Q: How often does a bird’s cage need to be cleaned? We have a Blue-fronted Amazon in a huge cage, and my wife takes it apart and cleans the whole thing every day. The job seems to create a lot of drama. This bird is the cleanest pet I ever had. His poop does not smell at all, and he eats these dry pellets that make very little mess. I was wondering how important it is that she go through this procedure?

A: I have to agree with your wife on this one. A bird’s cage needs to be cleaned as often as possible. Even though a bird’s poop may not smell and is much less offensive than that of a dog or cat, it does create a lot of dust when it dries that is offensive to some humans and birds as well. Another issue is that a bird must never come into contact with any molted feathers that are lying at the bottom of its cage. This is very, very important. In the natural world, when a feather falls off a bird, it gets blown away and the bird never has any chance to interact with it. A pet bird that is able to go down to the bottom of its cage and pick up a stray feather and play with it soon becomes enamored with it. It is the same thing as when you get hold of some Bubble Wrap — you cannot put it down until you have popped all the bubbles. So if a bird gets used to thinking of a feather as a plaything, then there is nothing to stop it from pulling out its own feathers and playing with them. This can lead to many of the feather-plucking behaviors that some pet birds suffer from, and the best way to keep this habit from starting is to keep the cage as clean as possible.

Q: Our cat has recently developed a new habit: dragging around a lightweight bath towel while making growling noises. He looks like a panther or lioness taking prey to its cubs or maybe bringing it to our attention like a cat brings home its kill to be admired. Scamp is approximately 6½ years old, neutered at 6 months and now the sole cat of the house. We lost an older cat about a month before this habit began. Other than that, he lives up to his name: playful, energetic and craving attention from both my wife and me. Is this anything we should be worried about?

A: This is just a type of fetish and is not uncommon. Scamp is most likely bored since the loss of his companion, and he has taken up with bath towels. There is something about the way it feels in his mouth that triggers that predatory instinct that you are witnessing. I have had cats that would pick up assorted objects and drop them at my feet, then look up at my face expecting some kind of dramatic reaction from me. However, they never demonstrated the instinctive sound effects that Scamp does, so he is not doing it to elicit any reaction from you. I think it’s best to just ignore him when he is doing it and allow him his little fantasy world. If you can get another cat as a new companion for him, then he may give up this hobby.

Q: We have two male cats that are brothers. We adopted both as very young kittens when we found them abandoned in our backyard. We got them neutered, and they are house cats who lead a luxurious life compared with the one that they started out with. They get along very well. One cat is clearly the boss, but there is never any conflict between the two. However, we notice that the dominant cat rubs against our legs all the time. Sometimes when he rubs against my wife he almost knocks her down, especially when she comes home from work. The submissive cat never does this, and we wonder if you can explain this behavior as both cats are very affectionate to us.

A: Rubbing itself against your leg is not really a sign that a cat is feeling affection toward you. It is more of an issue of reassurance that all is well in its home territory. Cats have scent glands on their chin, forehead, cheeks, rump, toes and tail, and these glands all can put forth a small amount of scent that humans cannot detect but other cats can. You and your wife are the most important assets in the lives of your cats, and the dominant one just wants to be sure that the two of you are well marked and labeled as such in case any other cats think they can muscle in on his territory. When your wife comes home from work, most of the scent that he laid on her is gone and that is why he is so eager to re-mark her.