What kind of cat would be good with small pets?

FloppyPig4

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I have four guinea pigs that love dearly. I want to get a cat but I know cats have natural hunting instincts. I could keep the door to my room closed, but I would rather the cat be allowed there.
The piggies live in a large cage on the floor, and it's too big to put on a table.

I know that some kinds of cats are better than others for hunting, so I'm wondering what kind of cat would be most likely to get along with the piggies.
 

fionasmom

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Welcome to The Cat Site! I have always had dogs with cats, so the usual question is what breed of dog will get along with a cat, but yours is intriguing.

Can Cats Live with Small Animals? | PetMD
Do Cats and Ferrets Get Along? [Here’s how to make that work] – TheCatSite Articles

There are a number of articles online like the first one, so you might find one that is helpful to your situation. The second is from TCS but has some good pointers.

However, then there are a number of articles like this one

.

My cats are all feral rescues from the street and that may color my response as I have never owned a specific breed of cat. Personally, I would not trust mine around any small animals. Once, several years ago, a neighbor had a serious car accident and I remembered that she had Siberian hamsters who were alone in the house with no care. I got permission to bring them to my house for the duration and they lived in a bathroom. If I even crossed the room with their cage, the cats all went on high alert.

Others may have different experiences as some members so have rabbits with cats.
 

Natalusky29

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I have four guinea pigs that love dearly. I want to get a cat but I know cats have natural hunting instincts. I could keep the door to my room closed, but I would rather the cat be allowed there.
The piggies live in a large cage on the floor, and it's too big to put on a table.

I know that some kinds of cats are better than others for hunting, so I'm wondering what kind of cat would be most likely to get along with the piggies.
The best thing you can do is not getting any kind of cat... it doesn’t matter what breed you’re getting all cats have the desire to hunt
You may be thinking that if you got a lazy/non active cat your Guinea Pigs will be out of hazards but not at all.

Cats will see your guinea pig as a prey no matter what you do,and if you do not get enough mental and physical stimulation your pets would be dead in less than 5 minutes
 

Natalusky29

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I forgot to say this,your guinea pigs will be stressed because they will feel they’re being the prey and the cat will be stressed all the time because he will be “enable” to catch them...
 

LTS3

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I have four guinea pigs that love dearly. I want to get a cat but I know cats have natural hunting instincts. I could keep the door to my room closed, but I would rather the cat be allowed there.
The piggies live in a large cage on the floor, and it's too big to put on a table.

I know that some kinds of cats are better than others for hunting, so I'm wondering what kind of cat would be most likely to get along with the piggies.
There is no breed of cat that is less likely to try to eat a small pet. All cats have a natural hunting instinct.

Cats and small pets can live in the same home but it's best to keep them separate from each other. Keep the bedroom door closed when you are not at home to keep the guinea pigs safe. The cat honestly won't care if she / he doesn't have access to the bedroom when you're not home. I do this with my cats. I used to have gerbils and later mice in the past. My cats are oddballs because they have never cared for the furry rodents. The most they would is sit next to the tank and watch. I still kept a close eye on them and gave them a firm NO and put them on the floor if needed.
 

amethyst

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Unlike dogs there really isn't specific breeds that were really bred away from hunting. Up until a couple hundred years ago the primary reason most people had a cat around for was to hunt and keep the rodent population down. That being said you can still have rodents and cats in the same home, if they are raised together, just know they can never be fully trusted to be allowed access to the room if the guinea pigs are out.

I had guinea pigs in the past, and I now have a chinchilla (until recently two) so my cats grew up with caged rodents in the house. For the most part, aside from sitting and watching them, they ignored them, but I would never trust them not to hurt them if a rodent was out and the cage is in a room that is closed if I am not home or gone to bed. My cats do hunt and kill small animals too, so I think it's more they understand these ones in the cage are off limits, but likely only while they are in the cage, if they got out I'm sure all bets would be off. Even playing though a cat could easily hurt a guinea pig by accident with a misjudged paw swipe with claws out just enough.
 

Maria Bayote

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if there is a separate room specially for the guinea pigs where the cat cannot be allowed inside then I think its ok.

But I agree with the others, cats, even though have been house cats all their lives, still have their hunting instincts.

I have 2 budgies I have placed on a location the cats could never reach. Yet, once in a while, my Graham is too curious to attempt to climb up there but always fails. Still, I am afraid one day she'd succeed. Good thing when feeling threatened, my budgies would make very loud noises that send me running to them.
 

maggie101

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It's possible it will be ok if yoou get a kitten 2 months old so their hunting instincts have not kicked in yet and become friends with your piggies but I would worry about it too much
 

roguethecat

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Sure you can have a cat + guinea pigs.
Just don't expect them to be friends.
I have 4 cats, and 2 rats (courtesy of Grisoo, big game hunter, who one day brought in baby rats). The rats live in a big cage - two 6 feet wardrobes who have doors replaced by wire mesh for them to climb, connected by a tunnel tube. This is a huge entertainment to the cats. Of course they will bat at the doors, so there are additional chicken wire sheets as cat protector.
We have a room we can close to be cat-free so the rats can run around under supervision.

what you could do: go to a shelter and ask for a cat who is known not to run after small wiggly things. Since guinea pigs are not that small, some cats might not consider them prey. If you are careful and always supervise any encounters or just make sure there aren't any, it can work.
 
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