Hyper Cat And Dwarf Hamster?

[danteshuman]

So one of my roommates brought home a dwarf hamster. It used to be in the bedroom but it stirred up her husbands allergies. How concenerrd should I be? How much cat proofing does the hamster cage need? My hyper punk loves watching the hamster. The cage has been moved to a buffet counter where he knows he is not allowed. I caught him on the counter and shooed him all the way back to my bedroom. Yes I did move a barstool back for him to safely watch the hamster from and no he is not allowed free roaming around the house unless I'm awake (not for the hamster, because of his chicken allergies and he is allergic to the other cat's urinary care food.) Still my instincts say to get a nice glass/plastic aquarium, put it on a high shelve and block off any where the cat can jump up near the cage. Am I wrong?

 

[rubysmama]

Hmmm.... I'd be nervous, if it were a hamster and my Ruby. But I guess it depends on the cat, and whether he's a hunter type or not.

Here's the TCS article on Cats And Small Furries

 

[danteshuman]

He is getting lazier since he is middle age. If the bird feeder is low enough he will catch the easy finch, bring it inside, release, catch, release. Luckily this was easily solved by convincing everyone in the house to only hang the bird feeders high. So his skill is iffy, his prey drive I would say is high and his energy level thank god has toned down to the level of a normal 1 year old cat (he 10?11?)

The semi-feral is a better hunter and his prey drive is lower. The last cat I'm not worried about.... he is super calm, and not much of a hunter.

 

[LTS3]

I would worry about the cat pawing at the wire and snagging a claw on the wire and, in an attempt to free the claw, yanks the hamster cage off the table. A large aquarium with a secure lid or cage topper is a better choice. Some cats will actually sit on an aquarium lid which aren't that sturdy, though, so it would be best to put the aquarium in a sturdy bookshelf that is anchored to the wall or have a wall shelf placed a few inches above the lid so the cat can still sit above the aquarium.

 

[Kieka]

I wouldn’t give a dwarf hamster good odds outside of a cage. They just don’t have very much left in survival instincts and are too small and fluffy to be ignored. I think even a lazy cat would have trouble resisting. Maybe if the cat was raised with hamsters but as an adult? Long odds that it would go well.

I had hamsters that figured out how to get out of that type of cage. If the hamster gets out it will likely not last long. That one is putting clips anywhere the wire pieces meet.

The cat pushing it over is the other risk of the hamster getting out. Adding either bumpers so it can’t move or switching to a heavier set up would be the goal there.