Best secure budgie cage for cat households

Living with both cats and budgies means cage security isn't optional — it's the whole ballgame. Cage size is the single most important welfare factor (most cages sold in pet shops are too small for budgies to extend their wings properly), but bar spacing matters too — budgies need no more than 12mm spacing or they can trap their heads. In a cat household, you also need robust locking mechanisms, because cats are persistent and clever and a simple swing door won't cut it. To point you to the right cage: how many budgies do you have, and how much floor space can you give the cage?

A cat that's already opened a door once will absolutely do it again — that's a real safety issue you're right to fix urgently. With two budgies and that footprint available, you want a cage with a combination of spring-loaded doors and separate padlock loops, not just a simple latch. Some cages also have doors that require two simultaneous actions to open, which a cat paw genuinely cannot manage. What's your budget range, and is the cage going in a room the cat has constant access to, or can you restrict access at night?

Got it — full-time cat access means you need the most secure option available, not a compromise. My recommendation is the Prevue Hendryx F050 Wrought Iron Flight Cage. It's large enough for two budgies to fly properly (roughly 91cm wide), has 9.5mm bar spacing which is ideal for budgies, and critically, every door has a spring-loaded latch with a secondary sliding bolt — two separate actions required to open any door. A cat cannot operate both simultaneously. The wrought iron construction also means there's no flex in the bars, so a determined cat pushing or rattling it won't distort anything. It sits on a wheeled stand, so you can move it away from furniture the cat could use as a launch platform. It comes in under your budget on Amazon UK at around £120–130.

Honestly, with the Prevue F050's double-action doors, extra padlocks aren't necessary day-to-day — and they'd make your own access to the cage more annoying than it's worth. What I would do instead is position the cage so no surface within about 60cm allows the cat to stand at door height and work at it with both paws. A small carabiner clip through the sliding bolt loop is a sensible low-friction backup if you want one — easier than a padlock and still cat-proof. The bigger risk with cats isn't usually the door; it's stress to the birds from the cat sitting on top of or pressed against the cage, so a cage dome cover or placing it against a wall on one side helps a lot too.

Great choice — your budgies will have proper flying room and your cat will be thoroughly defeated. One last thing worth doing: when the new cage arrives, let the budgies settle in for a day or two before reintroducing the cat to the room, so they're not stressed by the cat before they're comfortable in the new space. Good luck with all three of them.