Please note this story is a month old but I felt that perhaps you all would be interested in hearing it. Update at the bottom
I love animals. All animals. I do not even like putting down ant killer in my yard because I hate the idea of killing all the ants. So, when a cat decided to walk in my front door and act as if she lived there, my SO and I welcomed her with open arms.
The cat was the greatest cat you could ask for. She would sit in our laps while we watched TV and head butt us for attention whenever possible. She even became best friends with our dogs we ended up getting about a year after she moved in.
There was one small problem however. She had been living outside for awhile and had lived off what she could catch. So we kept the cat out of the room with our hamster and things did well until the day she slipped in without us seeing. The cage crashed to the floor and broke apart and we ended up burying our hamster in the middle of moving to another house.
I was angry, and upset that it happened but not so upset at the cat as myself. The cat was being a cat and had absolutely no idea why no one wanted to pay her any attention for a few days. Eventually we forgave her for what happened and moved on.
At that time we had Tyrael, our Alexandrine, and the cat was again always kept separate, but was never that interested in the big ol bird anyways.
Things went smoothly from that point on until one day we were asked to take in a small green parrolet. This was one of the cutest birds I had seen and its attempts at biting were comical. My SO finally found a bird she could be comfortable with.
Now the cage that Pistol (The parrolet) came with was a cheap plastic bottomed wire cage that barely held together. We decided to keep Pistol on my computer desk where I spent most of my time and away from the cats.
Fast forward a couple months and I get a phone call from my SO which I am barely able to understand, but what I did get was that Pistol was dying in her hands. I was home within 20 minutes and was there with my SO as Pistol passed away. We buried him that night next to our hamster.
What was the cause of Pistol dying? Procrastination. I swore when I got Pistol I would replace the cage with something more sturdy and had failed to make that happen. Whether I was short on money or time seems so small to the cost Pistol and we paid for that delay. The cat that killed our hamster managed to get into the room with Pistol and jumped on the side of the cage which then collapsed and fell off the desk. Moments after, my SO found Pistol in the living room bleeding and well, the rest you already know.
I went back to work because I had to and swore up and down, that cat was going to live outside. When I got home, she tried to snuggle up to me and I pushed her away. Meanwhile my SO and her Mom both argued that we should let her stay and that our birds were all big enough that she could not hurt them. Against my better judgement, I caved, and we kept her inside.
Fast forward about a year and while in a pet store, my SO touches the glass where this clumsy cockatiel is tapping and we both fall head over heels for this little baby bird.
My SO finds the sturdiest cage she can, pays a ton at the register and we come home feeling confident that this time, everything will be ok. The cage is self standing with proper sized bars that I couldn't even get my pinky through very well. It was heavy and certainly could not be pulled over.
We named the cockatiel Freddie Mercury. Because, well, why not? She lived in the room with me and the rest of the birds for a long while. We then moved her to our bed room and eventually to the dining room as we had not had any issues with the cats and the cage was certainly cat proof. This went fine for a long while. Until this weekend that is.
I wear contacts and actually took them out for the first time in months on Saturday morning. The day was spent as any other, playing computer, chatting with the birds, and enjoying the weekend. Around 7pm or so, I hear a racket behind me from Freddie and turn to see a very blurry picture of the cat crouched between the cages. As all I can see is blurry colors I can see that Freddie is in the middle of her cage yelling at the cat. I immediately shoo the cat away and seeing Freddie on her perch, assume all is well and go back to what I was doing.
Sunday morning, my SO goes to see Freddie and says she thinks there is blood on the cage. I think, surely not?! Must be berries. I put in my contacts and see it was even worse then she had known. Blood on the wall, on the cage, food bowl, perches and on Freddie. Her tail was gone, and blood colored her wings a dark red on the tips.
We immediately take her to our bedroom and put the cat up. I give her a bath to clean the wounds so I can see better and I let her hang out with my SO as I go investigate.
9 feathers littered the floor where her cage was. 9! Blood splattered the walls and I feel like the biggest failure ever. My kid just got hurt and nearly died due to a threat I knew I should have handled twice before.
Freddie spent the day with me. She did not sing "If your happy and you know it" and was very quiet throughout the day. She did however get upset that I wasn't sharing my chips with her even though she had been given a large pile of treats due to guilt.
This morning, Freddie was sitting on her perch while I got ready for work. Hopefully, I will come home to see her and get to bring her out.
Our animals have no choice but to trust in our judgement. They do not get to argue a decision or point out reasons why we should not make a certain choice. In truth, they don't even know it is us who caused them to be hurt.
What hurts most is that Freddie wants to be with me, and I am the bad guy. She has no idea that I am the reason she is in pain. I am the reason she no longer sings "If your happy and you know it". And all I can do is take the second chance I got but did not deserve and try to get her to sing again.
Please learn from my terrible costly mistakes. I loved the cat. She was as cuddly as could be and thought she was a dog. But as a father of a small feathered child, I should have made the hard choice long ago. Do not let compassion put your animals in harms way. This is the mistake I made, my love for my cat caused pain for someone who trusted in me wholeheartedly.
Currently, the cat has a new home at a family members house where we can visit and Freddie remains in our room being watched like a hawk.
Learn from me...please.
UPDATE! Freddy is growing in her tail feathers and is singing again
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