When I was a child, my best friend’s mom had a parrot named Ricky. It either hated or loved me, I was never sure; either way, I was terrified of it and preferred not to go near it.
As an adult, I once walked out to my car to find a parrot perched on my windshield wiper. I only had that parrot one night (in no way was I prepared to house a bird, I took it to an exotic bird shelter the next day), but it was much kinder than Ricky. Strangely, it did not like our cats
Every parrot has a personality, that’s for sure! You’re a kind person for having helped that bird, I hope that good deed came back (or will come back) to you
Well, thanks for saying so! That was a long long time ago and plenty, good and bad (though mostly good, I’m very fortunate), has happened since then.
Below are some answers to things you didn’t ask, but they’re among my memories of the evening, so here I shall share. You won’t miss much if you don’t read them.
That story happened later in the evening, I think on a weekend, so we walked around our neighborhood asking anyone we saw if they knew someone with a bird nearby. No one did, though one person suggested someone who might. We knocked on that door but never got an answer, so decided to go to the bird shelter when it opened the next day.
I remember that we originally tried to put the bird in the cat carrier so it wouldn’t destroy the house or get in a fight with the cats, but it didn’t want to go in. My then girlfriend (now wife) suggested that maybe it didn’t want to go in a box that smelled of predator. I have anosmia, so the idea that smell would matter that much seemed alien to me; I figured it just didn’t want to be contained. However, we ended up going to a pet store the next day to get a bird cage for transport. It went in with no issue, so I guess she was right.
For overnight we ended up just putting it in the bathroom with the door closed and a bowl of whatever Google said was appropriate parrot food.
Thanks for sharing the story! Birds do have a decently sharp sense of smell, despite a widespread factoid of the opposite - plus, the shape of a cat carrier might have been too unfamiliar to it. Parrots are usually very suspicious about anything unfamiliar (new food, toy, etc), but I’m guessing it was also exhausted from being lost outdoors (if it was a pet) so a new bird cage was close enough for it.
Wow, you’re quick. Also up pretty late (or early) in my timezone.
Most of my close-up experience with birds has been from the aforementioned friend’s mom (she had several, not just Ricky) and most of that experience was being terrorized, puked on, or both. Despite that, they do seem like clever and interesting animals. Still, even if I didn’t have cats (I still have the same two from that story, though they’re getting old now), I don’t think I could have them as pets.
When I was a child, my best friend’s mom had a parrot named Ricky. It either hated or loved me, I was never sure; either way, I was terrified of it and preferred not to go near it.
As an adult, I once walked out to my car to find a parrot perched on my windshield wiper. I only had that parrot one night (in no way was I prepared to house a bird, I took it to an exotic bird shelter the next day), but it was much kinder than Ricky. Strangely, it did not like our cats
Every parrot has a personality, that’s for sure! You’re a kind person for having helped that bird, I hope that good deed came back (or will come back) to you
Well, thanks for saying so! That was a long long time ago and plenty, good and bad (though mostly good, I’m very fortunate), has happened since then.
Below are some answers to things you didn’t ask, but they’re among my memories of the evening, so here I shall share. You won’t miss much if you don’t read them.
That story happened later in the evening, I think on a weekend, so we walked around our neighborhood asking anyone we saw if they knew someone with a bird nearby. No one did, though one person suggested someone who might. We knocked on that door but never got an answer, so decided to go to the bird shelter when it opened the next day.
I remember that we originally tried to put the bird in the cat carrier so it wouldn’t destroy the house or get in a fight with the cats, but it didn’t want to go in. My then girlfriend (now wife) suggested that maybe it didn’t want to go in a box that smelled of predator. I have anosmia, so the idea that smell would matter that much seemed alien to me; I figured it just didn’t want to be contained. However, we ended up going to a pet store the next day to get a bird cage for transport. It went in with no issue, so I guess she was right.
For overnight we ended up just putting it in the bathroom with the door closed and a bowl of whatever Google said was appropriate parrot food.
Thanks for sharing the story! Birds do have a decently sharp sense of smell, despite a widespread factoid of the opposite - plus, the shape of a cat carrier might have been too unfamiliar to it. Parrots are usually very suspicious about anything unfamiliar (new food, toy, etc), but I’m guessing it was also exhausted from being lost outdoors (if it was a pet) so a new bird cage was close enough for it.
Wow, you’re quick. Also up pretty late (or early) in my timezone.
Most of my close-up experience with birds has been from the aforementioned friend’s mom (she had several, not just Ricky) and most of that experience was being terrorized, puked on, or both. Despite that, they do seem like clever and interesting animals. Still, even if I didn’t have cats (I still have the same two from that story, though they’re getting old now), I don’t think I could have them as pets.
Hah, It’s 10 AM here and I have nothing better to do anyway.
But yeah, that was the point of my original comment - birds definitely aren’t a pet for everyone, and it’s okay to acknowledge that!
I do like cats too, though, give yours some pats (or whatever their preferred gesture of affection is) from me.
At the time, it was 4am for me.
Absolutely, I’ll make sure my cats know of your affection!