Parrots and our other companions

Parrots, like us, are social beings and no matter the shape, size, colour or appearance of their flock members they want to socialize and bond with them all. This though can be a serious danger when they decide to do it with our other animal companions. The predator animals are the ones who pose the most danger to your parrot. Snakes, large lizards, ferrets, dogs and cats are the commonly kept predatory pets but even a gentle herbivore like a rabbit or an iguana could prove to be dangerous.

Rex, Mittens and Polly

Dogs are the biggest (unless you for some insane and probably stupid reason you have a lion or a crocodile as a pet). Just because almost all dogs have lost their predator instinct due to mans selective breeding of them doesn’t mean they won’t try to bite them, dogs are just as much a threat to parrots as cats. They also pose more dangers than just biting. Large dogs could knock the birds’ cage over either hurting the bird or releasing the bird from its cage, if knocked over some cage doors will open on their own, and if your bird is loose it could be in serious danger now from more than just your other pets.

Probably the most common, dangerous and famous threat to parrots are cats. Natural born greater than excellent hunters who are famous for their desire to kill birds or so you would think but I have witnessed firsthand that this famous stereotype isn’t that accurate. Sure cats are one of the greatest hunters nature has come up with a perfect predator but they don’t desire to kill birds. As a matter of fact a lot of cat owners would probably agree that their cat would rather laze in the sun or look out a window than hunt the family parrot or even the finch that sits on the window sill to tease them.







R2 biting Princess's, my one of three cats, toes. She has
never tried to harm R2, she's scared of him.

            Oddly parrots though seem to have an odd fascination for cats! As a matter of fact they get along better with cats than with dogs. This fascination can get to the point that the parrot often ends up terrifying or torturing the cat. Sometimes to alleviate boredom during the time people aren’t home a parrot may learn to use the cat for its amusement. Many parrots like to groom their feline companions or even share things with them like food and beds. Parrots sometimes like to attract cats towards them then playfully attack them to the cats shock. If your feline and avian friend do play with each other it is best to keep the cats claws trimmed and/or, the best method, buy protective covers for their claws. Most pet stores have these covers or can tell you where to get them. These covers are easy to use and come with fancy colours to add some flare to kitties paws. They are safe and don’t harm the cat in either a physical or mental way, like declawing does, and they just might prove to save your parrots life.

            If your dog bites or your cat bites or scratches your parrot it needs immediate medical attention. It might seem fine at that point but cats and dogs posses lethal bacteria in their saliva and claws that will kill your parrot within 24 hours. Symptoms of the infection from the bacteria are almost never seen so even if they look fine a special shot from a vet can save their lives, sadly sometimes this doesn’t work but many parrots have survived. Many who had a cat or dog attack their bird and never sought veterinary care found there birds dead in less than 24 hours.

The Other pets

Reptiles of all kinds could give your bird Salmonella so it is best that they rarely or never have close contact with these pets. Parrots are often attracted to fish tanks and since they can’t swim always keep the tank covered and the lid closed when your birds out of its cage. It is also best if they don’t get too close to creatures such as rats and hamsters. A large parrot could kill the small mammals while the mammals could hurt a small parrot. Though there isn’t much of a danger from rabbits and other small mammal pets supervision should always be taken when the animals are together. One type of pet you never let your parrot near are insects like Tarantulas, Scorpions and ants from ant farms. Parrots will eat your ants and the scorpions and tarantulas will poison your bird when it tries to eat these insects. Parrots eat insects in the wild so never get along with insects; an insect is just lunch to them not a family member. Ferrets are never to be kept with parrots, you can’t stop their instinct to hunt birds, and they will do it so if you have a ferret you should wait till it passes before getting the parrot you want.





Cockatoo beating up a cat.



            Parrots themselves can prove a serious threat to any smaller birds like canaries, finches and doves. Even larger parrots are threats to smaller ones. The larger bird could kill the smaller one and most parrots will kill and destroy the eggs of canaries, finches and doves. Parrots can get along with other parrots but supervision should always be present but parrots with other bird groups should never happen.



            Probably the most common, dangerous and famous threat to parrots are cats. Natural born greater than excellent hunters who are famous for their desire to kill birds or so you would think but I have witnessed firsthand that this famous stereotype isn’t that accurate. Sure cats are one of the greatest hunters nature has come up with a perfect predator but they don’t desire to kill birds. As a matter of fact a lot of cat owners would probably agree that their cat would rather laze in the sun or look out a window than hunt the family parrot or even the finch that sits on the window sill to tease them.

The Sylvester and Tweety syndrome

   

Princess just realising R2's on her.



I grew up watching the Looney Tunes and the cat and bird dynamos were my favorite of the gang but I always thought that cats would always beat the bird, everyone would think that. As a matter of fact one of my biggest fears when bringing R2 home was that the cats would try to kill him. I was surprised to find that the Looney Tunes were right, birds can and do best cats. I own three cats: (ages are correct to the time of writing) Princess is our 12 year old Siamese mix (mix means ¼ of something) who is the most motherly of cats, Duchess is our fat 9 year old black cat we rescued from the shelter while my cat is Keiko a 6 year old Siamese cross (meaning she is half Siamese). R2 is not even 1/3 their size and it wouldn’t take much for them to hurt him but after the first few hour after R2 came home they lost interest in him. Princess is even terrified of him, she bolts or cowers when he comes waddling up to him. Oddly R2 loves Princess and he loves to groom her and kiss her till she freaks and bolts. Even our high predator cat with experience on the streets has no interest in hunting him, as long as he keeps his distance and doesn’t touch her belongings and stays off her floor and pelt she doesn’t even acknowledge him. R2 meanwhile knows Duchess is dangerous and wants nothing to do with her.









Duchess wearing a knitted hat.



Our only problem is with Keiko. The Siamese has the lowest predatory drive of all cats but it craves attention and easily gets jealous of other pets. If someone’s paying attention to R2 Keiko immediately comes running in to try and steel the lime light and R2 does the same to her, he’ll panic and throw a temper tantrum in his cage to get your attention. Once R2 bit Keiko’s tail and was sent flying across the room as she bolted away in pain from his little beak and another time Keiko tried to sit on R2 to crush him under her butt. Their rivalry though lately has become dangerous since she has tried to bite him, out of jealousy not instinct but rarely does she go near him. Our cats don’t want to be anywhere near him so he is relatively safe but even still the whole family always supervises him when he is out of his cage.




            When it comes to parrots there are three ways a cat could react. The first is they will be a constant danger to the birds life meaning you might not be able to keep the bird then, where my cats sit, they usually don’t have any interest with the bird and only rarely go after the bird and finally there is the final group who have no interest once so ever in hunting the bird or are even terrified to go near them. Most cats usually fall in the middle of the spectrum.



Keiko, it is easy to see the siamese in
her.



            One reason cats don’t often attack parrots compared to canaries and finches is that parrots are loud. In the wild cats hunt animals that are quite and don’t possess ear piercing screams and squawks that hurt their sensitive ears. Parrots also have a usually big sharp hook shaped beak, something the natural preys of cats rarely have. If you were a cat looking at that giant beak of a macaw you would probably be terrified thinking this bird is some sort of monster not lunch! The only cats that naturally prey on parrots are species like the ocelot, small tree dwelling cats of tropical forests.  

            Whether your cat attacks the bird also has to do with the cats’ gender. Male cats have a lower predatory drive than females and are more tolerant of other animals than females. Females instinctively have the urge to provide for their family while the males just want to relax on the couch with some snacks and drinks while watching TV. Age also plays a difference. Older cats are less inclined to do any hunting than younger ones while kittens are very playful and are prone to accidently hurt their playmates. Breed can also play a difference. Some like the Siamese and its kin generally have a lower predatory drive than any other breeds while wild cat hybrids have a higher instinct due to the wild cat ancestry, Siamese and their kin though are prone to jealousy issues with other pets so they are just as dangerous as any other cat breed.

Always the best precaution to prevent problem relationships with pets is supervision and proper introduction, training and socializing. Cats and dogs can be trained to ignore the parrot and proper socializing can prevent many problems in the future. It may seem a lot of work to properly train and socialize pets with each other but it will pay off in the future.

            That said many parrots have formed long lasting and loving relationships with other pets, largely cats and dogs, and both parties have been known to save not just their humans lives but each others as well.