Can a budgie and two small dogs and a cat get along???

Question

I have two min pins and a tabby cat. I would love to have a budgie to train. We also are full time RVers, have a 40 ft motorhome. Am I crazy????? Thanks for any input....

Answer 1

With a a bit of effort on your part - yes it could work, but not without some risk, and a few precautions.

They will get along fine, as long as they are kept separated.

Budgies are prey.  Cats and dogs are predators, who carry bacteria in their saliva which is deadly to birds.  When sharing the same area, you would need to train your dogs and cat to leave the bird alone - squirt guns work:)

If any of your pets has a history of killing birds or has a high prey drive, it may be a bad idea.

Birds need time outside of the cage, and one-on-one attention - without the other animals in the room.  

You'll have to think about where you will keep the bird cage. The cage should be secure (escape proof) and inaccessible to the other pets.  Ideally - at face level.

I would avoid the kitchen and the rear bedroom. Birds are messy with their food and droppings, dusty, and shed feathers.  What's more, they flap their wings and blow it around.  Due to potential allergy or other respiratory issues, it is generally recommended that people do not sleep in the same room as their birds.   Covering the cage at night with bedsheets helps, as does daily vacuuming/cleaning and frequent bird baths.

Especially in a travel situation, I would recommend keeping the flight feathers trimmed, to avoid the risk of loss.  Keep in mind that trimming will also make it more vulnerable, and unable to escape attack by the other pets.

As long as the bird is safe, and feels secure, I imagine that life in a 40' RV would probably be very fun for a budgie.  Lots of attention and activity, with different scenery - sounds like a great time to me.  

Best wishes to you!

Answer 2

You are not crazy! It would probably be a good idea to keep the animals seperated from eachother.

Answer 3

Hey any animal can live together happily if you house them correctly ie bugie in a secure cage, and you train them properly (teach cat to leave budgie, dog to leave cat). However the more animals you have the more time you need to spend with them. I also know from experience that training budgies is hard and no all of them can be trained. They require a stable enviroment as with any animal and if you travel alot you may not be able to provide this.

Answer 4

My dogs (maltese and maltese x poodle) have no issues with my birds. My male (mxp) will follow them around for hours, where as my girl (m) wants nothing to do with them and generaly gets up on the couch or leaves the room. One of my quakers loves to grab on to the hair of my dogs tail and get a free ride and the dog doesn't even blink at this.

That said I would never leave them alone unattended. If I have to leave the room the dogs come with me. Even if it was unintentional a quick snap or swipe with a paw could be the end of the bird. I do trust my dogs with my birds, but I don't *trust* my dogs with my birds.

The cat is another story. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him (I don't throw my cat or anything, but you know what I mean lol). His instincts are "crush, kill destroy" and I respect those instincts. The cat is always put in another room when the birds are out, even though when they are caged he shows no interest in them. I would *like* to trust my cat, but it could just happen all too quickly.

I have seen photos though of birds climbing all over cats and the cat looks like he's quite enjoying himself so I'm sure it's possible, but this may be the sort of thing you need to do when the cat is a kitten.