Keeping him in a separate room isn't necessarily bad but you MUST give him the appropriate amount of attention (I would suggest 4 hours daily).

I have a family room and a living room. My B&G, CAG and Eclectus all have the family room. Our house is a open floor plan so we are still able to interact with our birds very easily.

I would STRONGLY suggest that you spend a great amount of time researching about birds (obviously Macaws) to learn as much as you can about the size requirements for their cages, diet, health issues, etc.

Also take a very honest look at your own life. The reason we have all 3 parrots we have is because their previous owners could not devote the time and attention to the birds. Unlike most other pets they are LITERALLY a lifetime commitment due to their life expectancy.

Cats can pose a huge risk to birds too, which I'm sure you'll read about during your research.

I don't mean to sound negative about you wanting a bird, but you can look in the classifieds in any city in the US and find at least one bird (usually a parrot) that is available because the owner didn't realize the commitment that a bird brings. Good luck in your search!

Yes, macaws are lots of work. If you haven't had birds before, try to find some owners of adult macaws, or volunteer at a rescue to get a better idea of what they're like. They can be great birds, but they are very loud (too loud for some people) and destructive and need lots of attention. They need lots of space and a very strong cage. The rescue here, tells potential adopters to expect to spend $35-50 a WEEK just on toys. Of course you really don't need to spend that much if you can keep a macaw supplied with fresh branches, cardboard boxes and other things to destroy and don't rely just on the store bought toys... but they are big chewers and need stuff to chew. They can also do a lot of damage with those beaks if they decide to bite hard.
You might consider a conure or mini macaw if you are new to birds. They are still loud birds and need plenty of attention but they are a more manageable size, a little easier to live with.
As for the cat, it depends on the cat's personality. Moat cats would be intimidated by a large macaw, and many also by a smaller macaw or conure as well... because the typical handfed pet bird doesn't know to be afraid of cats, and most cats lose interest in an animal that doesn't act like prey. Still, cats (and other mammals) are always a danger because they have a lot of harmful bacteria in their saliva and on claws and even a cat who is afraid of your bird will swat at it if it is frightened.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

If you can keep the cat away from the bird there's not much risk as Macaws are larger than a cats normal prey. However a cat scratch is nasty as is cat saliva and can make your bird sick. You would need to wash your hands after the cat and before handling the bird. If you have ever had kids remember when yours were 2. A 2 year old for seventy years. That's what there like. A bird treats you like another bird in there flock. A dog or cat don't really treat you like another dog or cat. That's the main difference. A real died in the wool bird person is rare. I like others on this forum have seen to many people buy the pretty bird in the pet store only realize later to the birds detrement they aren't domestic animals