My Parrot Plays Nurse to My Sick Cat

Since my parrot Dory (Dorian Gray) was interviewed for Associated Content from Yahoo! by Linda Louise Johnson (the interview is here, and her index page is here), I have been afraid that he would let all the publicity go to his head, but in the past few days, he has shown that he has not outgrown his old friends and friendships.

Interspecies friendships

CBS News has been carrying the story of the unusual friendship between Bella,an elephant, and Tara, a dog (video). I believe there is an even more unlikely friendship in my house, between Dory, the parrot, and Max, the Maine coon cat. In fact, I illustrated their friendship in a slideshow once (here - the second picture).

Max's health has been in decline for some time, and the veterinarians have not been able to help him. But, his old pal Dory comes through for him, and seems to lift his spirits.

Max and his Manx "sister" Lady, who has her own slide show here, were about a year old when Dory joined the household. The three of them have always gotten along well, and strangely, of the three, Dory and Max have a better relationship than the two cats.

Dory and Max have spent a good bit of time close to each other. One memorable occasion, I found Max asleep, with Dory asleep on his back. (I did not have a camera handy.) Dory speaks affectionately to "My kitty-kitty," as he usually calls him, or even "Big Boy."

Taking the friendship to a new level

But, in the past few days, they have started spending almost the entire afternoon together on my bed. (No, I do not worry about having a litter of African gray cats or a nest of Maine coon parrots.) Max curls up in the middle of the bed, purring, and Dory walks around him, reassuring him, before getting onto the headboard. Then, each animal begins to groom, in rhythm--grooming is a sign that an animal is happy and comfortable. After grooming, they settle into a quiet time, and I do believe that, even with a beak, Dory is smiling. Max purrs loudly enough for both of them.

Both of them enjoy it. Max seems to be feeling better, and Dory has dealt with the stress of the time change (the "fall back" is worse than the "spring forward" for him) better than usual.

Don't try this at home!

There is a bird fanciers magazine that, although it solicits pictures from its readers, will not publish pictures of birds with other animals, because they do not want birds put at risk for a "cute" picture. My cat and parrot have quite a history together, and it took a long time for me to trust them together. In fact, I have never had to protect Dory from Max, but I have had to protect Max (remember, he's the cat) from the irascible Dory (the bird).

A musical conclusion

In 1937, Thomas A. Dorsey (more), a leading figure in black gospel music, wrote "Peace In The Valley." A 1951 recording of "Peace in the Valley" by Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys became the first Gospel recording to sell a million copies; in 2006, it was entered into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. You can listen to it here.

As you listen to the words, keep an ear out for "And the lion shall lay down, down by the lamb, oh yes," an echo of Isaiah 11:6, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb." Until that happens, I am happy with my cat and bird who are happy to find something that all of us need, a lasting friendship, no matter how unlikely.

I had some technical problems uploading the photo, and I received some help and advice from Kenzy England (index page), Lyn Lomasi (index page - raise your hand if you write for ACfY! and have not gotten help from Lyn Lomasi), and Theresa Wiza (index page). I guess it just shows that you don't have to be of a different species to lend a hand... or paw... or wing.