Predators & Prey

by Jami Galindo

My thoughts today are dominated by two words ... Prey and Predator.

PREY noun: prey 1. an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

PREDATOR noun: predator; plural noun: predators 1. an animal that naturally preys on others.

Lets stop and think about this for a minute, If you had a pet Lion, would you go out and get a baby Lamb for a pet? NO? Why not? Because the Lion will eat the Lamb? Yes!

Tell me this, If you have a pet snake, would you run out and get a guinea pig or mouse as a pet? NO? Why not? Because the rodent is a natural prey of the snake? YES!

Now Please tell me if you have a cat or dog would you go out and get a bird? WHOA!! I already hear the explanations. "Miss Kitty would never do that, or Fluffy the dog is so well trained!"   There is no difference.

Predator and Prey are ALWAYS predator and Prey! No amount of training or trust will ever erase the fact that a bird is prey for everything else. There is always a chance of the unthinkable happening.

A dog will swing it back and forth to kill the meal. Breaking bones and tearing flesh to kill the meal. Cats saliva and the bacteria on the claws will kill very quickly, most likely before medical attention can be rendered. All the while you are professing your trust for Miss Kitty, or Fluffy the dog.

Make no mistake birds are always the losers in these situations. Please Do Not Mix species.

Research the order of things, prey becomes prey because other things eat it. Just because Little Fluffy is the cutest you have ever seen, the natural instinct is still to hunt and eat prey.

I can not stress this strongly enough. This is not just an opinion, this is the natural order of things. I want to make this crystal clear, this is a plea for the safety of your bird. Please do not allow them to share the same space.

We get the frantic post to our forum far too often from a desperate bird owner, "Help my (dog or cat) has attacked my bird." At this point it is usually too late. If you want to help you bird, PREVENTION is 100% effective. Don't have them out together.