Q. Can my child play with a pet bird in Shabbes? Is the cage muktze?
A. The Talmud (Shabbos 128 b) mentions that animals are muktze. Mishneh Beruroh (308,146) explains that the reason is because since they are of no use in Shabbos, they are "Muktze Machmas Gufom", because of "themselves" and are regarded like stones.(Bais Yosef ibid. and Kesef Mishneh).
Rishoinim disagree whether this applies to a pet that is useful to calm a child (see Tosafoth Shabbos 45b, Or Zaruah 82 et. al.).
Shulchan Oruch (O.C. 308,39) and Shulchan Oruch Horav ibid.78, Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchoso 27,96 and Igrois Moishe O.C. 4,16, and other Poiskim rule stringently.
However, if the animal is suffering or is in distress, many Poiskim permit touching it (see Yabia Omer 5,26).
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit'a opinion is that one should regard the bird as muktze, In regards to the cage, if it contained animal food at the beginning of the Shabbos, it is not muktze and can be moved.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a
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