Bird & Cat, Friends Or Foes?

Bird, my cockatiel, is the coolest winged creature in the world. He flys to my shoulder no matter what room of the house I'm in. If I put him on a chair and go to another room in the house, Bird will always find me within a few minutes. His favorite room in the house is the bathroom...because that's where the shower is! He loves his suction-cupped perch in the shower, and looks forward to being there as much as possible. Bird is also a jazz fan. He digs Thelonius Monk, James Moody, and Eddie Jefferson.


Socks, the family feline, is pretty cool too. She likes to listen to the blues. Her favorite artists are B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Les McCann. She generally stays outside, but on cold or rainy days she has been known to beg her way into the house.

I've never seen the cat show interest in the bird, though Bird always talks and chirps to Socks. Socks will lay down next to the bird cage and sleep, but never even looks at Bird. Still, I'm careful not to have Bird out of his cage while Socks is inside.

The other day I saw a picture of a dude's parakeet perched on his cat's back. Evidently his bird and cat were best of friends and played together all the time. I'm trying to decide if I should allow Bird out of the cage when Socks is hanging around.

After thinking about it, I guess I had better not try it. Bird may peck Socks' eyes out.