a close eye on things to see how the cat and the bird interact (or preferrably DON'T interact). Once you know your cat you'll be able to decide the best way to control the environment your bird is in. To be honest, my Quaker terrorizes my lovebird more than my cat ever bothered my Quaker. Weird huh? Caution is the best bet. There are stories in the forum history of dogs and cats getting at birds and killing them. It's always a possiblity when you have prey and predator in the same household. Scary to try but not impossible to do.

Could it be that your man dosen't like your bird because he dosn't like him so that is why he want's a cat(cats eat birds) just a thought.I was joking... Anyway I have a cat who is 17 yrs. old. I never let her near the bird unless I'm there. She just lays on the couch and Pico is on his play stand. I would never leave them alone though. If the cat gets him I would have to rush him to the vet due to cat saliva is deadly if it gets on your bird. I would keep your bird in a room where you can close the door while your not home to keep him safe. Also get a kitten. It's better if it grows up with the bird. Iv'e had cats that grew up with my budgie and canary yrs. ago and they were not interested in them at all. I never left the door open on their cages and They were up high on a stand-so the cat couldn't reach them. Pico is upstairs and my cat can't walk up the stairs. I have a gate at the top so if I go out I put it across -just in case.Persains are very gentle and docile or Hymalayans.They are also very affectionate and make great indoor cats.

I have 2 kittens and an older cat here. The older cat is deaf and could care less about my new baby birdie. The kittens on the other hand do watch him in his cage. I always put them outside or in another room behind 2 closed doors when ever Bubbles is out. Its working well so far.

~Carrie & Bubbles~

I'm new at all this too, but have a 13 year old cat Maxine, declawed, who has never been out of the house except yearly trips to the vet. We now have Henri, who is a couple of months old and for the first few weeks they ignored each other but I never left Henri loose without being very close by. The other day Henri was out, Maxine showed only very mild interest, when all of a sudden somehting clicked in her brain, Henri most have senced something as he began hissing, and in a split second there almost was a no-Henri. I guess we're quicker than we thought we could be, hubby grabbed Henri, I grabbed Maxine, and we will now be a lot more aware. No, I will never trust an old, slow moving cat again.
So my recomendation is never trust a cat, the instinct is too great. But under close watching, I'm sure you can enjoy both.

Ha Ha, I was just thinking that the other day!! They're both jealous of my attention and I tease my fiancee about his little "war" with Snapple Your cat is adorable!

Thank you all for the advice on this! It makes me feel better about letting him get a cat since I'm trying to compromise with him. It's especially a good idea on getting a kitten to train it earlier.

My cat is afraid of our quaker, yet the quaker tries to play with the cat. The quker tries to feed the cat its bird food and often tries to snuggle up to the cat. The cat watches the quaker sometimes and when she turns her back the quaker dive bombs her.