Alfie's New Perch

[neoow]

I've been looking at giving Alfie some different play areas downstairs where he spends all of his time. He currently has a couple of areas he likes to hang out - his java tree which is next to his cage and two shelves above the sofa. He also sometimes hangs out on the cat scratching tree.

I found a hanging perch which I thought would be great which cost £40 new (a good price!) so I ordered it without taking any measurements. The thing is HUGE! 😂 However, I asked my housemate to hang a couple of ceiling hooks so I have two spaces to hang it - one is opposite his shelves near the fire place (the fire is disconnected so never used) and one behind my PC chair because he likes flying over to see what I'm up to.

He hasn't tried it out yet but he is a little curious about it - but not curious enough to go near it. I leave it hanging up in the back near my PC and then I move it when he comes out as we're mostly hanging out on the sofa these days. I did try to take him over to it earlier this week but he shied away so I didn't force the issue. It has a few hoops so I will be able to hang some toys on it as well - but I'm leaving that until he's actually sat on it and used to it.

The added bonus is the two food bowls - gives him a place other than his cage to grab a snack and a drink when he's out for long periods.

I hope he eventually likes it!

Pixel (the cat) couldn't resist getting involved when it turned up. So she is there for size reference. She is not a large cat. 😂

[SRSeedBurners]

Wow, we have something very similar that I found somewhere.   It's dirty right now because it's been sitting in the aviary awaiting a new rope wrap (Greycie likes the sides wrapped in sisal for easy grip and nice nibbles).  I hung it in the living room just for a photo and Greybie instantly decided this was a very good place for it.

By the way, your wall will look fabulous with some nice food splatter there 😂

 

[Timbersmom]

Very nice! Pretty cat too. Is that one of your Bengals? It may take him awhile, but I suspect Alfie will "take" to them eventually. He'll get past the "if I land there I will die" soon I'm sure.

[Greytness]

That 3 bell perch is in all of my greys' cages. They love to ring them simultaneously. It's one of their favorite toys/perches.

I just made an atom out of pliable 1 inch pvc. Right now they think it's a strange evil device hanging up in  their aviary, but in time they'll learn to love it.

[LNCAG]

LOVE IT!  I am now obsessed with some ceiling hanging perch/swing for my CAG.  Never even thought of a cat tree for a parrot -- lovely idea!!!

Shame the one I just purchased is dominated by my new older-kittens.  I fear a new one would be perceived as a kitten toy and Snickers (CAG) may not get to use it.  

Maybe my home just needs time, so all can adjust to changes and them BAM -- a huge new play area for Snickers.  (Suppose I could also put kittens in another room for a few hours if I get Snickers a cat tree too!)

[neoow]

I love the three bell perch. I've not seen anything like that before. I reckon Alfie would love that!

Still no luck with getting him to go near it, but I'm sure he'll get there eventually. I did consider wrapping the outside in rope too... but I'll see how he takes to it first and might add that later.
And yes... I can almost guarantee there will be food splattered up the walls!! 😂

The cat is one of my benglas, yes. That one is Pixel, my little girl. Well I say little, they'll both be 9 years old later this month. My boy Widget was sound asleep upstairs at the time otherwise he probably would have been in the photo too. They just dive into everything haha.

The cat tree is a floor to ceiling one. It's in the living room where Alfie lives. When he comes out, I shut the living room door so the cats play upstairs and Alfie plays downstairs. They are never allowed in the same space when Alfie is out as I'm too worried about accidents happening. They pretty much ignore him whilst he's in his cage other than sniffing around him sometimes. They know better than to stick a paw in. When Alfie is out the cat tree is one of the higher 'perches' in the room so he often flies up there to scope out the room (and chew the curtains). He sometimes climbs it too if he lands on a lower part of it. So it's a multi-function cat and parrot tree. 😎

[LNCAG]

Pixel is lovely.  And I imagine very active !!!  Like having a real wild cat!    Gotta admire you for adopting them!

[Timbersmom]

I've always wanted a Bengal. I remember seeing a video of one jumping from the floor to the top bunk of a bunk bed with ease. I can see why you could never trust them around a bird. I don't trust my two fat, lazy, unpredatory Maine Coons around Timber alone either, but they can't move with the speed and agility of a Bengal.

[LNCAG]

Gotta agree with Timbersmom!  I've always thought Bengals (plus Ocicats and Abyssinian cats) really rocked!  But I imagine they require much more care and interactive playtime, plus much more effort in making your home cat-proof since they're so active (and built of pure muscle and gorgeous fur)!      

If I were 30 years younger, I might go for a more exotic cat.  Instead, I've always had a lot of lazy cats. All my cats were very active as kittens but grew up to be super-chill and calm; believing they were meant to solely laze about and sleep on sofas or my bed (and especially on my lap!)  I tried using those feather toys on a wand to inspire some playtime and activity in my lazy cats: they'd swipe at it twice (if it passed by close enough to them -- they refused any real effort of chasing it); and then mine would act like 'forget the toy, lady, I wanna nap now." 

Can't imagine a Bengal passing up a chance to chase that wand toy!  Bengals truly are amazing and beautiful! 

[SRSeedBurners]

Ever see Ariel?    She's a Caracal/Serengeti mix.    Cats are so dang funny...

 

[Timbersmom]

Ha! Funny video. I've always loved cats because they have so much personality.

[neoow]

Haha too funny!

Widget and Pixel are like no other cats I have ever known. My housemate came up with the idea of bengals because I was dubious about having cats. I'm very much a dog person and have always been more wary around cats. He sold me on them because of their personality traits and activity levels. They are both extremely vocal and super active. Widget is VERY smart and will sit and observe and work things out... like how to open doors. Pixel will just charge in head first without a second thought, whereas Widget is more calculated about things. They both chase anything that moves. I have watch Widget jump a few feet in the air and catch a fly mid-flight... so you can see why I don't trust them with Alfie flying around! They are also exceptionally loyal. They are almost dog like in how they know when we are coming home and rush over to greet us. And it's not even just because they are hungry- they seem to genuinely enjoy being in our company and will follow us around the house. They do play together but they play ROUGH. They will fling each other around. Pixel will usually instigate it then scream the house down when Widget goes too far. She's a little princess sometimes. 😂

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by neoow

[LNCAG]

Cats do seem to think things through first.   They plot!!!

With my dog, I could put an item I didn't want her playing with (or something she shouldn't be eating) up high, and my dog would jump and jump but fail to reach forbidden item.

But not so with cats.  They look around room strategically and find a path up to the 'supposedly too high' area: (jump up to coffee table, to chair, walk along back of sofa, jump to a shelf and then successfully jump up onto the 'out of reach site' (which was my tall armoire).  My dogs never thought things through to figure out a route up.  My dogs just jumped and jumped in the same place -- no plan, no success.  lol  That said, I do adore dogs! (And maybe others have had smarter dogs than me). 

My armoire is currently out of reach from all other furniture, alone on a wall, and that solved that.  (Well, I did have one kitten, Bridget, some years back who could somehow make the jump up to high armoire from the floor (probably at around 5-7 months old) but when she reached her adult weight, she couldn't do it any more. Thankfully!  Really, every home needs at least one high safe place to put no-no items!  Not sure if such a place exists in a home with Bengals or parrots.  lol

[neoow]

20 hours ago, LNCAG said:

Really, every home needs at least one high safe place to put no-no items!  Not sure if such a place exists in a home with Bengals or parrots.  lol

If there is, I haven't found it!

For Alfie, I put things on the floor. He prefers being up high so anything I don't want him to mess with goes on the floor when he's out. He very rarely explores the floor so everything is generally safe there.

With Pixel and Widget... NOTHING is safe. 🙄