Cat With Rodents

MojoTuxedo

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Is it ok to have a cat with a hamster and gerbils? The cages are secure and they are in a place that the cat can’t reach.
 

Katie M

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As long as everything is secured, I think so. At one point, I had two cats and a hamster-the cage was almost exactly the size of the table it was on, which left the cats no room for jumping, and it was high enough off the ground so that they couldn't jump on top.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The hamster cage is almost exactly the size of the table it's on and the gerbil cage is going to be on a table almost the same size of the cage.
 

Kieka

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I had hamsters and cats when I was a kid. The hamster even escaped a few times with no problems. The cat did think the hamster in the running ball was fairly interesting but the whole thing was too big to be really fun.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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My first cat, Mojo was really nice to the hamster. We slowly introduced them by first keeping the hamster in a small carrier and letting them see each other and eventually Mojo let the hamster (Toby) crawl on his belly.
 

Sidewinder

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I had hamsters and cats when I was a kid. The hamster even escaped a few times with no problems. The cat did think the hamster in the running ball was fairly interesting but the whole thing was too big to be really fun.
Haha, when I was young I would put my hamster in the clear plastic exercise ball and let him roam throughout the old beach cottage... while two or three curious Siamese cats would follow him around and occasionally bat the ball. :eek:
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The picture made me smile :D
The gerbils' have a lid that came with the container, and the hamster tank had a lid and some mesh where the lid doesn't cover.
I just got the gerbils a few minutes ago :D
 

goingpostal

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Really depends on the cat, some will knock cages over so if the lids aren't secure, rodent gets loose and lost or caught by cat. Most are content to watch from outside as entertainment. My first cat ignored the mice I bred for years, one day two chewed and escaped, I came home to tufts of fur. After that she was crazy for them.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The hamster is in a glass tank with a flush mesh lid, so I think the hamster is fine.
The gerbils are in a 40-ish gallon plastic container, with a hole in the lid filled by mesh. I don’t think the cat can knock over either of those and the hamster and gerbils definitely can’t escape.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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Well I guess it could be possible for a heavy cat to knock over the gerbil cage, but I don’t think any cat can knock over an almost 100 pound tank and table :p
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The gerbil cage weighs about 15 pounds, can a cat knock over that?
 

NewYork1303

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The gerbil cage weighs about 15 pounds, can a cat knock over that?
Possibly. More problematic is you're keeping gerbils in a plastic container. They're voracious chewers and will chew through plastic way faster than you would expect. It would be better to swap them over to a glass tank as well.
 

jefferd18

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The hamster is in a glass tank with a flush mesh lid, so I think the hamster is fine.
The gerbils are in a 40-ish gallon plastic container, with a hole in the lid filled by mesh. I don’t think the cat can knock over either of those and the hamster and gerbils definitely can’t escape.

Just make sure that everybody in the house is onboard when it comes to securing the rodents. My brother was always coming into my room and then would leave without closing the door behind him.
 

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My hamster escaped from every cage we tried. Even when we put a clip on the doors to keep it shut they somehow would find a way out. Plastic, metal, glass, didn't seem to matter. The only reason I think my rabbit hasn't escaped from his area is he likes his boundaries.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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Possibly. More problematic is you're keeping gerbils in a plastic container. They're voracious chewers and will chew through plastic way faster than you would expect. It would be better to swap them over to a glass tank as well.
The plastic has no edges they can chew and I've provided many many things for them to chew. If I notice the plastic getting chewed, I will immediately switch them to a backup 20 long tank until I can get a bigger one.
Just make sure that everybody in the house is onboard when it comes to securing the rodents. My brother was always coming into my room and then would leave without closing the door behind him.
Yeah everyone in my family knows about the closing doors and stuff
My hamster escaped from every cage we tried. Even when we put a clip on the doors to keep it shut they somehow would find a way out. Plastic, metal, glass, didn't seem to matter. The only reason I think my rabbit hasn't escaped from his area is he likes his boundaries.
Your hamster must be smart or something. My hamster escaped once and that was when my sister took off the lid and forgot to put it back on haha
 

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The only reason I think my rabbit hasn't escaped from his area is he likes his boundaries.
Rabbits do. I think they'd close the door if you forgot to, haha.

I had a pet rat who got out of her cage every night, went out for adventures, and then got back in her cage and closed the door by morning. It took me a good long time to figure that out.

I have a hamster now but I don't think hamsters are as smart as rats. Too inbred probably :D. But she does lunge at the side of the cage when a cat gets too close so I don't think she'd be easy prey.
 

Kieka

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The plastic has no edges they can chew and I've provided many many things for them to chew. If I notice the plastic getting chewed, I will immediately switch them to a backup 20 long tank until I can get a bigger one.

Yeah everyone in my family knows about the closing doors and stuff

Your hamster must be smart or something. My hamster escaped once and that was when my sister took off the lid and forgot to put it back on haha
It was three different hamsters over several years. One of them had to have it's stomach pumped when it ate a ton of random stuff it found. We found it in the front room passed out. It may have partially been me being a kid and not securing it right but the last one had a solid plastic cage with a book on the lid and still got out.
 
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