I can't think of a cat on the planet that wouldn't go after birds...

Not many dogs wouldn't, either...

LT

I have friends who have both birds and cats -- but they keep them
*separate.*  Actually, one friend lets her bird fly around the room when the
cat is also there, but *only* when a human is in the room.  Otherwise, she
is very careful to have them in different areas of the house.

In particular, I would not want to keep that ladder you described if a cat
is in the area.  My little Duffy is blind, but he could scale something like
that in an instant!

MaryL

Cats and birds don't mix unless you have a nice sized and *safe* aviary
which the birds don't leave.  My vet friend has 7 cats and 2 budgies who
have a wonderful large and well cat-paw-proofed enclosure.  The budgies
nested and hatched 4 babies.  One of her kitties was smart enough to bump
the wire mesh wall where the nest was located until one of the babies fell
out to the cleaning tray below where he could pull the tray out and kill the
baby.  She only figured out what was going on after she lost 3 of the
babies. Cats are smarter than you think, especially where that predator
instinct is concerned.  She relocated the nest to a wall the cats couldn't
get next to and the next batch of babies was fine.

Don't get a cat that you expect to not show interest in the birds. They will.
If you get the cat, the birds *have* to be very secure, in a cage that's
completely secure and prefereably suspended from the ceiling, not on a stand.
Lock the bird away when you're gone.  I can't stress this enough. We had an
eight-year-old budgie, and a cat who didn't show interest in it either. One day
I came home, he'd knocked the cage stand over, the bottom broke when it fell,
and you can imagine the rest.
Your statement is true. It *is* the nature of the beast. Our cat showed
complete disinterest for many years, and poor Tropical was a victim of our own
complacency.

Sherry