Budgie owners please

[darkandstormy]

I am looking after an elderly neighbours pet budgie at the moment.Currently I am going to her house twice a day to check his food and water,also to open his cage to let him have a flyabout.My neighbour is in hospital and is very unwell indeed, she is eighty.Question is I would love to bring the budgie to my house ,however, I have 2 cats, and an elderly jr terrier.Do any of you keep budgies and cats under the same roof?Also any general tips for the welfare of budgis.I have been cleaning his cage every few days, he has millet treats and birdie toys/mirrors, what else can I do for him as I have no experience of birds.

All they need is to be kept clean, have some decent food and they love company and exercise. I used to leave the radio on for mine when I went out.

I've never kept cats and budgies together, I don't think that would be a good combination. Perhaps you could try to find out whether the elderly lady is going to be well enough to return home and if she does have to go into residential/nursing care, they might let her keep the bird with her in the home.

If you want to bring the bird to your house whilst you care for it, you'd have to keep it in a room where the cats and dog were excluded - esp. when the bird was having exercise. I don't think it would be a very good long term solution to keep them all in the same house though - you may have to get the bird rehomed if the lady dies or isn't well enough to take much interest in it anymore.

I used to just feed my budgies Trill and millet. I think they can also eat fruit, but only in tiny quantities as it will lead to diarrhoea if they eat too much. They love toys and mirrors as well. Make sure the bird is always kept out of a draft as that can make them very sick with respiratory infections.

It sounds like you're doing a really good job of taking care of it and I hope your neighbour does manage to recover from her illness.

I agree, not a good idea to have budgies with cats unless the budgies are totally shut away. They are quite sociable birds though so whilst it is fine for a short term thing it is not a good long term answer.

In addition to what atomic says you should also provide cuttlefish in the cage and some grit to aid digestion. You can just sprinkle a tiny bit on the floor rather than needing a whole pot of grit though.

Hope your neighbour is ok.

Thanks for your replies.I have been leaving the radio on for him,I will get him some cuttlefish from the pet shop tommorrow.I feel so sorry for him as his owner has been in and out of hospital since she got himI have been going in twice a day,letting him have a fly about etc and cleaning his cage food/water etc

Even if the cat can't touch the cage, it can upset the bird to the point of giving it a heart attack. I've learnt from past experience I'm afraid.
Doesn't always happen. My parents have an outside avairy and the local cats regularly lie on top of it looking menacing!!

If you want to give it a treat, try small pieces of lettuce (seriously, try it) or a few blades of grass. Not too much as its probably not had it before.

Sounds like you're doing a great job letting him fly about every day. I was a lazy owner and let mine out about once a week. He's a lucky boy.