Cat tiped over bird cage.

RATTIE · Post by **RATTIE** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:17 am

Today I was woke up by my finch cage falling on my arm

. Both finches got out and it all happend so fast that I did not see were they went. I herd one go behind the fish tank and I herd one go in the fan and I herd one in the window. So I turned the fan off and the female was in the window and was easy to grab

, but I can't find the male any were

. I hope that he did not get hert in the fan. I looked behind and under my dresser with the fish tank and under my bed and every were I could think of. I don't know what to do. I think my kitten pushed the cage over but she has never done any thing like this to my budgies.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:44 pm

I have heard of several cases where cats do that even though they go months with out paying any attention to the birds,and then they just can't stand it any longer, its a natural instinct to hunt.
Hope the missing finche is ok

RATTIE · Post by **RATTIE** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:03 pm

I found it and it seems ok. It was very happy to get back in with the other finch.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:24 pm

RATTIE wrote:I found it and it seems ok. It was very happy to get back in with the other finch.

You may want to make sure the cat doesn't have access to them again.
I think this may have been a warning. You can read on here of many post where cats got other people's finches. They may wait a long time and then it happens. I am so glad it was okay. Cats and birds just don't mix well.

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:21 pm

I have had that happend twice. Both times waking me up in the morning. He tries to sit on top and one day i saw him jump off and the force of him jumping off knocked the cage down. now i keep the little cages in my room with the door closed.

RATTIE · Post by **RATTIE** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 1:18 am

I had them by my bed and I have two cats in my room so I put the cage some were were the cats can't get to. The 13 year old cat dose not mess with the other animals at all, but the kitten sleeps on my budgie cage and the budgies don't seem to mind at all but I guess the small cage lured the kitten to the finches.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:03 am

I guess I don't really understand the concept of keeping cats, dogs, etc. in the same room as finches. EVEN if the 4-legged animals are kept away from the cages, it's not going to make the finches feel at ease.

It's no different than if you were in a cage and tigers were walking around you. Would that make you feel comfortable enough to eat, socialize and carry on like nothing is wrong?

It's not my intention to offend anyone here, but if you're keeping cats in your room, you're not getting any sympathy from me if the cats kill your birds. It just perplexes me why anyone would risk that.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:26 am

I agree...sorry.The two just don't mix.
Paul.

James · Post by **James** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:17 pm

I agree with you guys. Cats are natural hunters and birds are their natural prey. dogs can be trained to leave them alone but not cats, but even dog will revert given the right setting. You would not think of putting a hawk in with finches why a cat.

birdbrain · Post by **birdbrain** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:40 pm

You got lucky. I lost 2 almost ready to fly babies. My cat knocked the stand that held the cage over. She grabbed one and my tiny dog grabbed another. I got them back almost immediately from them both, but not fast enough. I think they both had their little necks snapped and died after I put them both back in the cage. It was a big shocker. I didn't know the cat was in the room. I felt so bad after watching the parents do all that work. There is one left though. He is growing into a fine young man.

kittani79 · Post by **kittani79** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:08 pm

I always end up playing devil's advocate on this sort of thing -- even though it's happened to me.

My older cats have no interest in any of the birds, and I would leave the door open to the bird room/computer room all the time. Two of them have never even been outside, much less hunted anything bigger than a bug. They sniffed the cage for 10 minutes or so when we got our first bird, and haven't even looked at them since.

BUT! When we started to babysit my friend's cat while he's overseas, tragedy struck. I was unused to closing the door, and while I did MOST of the time, that ONE night I forgot to close it. I knew with a strange, younger cat, used to being indoor/outdoor, that it was a really horrible idea to have her in there. I just plain forgot. We came home to the cage on the floor, the male finch bleeding to death, and the female in shock. All MY cats were hiding under the bed (probably freaked out from the big crash), but there was our visiting feline, still stalking the poor male.

The moral of the story is, every animal is different, and when in any kind of doubt, caution is in order. If your cat even glances at your birds, it's probably best not to have him in that room unsupervised. I'd never allow my cats to sleep on or anywhere near the cages, regardless of how much I "trust" them in the room. And a kitten would be out of the question, they certainly don't know their manners until a few years old.