Cats behaviour towards smaller pets - please help, give advice etc.

[souffle]

I'd say it is pretty random and dependant on their prey drive. We adopted an older lady who totally ignored them but then so did a cat we had from when he was a teeny kitten.
Callie and Monty who we have had for a year and adopted as kittens from the RSPCA are VERY interested and would I'm sure have them for dinner if they could 

[Fiona82]

Souffle and the kittensmittens - Thank you both for your help and comments! I now feel a bit more comfortable, hoping this is workable.

Do you think there might be any truth to the idea of a senior, more older cat being more relaxed around other pets, more than say a kitten, or is it all just too random to tell?

Thanks for your help

[souffle]

Hi there
We have cats, dogs and hamsters. We breed and show hamsters so there are always hamsters around. I agree with what has been said in that you cannot trust cats around hamsters as no matter how much you 'train' them they still have a natural predator instinct. A tank is great and the Perfecto type with the secure lids are ideal. Cats can sit on these and the mesh is so fine they cannot touch the animals. That said a cat on your cage is very stressful for the resident so we do not allow this. All out hams are in the duna tank type cages and though the cats will wander into the hamster room (we have them in a spare bedroom) they are never allowed to stay in there unsupervised (or sometimes even supervised). We had another cat who would never even look at them as she was so used to them but still we'd never leave them alone.
Brought up with small pets they will become 'part of the furniture' pretty much and the cats ignore them but we still lock ours out of kitty paw range when we are not around and never let them out whenthe cats are around.
Our gang get on very well by enlarge and if you are prepared to be vigilant about shutting doors and moving cages at night (even into the bath  ) then all will be well. I hope you get to adopt your kitty 

[thekittensmittens]

Fiona, that sounds like the right idea, with our birds the cats have little moments of bird watching now but their inital phases of jumping up etc has worn off, it really is a case of never leaving the cats in same room though as you can never predict what will happen. i have seen videos of dogs and cats been bossed around by parrots but wouldnt put nature to the test myself

[Fiona82]

Susanne - Thanks for your reply
I pretty much feel the same as you, to be honest, I have wanted a cat for some time, and just don't like the idea of waiting for my beautiful small friends to fade and die before getting a cat. Perhaps it is selfish on my part, but that's why I'm trying to be ultra sensible and understand how this could work well.

Jackthespratt - Thanks again for your help. I guess you're right, it does come mostly down to common sense.

My feeling is to keep the cat and gerbils in the same room when I'm in the house, to supervise, and then only remove the gerbils into the other room when I'm going out, or at work etc. I hope that is a work-able thing.

One more question - could older, more senior cats be easier to handle in this case? The reason I ask is there is a possibility I may be able to help out a cat rehoming centre by fostering an elderly cat while it waits for a home. I wonder if that could work, as it might be less boisterous than a younger cat?

[thekittensmittens]

the cat watching the cage cracked me up, my cats spend ages watching the lovebirds 

[JackSpratt]

I've actually had small creatures longer than cats. I had two rats when I took on my first cat, Carrie. She was wholly uninterested anyway. Jack was more interested, so I had to teach him the difference between indoor and outdoor small critters....

I allowed the cats to sit and look at the animals, and also bat the tank. (the information on caring for rats then said tanks were acceptable housing. There's been studies since that indicate it isn't the best thing for rats due to ventilation and them needing more circulatory air.) It helped establish that they couldn't actually touch the animal in the tank.

A lot of it is down to common sense and assessing the cats reaction to the small animals.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I had a hamster when I first got my cats but I totally agree with what the others have said that you need to make sure they are kept separate as you cannot trust a cat around what is - to the cat - a prey animal.  Quite often animals do recognise individuals that belong to their household and behave differently around them than they would an unknown animal, but the instinct to chase a rodent is something that will always be there in a cat so even if they appear to be ok around small animals that instinct to chase could be triggered by any sudden movement.

When I got my cats my hamster was fairly old but I didn't want to wait until he died as that seemed awful to be just waiting for him to die!  The hamster was in my bedroom and the cats were initially kept in the living room and then gradually were allowed into the rest of the flat.  They were eventually allowed into the bedroom but only when I could supervise.  After I'd worked out how they reacted around the hamster and reassured myself that the hamster cage was secure and could not be opened by prying paws, I did let them sleep on the bed in the bedroom in an evening whilst I was in another room but as I live in a one bed flat I was  never far away and kept going in to check they weren't mithering the hamster.  I think the only way it would be doable to keep small rodents and cats in the same house is to make sure there is a closed door between them.  They may be ok in the same room together when supervised and the small animals are in a cage, but you need to be absolutely sure the cage is cat proof and also consider the possible stress of having a predator push his nose up against the cage!

[waley_bean]

Cats are natural predators so to reiterate do not leave your cats alone with small animals when you let them out to play. I have 2 hamsters and 4 cats, we have had the odd close moment but I keep the hamsters safely behind Rotastak housing in a high up place. I find Rotastak better than wire caging as cats can get their paws in.  If the hamster/gerbil etc is new and not used to handling, do so only in a room where the cats cannot get in, in case it jumps from your hand. I let my hamsters play in a ball but my large female hamster managed to escape and I found her in the bathroom with 3 of the cats sat looking at her, thankfully I got there pretty quick and nothing happened.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

JS is a real expert on this so will give loads of good advice 

JS that picture is wonderful and Sage is just adorable 

[Fiona82]

Jackspratt - Thanks so much for your help! That photograph is adorable!

I am keeping my gerbils in an aquarium type cage, it's plastic but I would replace it with heavy glass for durability and protection from the cat

Can I ask you - when you first bought your cat/or rat, (whichever came second!) how did you go about "introducting" and letting the cat check out the pets? Or was it a no-go area from the start?

[JackSpratt]

First things first, no matter how much you can teach a cat that an animal shares it's home, you can NEVER assume it's safe to leave them unattended (if the small animal is out his or her cage) together.

Are the gerbils in a tank? If so, that's a bit easier - even if a cat swipes the tank it's too sturdy to move. And you'd be surprised how many small animals get used to that and engage in staring matches with cats....I've seen it happen in our home.

But mostly, if you just say "no" at the cat if they move towards the cage, eventually they understand they aren't to bother small animals.

Pictured is Sage watching "cat TV."

[Lindyloo]

I do not think you can ever trust cats with small pets. If you have  a cat then you will need to make sure he cannot get access to your gerbils. I have cats and guinea pigs and the cats take no notice of them (although they cannot actually get to them. However gerbils are rather like mice the natural prey of a cat so think they will always be tempted.

[Fiona82]

Thank you for the welcome

Me and my husband are huge animal lovers - always have been. We love rodents, dogs, cats, and would pretty much would share our house with all of them if we could lol  We love being around pets and it brings us so much joy.

Basically, we are hoping to adopt a cat from an adoption centre, (perhaps a dog sometime in the future - but we are waiting a couple of years until we finish saving for our mortgage, just to be fair to our neighbours and landlord lol). However I currently have a cage with two gerbils. They are adorable and obviously I love them to pieces, but I want to ensure their safety if we get a cat. The gerbils were originally my sisters - and sort of still are, but she travels so much they are pretty much part of our household.

I know that a cat will instinctively be "interested" in rodents, but I have heard stories of people managing to keep both pets without problems.

I guess I wanted to know if it can be done, and done safely, and if there are any tips on teaching a cat boundaries? I don't know if it's true, but I remember reading somebody covered the bottom half of their rodent cages in foil as cats apparantly hated foil lol... Anything I can learn, any tips, to keep both rodents and cats happy, will be appreciated

[Tiggy's Mum]

  to Purrs Fiona

I've no experience of cats and small furries myself (unless you count the time my cat caught a russian hamster and bought it in unharmed!) but I'm sure some members have so hopefully they'll be along soon.

Do you have a cat or gerbils at the moment? Which one is it you're thinking of introducing to your household?

[Fiona82]

Hello guys!

This is actually my first official post here. I've been reading this forum for weeks now, and been a member for a while, but I have only begun posting today I could really do with some advice/information.

What is the reality of keeping a cat as a pet, if you have gerbils (or any smaller household pet) in the same house?
Is it too difficult? Is it manageable? Do you have some tips or advice for how to "teach" a cat to not intefere or try to get into the cages all the time?

The other issue is this: how do you even find out how a cat will behave in the early stages of bringing a cat into your home? Do you allow the cat to sniff around and let it explore, to get comfortable? Or do you try and teach from the start to try and keep it away from the cages?

I have heard of people saying to use certain sprays, or foil around cages to ward the cat away - are these things that really work? Is there anything else to try?

I would truly appreciate any help/tips/advice, especially from those who have kept cats and smaller pets in the house before

Thank you so much!