Cat With Rodents

Kieka

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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.
Rabbits are very much homebodies and OCD.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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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.
That hamster can teleport :p
 

NewYork1303

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Bin cages are extremely popular in the rodent hobby. Usually not problematic.

BUT some rodents will chew their way out so you have to monitor them pretty closely!
BIN CAGE CHEWING?!?!?!? - General Care
Bin cages are great options for hamsters, but for some reason every gerbil I've ever had has chewed plastic even when provided with tons of fun things to chew. They were capable of chewing out of bin cages in the space of a few hours (no idea how).

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.
Gerbils seem to find edges of containers even in ones where no edges exist. lol. Just keep a close eye on them. They're rascals.
 

WillowMarie

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Gerbils are such great pets!! I have kept them before and after having cats. Definitely make sure the cages are secure. If you have aquariums with the screen lids, there are clips you can buy to secure the screens down. I had a scary time one of my cats ended up getting the screen lid off, and I only had something heavy on top of the screen lid, but no clips. I screamed bloody murder when I saw my cat inside of the tank. It scared the crap out of him and he bolted out of the cage and room.... poor buddy! My voice hurt I screamed so loud, LoL. Luckily, my gerbils were fine, but it terrified me enough to go out and buy the hooks to better secure the lid. I know that if he had gotten a hold of them, he probably would have killed one of the gerbils, even if by accident. Years prior when we let him out on the deck (he stayed on the deck), he caught a bird in the air and played with it. He didn't mean to kill it, but I knew the exact moment he did by biting the neck because it stopped moving and he looked at me super confused with wide eyes because he realized it stopped moving...

I agree with others about plastic. Mine were normally well behaved and I kept ample cardboard that they chewed on. I did have a mixture of plastic tunnels/housing and glass aquariums, and really lucked. There were times they chewed through the plastic though and I'd come home and find them, or they otherwise somehow escaped. As an added security, you could keep the door closed of the room with the gerbils and hamsters when you're not there, or at all times.

Do you have pictures?? I'd love to see the hamsters and gerbils <3
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The gerbils are in a room and the door is always closed so if they escaped they would still be in the room somewhere.
The pictures are from a few weeks ago.
 

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WillowMarie

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The gerbils are soooooooo cute! Makes me miss having them! They are so entertaining to watch, enjoy them!
 

capgal44

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I don't have a hamster but I do have a Bearded Dragon who lives in a tank in my room. My cat will often come in and lay on my bed and stare into the tank. There has never been and issue between them. Just make sure you tank lid is closed if the cat will be in the room. But overall should be fine
 

SpecterOhPossum

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I think glass enclosures are the safest rout to go with having small animals and a cat. Maybe one like the pet stores with teeny holes drilled into one side for more air flow and a screen on top
 

NewYork1303

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Those guys are super cute. More important information, Gerbils can flatten their rib cages and squeeze under the cracks of doors and into vents. They get through incredibly small places. So if they ever do get out and you can't find them look in the places you assume they can't get into. Once found one in the dresser drawers even though the dresser was shut.
 
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MojoTuxedo

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The door is a sliding door so there's no gaps.
The gerbils haven't bit the plastic cage at all.
Also one of them died suddenly. He just lost weight quickly and died soon after.
 
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