cat repellent

[aronya31]

I have two lovely housecats and one lovely budgie. The trouble is the cats wont keep away from the cage, even water pistols don't keep them away for long. There is no way I leave the baby bird on his own with them around but even with me there squirting water they just run away and shake themselves then sneak back for another look  So I'm wondering if anyone on here can recommend a device to keep them a respectable distance? I've looked on Amazon about sensors but I thought I'd ask on here first.

Thanks again

[OP]

As long as the budgie cage is out of reach of the cats and claws don't worry. The cats will eventually ignore the cage. Don't bother with the repellents they will cost you a fortune in batteries, they are designed to work outdoors. Squirting the cats only serve to tell them there is something in the cage for them. We do have member on here with cats so they can probably advise you more. Just keep the cage out of reach of the cats for now.

[Hezz]

Cats and budgies do not mix!!!! Please! Do not have cats and budgie in the same room, ever!!!

Cats eat birds. That is a fact! There is no getting around that. Please, please, please do not subject your poor little bird to the constant attention of a predator. Find a different room for either the cats or the bird.

[samwiseg]

Am sorry aronya31 but I agree with Hezz - and despite cats not being able to reach the cage I know they do sit and taunt the bird(s) just by watching them.

It would be advisable for the well-being of your bird that you keep the cat or cats out of the room permanently

[aronya31]

Oct 25, 2015 10:36:39 GMT samwiseg said:

Am sorry aronya31 but I agree with Hezz - and despite cats not being able to reach the cage I know they do sit and taunt the bird(s) just by watching them.

It would be advisable for the well-being of your bird that you keep the cat or cats out of the room permanently

I cant do this because of where I live. There must be members on here who have cats AND birds? Our lounge is long so the cats are often down one end/kitchen area and budgie Muffin is up the other end. I love all three of my little home-sharers, I'm not worried about battery costs because I never leave Muffin alone with the cats - ever -  it's just to keep them a respectable distance and to give me a break with the darned water pistol.

[Marianne Marlow]

Yes please, listen to what Sam and Hezz have said.
Keep the bird out of the same room as your cats.

It's never worth the risk.

[milliej]

Even if the cat can't reach the birds the birds will be stressed out by the presence of a predator because that's what the cat is. Oh dear!

[blackeyedbird]

I have three cats & two budgies. And a large dog. Our cage is large, wrought iron & on four sturdy legs. Two of my cats are 12+ years & one is 5.
One of the 12 year olds runs away, he's scared of the budgie sounds. The other 12yo will sit at a distance & chatter like he's watching birds outside the window. He has never approached the cage. He's always been a Fraidy Cat & he doesn't like the bird sounds either.

In the very beginning the 5 year old cat would only create problems by sitting directly under the cage when the lights went out in the evening. The rest of the time he never paid them the slightest attention.
As soon as the lights went out he would act like he was in hunter mode so I put him in a large dog kennel at night.
The cat learned not to bother the birds or he was going to sleep in the hole.
He doesn't give the cage any thought now.

In the past, I've kept fancy rats with these cats & they were never aggressive.
On the other hand, we can't keep an aquarium or a fish bowl in the house without disaster.

This is just how it's worked out for us. Not all cats are equal.
I've had past cats I would never have trusted around a bird or a rat or any small animal.
I think my cat's ages play a factor for sure. They're old, sleep a lot & they've always been indoor cats.

[ffiscool]

I think it's too risky. As some cats clearly are able to not bother the birds, others may bother them lots. And cats jump. What if the cat jumped on top of the cage. The poor budgie would be beyond stressed.

[Shirls]

Years ago I had a cat and a bird. My babysitter was 'babysitting' my daughter and was completely unaware when I came home that the cat was hanging, yes hanging on the bird cage which was suspended from the ceiling! Cats and birds never mix. Cats will STARE at the bird/s for literally hours scaring them to death!

[samwiseg]

OMG Shirls

[Marianne Marlow]

What happened Shirls?
Did you keep both?

[starlingqueen]

A very sad story here that has stayed with me for always.
When I was around 12 we had a wonderful little bud called Jerry, he could talk and was just so clever and so much part of our very dysfunctional family and the only happy thing in our lives. He's the reason I have birds now. We also had a cat called Tom, I know so obvious but true. He took no notice of Jerry whatsoever and Jerry was never in his cage. One day Jerry decided to land on the floor and Tom was in the room. I jumped up and grabbed Tom just in case. My mum however told me to let Tom go and see what happened. She thought they had lived together for so long that Tom wouldn't hurt Jerry. Tom was right next to Jerry and I refused to let go of him but my mum got angry with me and insisted I let him go. The instant I did Tom grabbed Jerry and he was dead in that very second. I was heartbroken and have never forgiven my mum for making me let Tom go.
Rest in peace my little prince. My eyes are sweating now.

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm so sorry starlingqueen that's an awful story.

[Shirls]

Oct 26, 2015 8:39:14 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

What happened Shirls?
Did you keep both?

As it happened we (husband and me) were due to go overseas to live/work, so we rehomed the cockatiel, I didn't go overseas in the end anyway. Long story!