A Kitty And A Fish Tank...

[motylek]

Hi everyone,
Me and my boyfriend are planning on adopting a kitty about 5-6 months old. I wanted to know if anyone has a kitten and a fish tank ? my boyfriends says that the kitten is going to bother the fishes or kill them. What has been your experience with a kitten and fishes ?


Thanks

 

[Samantha1242]

My BF and I just adopted a 1.5 year old rescue kitty last week and he has barely shown any interest in our large fish tank. He walks by it and casually watches the fish for around 10 seconds and then moves on as if he doesn't care there is a delicious fish swimming in there. However, my last cat was actually able to open up the top of my fish tank and catch and eat my fish.. so I think it just depends on the cat!

 

[motylek]

ooh no !
well hopefully our kitten will ignore them as well but we will just tape the lid of the fish tank to the tank to make sure he wont get there. my boyfriend is a little crazy about his fishes lol

 

[Willowy]

The tank should be covered anyway to keep fish from jumping out. I've never had a cat bother a covered fish tank. But if so, taping it down should do the job .

 

[motylek]

yeah it is but also our fish tank is just a little above the floor since we have a small apartment and a big tank, so it easy access but we will see how the cat reacts to it.

 

[5starcathotel]

I'll just add, in terms of "bothering" the fish...for pretty much all fish, cats are not their normal predators. Predatory birds, bears, other fish, sharks, humans, etc...sure. But cats? How many nature videos have you come across where a feline is catching fish?

 

[basschick]

i've had two cats - one who is sitting right behind me - who murdered fish for sport. my husband had a large fish bowl, but HK ultimately killed those fish, one after another. the last one we had the bowl on top of a cabinet right beneath the ceiling. we heard a "CRASH!" as we were coming in the door, and never did figure out how HK got all the way up there to throw the bowl to the floor, but he sure did. the other one was a similar but less adventurous story. i also had a third cat who would stick his arm in the tank if not firmly closed and try and catch the fish.

after that, when i had a large fish tank, i made sure the top was secured firmly and was strong enough to hold up a cat. i'd suggest that to any fish owner with a cat.

 

[Pjg8r]

One of mine watches the fish for a few minutes each morning. In the past I had one cat who drank out of the aquarium (probably not the best source of water) but she never bothered the fish.

 

[Kefa]

Had fish tanks and cats for years. None of my cats ever killed a fish. They did jump on top of the tanks, fall in the tanks, and watch the fish with hungry little cat eyes. Usually, one accidental slip into the tank, even if it was only one paw, cured them of jumping on the top though. I did have large tanks though. Nothing under 20 gallons, and I think the depth of the tank matters when a cat is considering going fishing.

 

[Kieka]

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• Kieka
• Mar 27, 2017

Rocket is the only one out of my three who pays any mind to the fish tank. When she was younger I could put a chair in front of it and she'd stay there for hours. Now, she will occasionally meow for the chair but not as much as she used to. Which could be more because we aren't replacing fish when they die any longer so there are only 4 fish left. Not as interesting to watch and those fish don't like the hood lamp on. The boys have never even looked twice at the tank.

Just make sure you have a lid on it and the cat can't tip it over.

 

[catmomma627]

I have a 5 gallon betta tank that sits on my kitchen counter (with my Betta Archie) as well as 3 cats. Penny and Luna show interest in the fish or the tank. but Zoey likes to cuddle up next to the tank (the water is warmer than the air in my house) and watch the fish. The tank has a lid, but she has never ever made an effort to remove it, although I think she could.

I'm not sure that she even looks at Archie as prey. I think it's just lie TV to her.

 

[catmomma627]

Oh and also with the bothering. it won't bother the fish any more than you looking at them would. Archie doesn't even notice Zoey.

 

[motylek]

thank you for all the replys. we will see how it goes i just want to be prepared. Kieka your cat is so adorable.

 

[Tink84]

I have had my fish for years and panicked like crazy when my fur kitty came along and realised the fish tank. He became fascinated with jumping on top of it and trying tobpaw open the little feeding flap in the tank lid. I tried tape but he just pawed and bit at it till it peeled away then he would begin trying to lift the flap so.....we rooted out a heavy book (hubby world Guinness book of records) and placed that on the lid and over the flap and distracted him each time he jumped up! Dare I say it he' not bothered with the flap for a long time and I've moved the book back now and sometimes even leave the flap open to let air into the tank (only if I'm in thou!) So I'm sure you will be fine xx