I know people think birds, rodents, etc. are ok with their cats,but I do feel sorry for them. i just think they have to be on guard all of their lives. I know people see that with dogs and cats, but I don't. I just think a cat can assess and deal with a situation a lot better than a bird or gerbil can. And you can have the forsight to get a dog that isn't known to have a high cat-aggressive drive. Time and again you see families with cats and dogs living together without incident. But a bird in a cage is captive. You leave the house, a cat could get to it or at least work on it and frighten the hell out of the bird.