I made the mistake of having my sleeping budgie unsupervised with a cat in the same room. I didn’t realize even the cat was there. The cage is covered with a blanket, and the cat was standing on the cage with her paws on it. The cage is always uncovered at the top to let air flow. That was were the cat was. My worry is if there is the possibility my cat could have got saliva on my budgie. The budgie didn’t wake up in all of this, but I’m still worried.
Hi,
Cats do have bacteria in their mouth and claws that is deadly to birds. However, unless the cat bites or scratches a bird, the saliva alone can’t hurt it – it must be introduced through an open wound. Even a small scratch can kill a bird, often even if the bird is started on antibiotics immediately. Always keep cats and other household pets away from your birds. There are videos online showing cats and pet birds interacting and this is extremely dangerous and foolish. It only takes a playful pat from your cat to end your bird’s life.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
