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| | From:  chinchillaC (Original Message) | Sent: 5/30/2007 8:05 PM |
| Hi, everyone. Sorry I haven't been here for a while, but I wanted to wait until there might be a bit of progress. Bowtie is still not wanting to be handled or touched in any way. He is afraid of a stick. I placed it inside his cage for a couple of weeks so he could get used to it, but he still circles around it. He has started coing off his cage, not on me, and following me around the house by walking on the floor.He can move almost faster backward than forward and he bites the cats if they get to close. I put him in a towel and sprayed him under the faucet in the sink and that went better this time. He just sat there and fluffed his wings so we got a better look at him than before. He is missing a lot of feathers, but I don't think he's plucking even though he preens all the time. We never find any feathers on the floor or in the bottom of his cage. Anyway, the bath helped with his smell because sometimes it's really strong. He also, in the last week and a half, started pulling on one of his toys in his cage. Its next to his perch and its one of those rawhide things on a chain with a bell. He's managed to chew a piece off so that's good. Well, he gets exercise by walking around the house and he sits on top of his cage and he'd probably sleep there if I let him at night. I cover all my birds. He says a few words and I'm trying to teach him more because amazons are supposed to be good at talking. He barks like a dog every time someone knocks or rings the dorbell. He hates being toweled but he sure seemed happy after his complete bath in the sink; he was even whistling and trilling and my conure, Molly, wasn't even nearby. Usually, he only does that to her and she ignores him completely. The people that originally had him must've fed him a lot of people food because he'll eat almost anything you give him, but I've got him on Fiesta seed mix for large hook bills and Zoopreme pellets for medium birds and he likes that better than the other parrot food his other owners had for him. He loves hard-boiled egges and any fruit and veges if they are cooked like carrots. So, I guess it's getting better a bit. My mom just doesn't like the amount of mess he can make which is odd because he eats the seeds and drops the shells back into his dish. I'm not sure how they get on the floor. He's been watching Molly so maybe that's why he's started to chew on one of the toys. I'll have to get him another one. I guess that's about it. |
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| | | From: momnoah | Sent: 5/31/2007 10:34 AM |
That's good that he is getting better, starting to play and at least following you around.... Great that he eats well... have you tried giving him a spray bath with a mister or a bowl or pan of water he can bath in? Some birds prefer t that way as opposed to the sink. My G2, Kit, is terrified of the sink, but when he is in a bathing mood, loves the spray bottle.(Mostly when it's raining out, occasionally when the vacuum's on.) Please, please, please.. when he is out on the floor, keep the cats in another room with the door closed. Cats are hunters, plain & simple. And even if "they never have before" you never know when the prey drive will kick in. This can be said of dogs too, but cats usually don't have a dogs desire to please the owner. Most cats are smart enough to wait til you are busy and not looking. It only takes a moments inattention when the phone or doorbell rings, or any other distraction. Even if you are nearby, cats are quick. They also, even if playing can kill a bird with the toxic bacteria most harbour called pasturella. (Pasteurella multocida subspecies multocida and P. septica most common isolate from cat bites). A very nasty bacteria I came to know better than I cared to nearly 2 years ago. I have a cat who has seizures. In July of '05, she had a seizure under the chair I was sitting in and I couldn't move quickly enough to avoid the wildly flailing legs of hers. She gave me a tiny puncture wound on the back of my right thigh and a couple scratches on my lower leg. I cleaned them with peroxide and smeared them with neosporin ointment as usual. 12 hours later, my thigh was red and sore; 6 hours after that and it was very tender and hot to the touch. Less than 24 hours after the episode, I had a fever and my leg started swelling. A few hours after that I was fully septic and in the hospital with a central line in my arm and on IV antibiotics. I was laid up in the hospital for 8 days, I had IV antibiotics for a week more at home and another week on orally. Not fun! (What really nearly killed me was the 8 days of no fids, no pc, no IM and no groups!) Now imagine what that nasty little bacteria will do to a fid? It killed my pigeon "Bubba" in about 12 hours. A neighbor cat got the outside cage open and pounced on him, but he got away and flew to the shed roof, then a nearby tree. I couldn't get him to come down for food, water or anything... until he fell out of the tree the next morning. He had a couple little scratches on his breast just in front of his wings... Just telling you all this in case you had not heard about it before... and trying to share what I've learne the hard way in an attempt to avoid another fid tragedy. Ask your vet or maybe even your doctor (especially an ER Dr) about pasturella infections. |
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I'm glad also that Bowtie is doing better. Amazons are really great. Also wanted to let you know that my mom had a pasturella infection when a cat bit her on her hand. Altho it was over 10 years ago, I still remember it vividly, so I'm just reinforcing what Momnoah wrote about. It was really bad, and it took a very long time to get rid of. Also, when my birdies were new to our home, I used a wooden ladder for them to step up on. I removed the hooks that were on the end of the ladder, since I just used it to have them step up when they landed on the floor, or I wanted to deposit them in their cage on a perch. They have pretty big doors on their cages, so the ladder works fine. Plus, they felt more secure on a ladder than on a stick. Just a thought. It's this kind of ladder: (as if there are very many)  |
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Some of you already know my cat bite story, but I'll tell it again for those who don't. Several years ago my son's 6-month-old cat bit my left index finger, inside where the knuckle bends. I ended up having emergency surgery and spending EIGHT DAYA in the hospital. After I got home from hospital I had to have the two incisions (one where the bite was and the other on the palm of the hand for drainage) packed open with gauze for over a month! All this for a teeny little puncture wound from one tooth! The surgeon said it was very close to me having had to have the finger amputated, or even the whole hand. I'm really glad that Bowtie is doing well, but please don't allow him to come in contact with your cats!! Abby |
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I have a "cat/bird" story too, but mine is completly backwards to what you all have said (although I totally agree that cats and birds should NOT be left unattended together). Mac was on his playstand (which he NEVER had attempted to get off of), and my cats were sleeping soundly on the couch in the other room. I went to the kitchen for something or another, and heard Mac laughing like a maniac and saying "C'mere, c'mere!" and laughing some more. I went to find out what he thought was so funny and found an empty playstand! Then, three cats came bolting out of the livingroom and into the bird room with Mac hot on their tails. My pets are messed up. The cats beat up the dog, the birds chase the cats, and the guinea pig sleeps with the cat. Go figure! |
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Sunniegirl, just the teensiest scratch from one of those cats, and it could be completely accidental, could be lethal for your bird! I would never take a chance. Abby |
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| | | From: mompjb | Sent: 6/2/2007 3:22 AM |
How long have you had bowtie? We just got a amazon a month ago. They sure are fun to watch and listen to. Some days he talks alot and other days he just mumbles lightly.
I am trying to have patience with my Fig and everyone here is giving me great advice. So I am trying real hard to have patience and go slowly with him.
I am somewhat confused, if you can't handle him how is he getting on the floor then back up on his cage?
Patti |
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Those of you who allow cats and dogs to be around your birds really need to read this. Momnoah's and Abby's experiences are so scary. Either of them could have lost a body part. Cat claws dig in poop and other gross things. They are bound to have terribly toxic bacteria. Anyone who has never had a problem has been really lucky--right up til it happens to you. Annie |
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Cats are the only animal that I"m allergic to. When I'm at the house up north, son's cat stays downstairs. She is afraid of the cockatiel... imagine how she acted when she saw the macaws!  But those toxic bites are miserable. Been there and done that too as a kid. |
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