pet relationships with other pets

Question
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Followup To
You mentioned that some breeds are known to be more laid back, what breeds are those.
Barbara

The simple answer is that you cannot.  Cats will do what comes naturally and they will try to "play with" the bird (it looks like a really fun toy to the cats, and it makes noise, moves, etc.).

Some people have put the bird somewhere they hope the cat could not get to, but cats, being quite resourceful creatures, can usually find a way to get to the cage and even open it to get the prize inside.

I do know of a Maine Coon breeder that has a couple of birds in a very large cage that sits on the floor and can be locked.  Once the birds figured out the cats could not get it, they seemed to be pretty relaxed around the cats!

I know of a number of breeders who have parrots, macaws, or cockatoos, and the cat needs more protection from the bird than the other way around.

Certain breeds TEND (no guarantees) to be more laid back and often would ignore the bird.  However, kittens of all breeds are more active then the more laid back adult versions.

There is a training technique using a "clicker" that has had good results with cats and, with enough patience and perseverance, you may be able to adopt this to training a kitten not to go after the bird.  One caveat, unless the kittten is at least 5 months old, no training is going to be very useful as young kittens tend to be so full of themselves.

Good luck & best regards... Norm.  

Answer
Barbara,

The most laid back breed of all is the Persian, especially solid colored Persians and tabby Persians.  Calico and bicolored Persians are almost as laid back with shaded and smoke Persians coming close on laid beackedness. Silver Persians and Himalayans are slightly less laid back.

Maine Coons are pretty laid back and Exotics slightly less so.  American Shorthairs and British Shorthairs are fairly laid back.

As is usual, there may be active individuals in any of these breeds, but most are fairly staid.

I hope this helps.

Best regards... Norm.