Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bills and...Kitties?

It has come to the point where we want to get a kitty. The reasons are various, the simplest being, K has always had a cat (more or less) and really wants one. J as usual indulges her. So the questions are:
1. How to train the cat to not antagonize (or harm) the birds? (sub-question-is a kitten best?)
2. What cage is best?

I have been researching Q#2 this evening and think an acrylic cage might be just the thing. Of course, Mary ann, and the offspring (Boo and Magoo) were essentially free, and Sutcliffe cost $20. But pets are the gifts that keep on giving. These cages aren't cheap! (aren't cheep, hahaha).

Here are two options:

http://www.acrylic-bird-cages.com/samples.htm . This isn't a very good website, but it might be a good habitat.

and

http://www.kingsolomoncages.com/specials.asp (scroll down to see the side klean version...simple design...).

The sub-issue/question for the acrylic cage is: now that the birds are so happy climbing around on the side of the cage, will they be bummed out by an acrylic sided cage? this could be dealt with by a ladder/climbing system along the sides (have C and B and their kitty Lily inspired this ladder thinking?...gee the puns are bad tonight!

1 comment:

Ex said...

I'm not a fan of that style of cage. It lacks the bars, which means it won't allow them to cling to / move around the sides, top and bottom. I also dislike the clear front, since in addition to not being useful to the occupants, is also clear and may actually confuse them.

Now as for the cat.. it can potentially work. It could also potentially be a disaster. Assuming the cat is gotten early and is accustomed to the birds, there's a chance it could work out. But even assuming that all instinct is suppressed, there are other things that can go wrong. A cat might unintentionally harm or kill a bird in the course of being playful. Cat saliva is toxic to birds as well.

I love cats too, but so long as I have any birds in my home, I'm not getting one. Tread very carefully.

- me -

The Happy Couple

The Happy Couple
Sutcliffe and Maryann in early 2007