@Susanna,
I changed my avatar in your honor.
Winston's new foot rest is my little pal Chompy, who was sent to me by a friend because I used to live in Florida.
My friend sent Chompy to me because I loved seeing the alligators roaming in the wild, but the tag that the little guy came with said he was a crocodile.
Since he resides in a nest of owls, I like to say that he's a "Croc-Owl-Dile" who identifies as an "Owl-I-Gator."
Like most crocs and gators, Chompy doesn't mind having a bird sitting on his back. In, fact, in the winter, Winston and the other owls band together to keep him warm.
Chompy of course would prefer NOT to be made into stew, but he was happy to hear that gators were at least acknowledged in this discussion.
With your Grandma's cat Dave as president and Winston as vice-president (joke from another thread,) I think it will work out well to have an Owl-I-Gator as their bodyguard.