elise

Wow, I actually was expecting the answer to be longer than 2-4 hours a day... good to know. Thanks again!

Thanks for the response. Your point about it not really being any different than having two birds is a good one that I hadn't thought about before. I know Greys are extremely intelligent and need quite a bit of time outside the cage, which is why I'm so concerned about this. Speaking of which, how much time, generally, do Greys need/like outside the cage?

Hey everyone, I'm new here. I don't have an African Grey; in fact, the only psittacines I've ever owned were budgies when I was younger. However, I'm an animal science student taking a class about psittacines and raptors, and I've really fallen in love with parrots. I have wanted an Eclectus for a while, but reading more about different parrot species, I've decided I'd really like a Grey. However, what I'm really concerned about is having parrots and cats. Once I get an apartment that allows pets, one (possibly two) of my cats from home will be coming to live with me. As parrot owners, do you just surrender yourself that you will never be a cat owner, do you isolate them each to different parts of the house, or do you do something else? I'd imagine dogs aren't really a concern (at least I'm sure they wouldn't be for me, as the breed I want to keep eventually is very intelligent and gentle), but my cat did kill one of my parakeets once when he escaped from his cage when I wasn't home, so... I'm quite concerned. I can't imagine life without having at least one cat around, so should I just give up on ever having a parrot? Thanks in advance for any advice and shared experiences.