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Chirp, Cheep, Meow?

© Mary Wilson

When I begin to rattle off the list of animals that I own, it becomes quickly clear that I live with a menagerie. Needless to say, 30 birds, three cats, four gerbils, three rabbits, and three fish tanks make for a very delightful time at home. The first thing I'm asked when I tell people I live with cats and birds is: "Don't your cats eat your birds?" I laugh, then reply with, "They know if they touch my birds, mommy gets a new pair of slippers." While I would never skin my cats if something should happen, there is an understanding at my house.

I believe in the intelligence of all creatures. When I published "Of Purrs and Birds" in Winged Wisdom at Birds N Ways, someone wrote me and said that my ideas were tantamount to a whale being jealous of plankton and eating it strictly for that reasons. Not all people believe that all creatures are sentient, emotional beings. If you are one of those who do not, then my ideas may seem like blasphemy to you.

I believe that if you provide for an animal's needs, emotional and physical, you will have a deeper relationship with them. My cats "know" that my birds are as much my children as they are, and as such, aside from a few interested looks, the two species have very little to do with each other.

When we keep a predatory animal, such as a cat or dog, indoors, we provide for its physical needs. My cats are better fed than their wild counterparts. They have no worries about shelter, warmth, or companionship, for it is there. Keeping this in mind, it is really no wonder that aside from passing interest, my cats do not care about my birds.

They do not need to look at them as food, for what is in their dish and sometimes gleaned from my plate, is far easier to catch, and the predator will spend as little effort as possible to eat as much as possible. There is no space competition. My birds have their area and my cat's theirs.

I do not take chances. My finches and breeder birds live in a bedroom, my "relaxation room," because I spend time in their reading or unwinding. My pets live in the living room. The cats find my chair, or their basket of toys, much more fun.

Still, I think there are a few rules for living with such different species. First, treat each creature as an intelligent one. Although we make jokes about Nermal, my youngest cat, being a "dum dum" kitty, he is treated with as much respect as my parrotlet. All animals get equal attention and equal respect.

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