How did this happen?

[Elliriyanna]

Last night I woke up to Emma chasing something around I didnt think anything of it at first I mean we have wild mice in the house then I realized she was in my room ... with humans commonly occupying the room mice would not risk it. PLUS Moki gives off a skunk scent when their are wild mice in his territory and he hasnt been. SO I woke up to find Emma chasing a rodent ... The first thing I noticed was it had Giant eyes and that I could tell NO tail ... My first though OMG HAMSTER... HERE? That means Emma had to have carried it up the stairs!!

Our hamsters Other than Kodi are all downstairs in the living room. Thank god Emma has her harness I woke my bf up to hold her while I caught the hamster. Turns out it was Nami no broken skin just VERY scared and a teeny bit wet. I put her back in her bin and put the top on it which has no ventilation Just so we could get through the night.

The thing is this should never have been able to happen!!! Nami and Koda's cages do not have tops because they are on top of my critter nation double and Emma can not get up there theres no way and her bin was not disturbed. I am thinking she climbed her wheel to get out but that is still a 5.5 ft fall to the floor which would have killed her. I have no idea how this happened.

In our new apartment we will have a walk in closet I am making into a pet room for the rodents other than the rats. It will keep emma from them and keep us from disturbing them during the day but until then I have no way to mod her bin lid for ventilation and I wont risk this happening again. I could switch her to Nina's bin but Nina is even more of a climber than her.

Please Help!!!!!!!! I don't want this to ever happen again.

[samincittagazze]

Can you get some wire mesh? You can then cut out chunks of the lid and fit that over the top of it, which should give ample ventilation but be escape proof. There are lots of tutorials in the DIY section on how to do it. If for some reason you can't get mesh, you could drill holes in the lid and the side of the cage?

[Elliriyanna]

Thats what I did with my other girls cage but this is a different material I have worked with it before it just cracks when I try to cut it and I dont have a drill. I have made many bin cages

[Jaybee]

Since you have other animals in the house (And cats can jump and climb really well) I would def put some kind of lid on it with ventilation

[Elliriyanna]

Yes I know Jaybee But I am saying Emma can not climb my rat cage Apollo will bite her feet and she didnt jump up there because if she had she would have knocked a cage or both down. Plus my other hamster has been up there for weeks and she hasnt shown any interest since she has other rodents at eye level.

Nami got herself out I am thinking by climbing up her wheel So we took the lid and it is over the half of the cage with her wheel.

[Gamina]

Also your hamster could have climbed the stairs. One our first few days living in our new house Cat escaped. The kitchen door had been closed and we stupidly assumed he couldn't climb stairs alone. We ripped the hallway and living room apart and after 5 hours gave up until evening. I went to unpack boxes upstairs in our bedroom and Cat strolled out if a gap between two unpacked boxes. Scared the life out of me. He has climbed the stairs all by himself.

[Demecat]

Just because a cat has never jumped up before, don't assume they won't. Rusty (one of my cats) had never bothered jumping onto Charlie's cage before, but a few months before Charlie passed away, he started to jump up there (I believe he could tell Charlie was getting older and felt he'd be easy prey if it wasn't for the cage between them!).

You say your cat had a harness on? Please tell me she doesn't wear it all the time as harnesses aren't really intended for full time use like collars are.

[Elliriyanna]

Emma didnt or she would have since the ham climbed out no problems since we put the lid over the wheel and LOL MY Teeny dwarf nami cant climb the stairs she tried before plus she had a wet spot on her butt where emma had grabbed her.

My vets are perfectly fine with my cats harness. I trust my vets. she actually prefers to wear it all the time because of the flawed design. I have to pull her head out through the hole and we both hate it and the vet said its fine to be warned so please ... This is about the hamster not my cats harness.

[LocoRocoPanda]

You know Emma best and I'm sure you can figure out a solution just from that alone. :) How's Nami doing now?

Also, as long as a cat harness isn't tightly on, in theory IT CAN be used all the time just as long as the cat can still groom without restriction. So ya know.

[Jaybee]

I still would never underestimate the power of a cat. They can see and smell my hamsters when I don't even see them. They pay attention. They can jump and climb no problems. Just because you don't think she did or you never saw her do it, doesn't rule out the fact that she could of done it. This is serious. Your hamsters with no lids can be potentially eaten by the cat either by the cats "Fault", the hamsters "fault" and your "fault" of not having a lid. Save their lives! Be super careful :)

[racinghamster]

Number one, cats are predators and will wait until your back is turned. They KNOW where small aniamls are, they are not stupid. ;) I wouldn`t have a cat in the house, but then I`m not a cat person and never have been. I chase enough of them from the garden bird feeders.

Hamsters or any small pet should be in a room the cat doesn`t frequent and should have a good handle/lock on the door (cats can open doors). Even if the cat has never bothered with your hamsters, there will come a day when it will, believe me. Opportunity is their game and they will take it.

[vanilla-yazoo]

i have always had cats and hamsters, but mine where on a high shelf with wire cages, now i have the tower block, fred is at the bottom and the dogs say hi, he ignores them, our cats are not bothered by them, they are much more out door cats, but when my aunts cats come over (eevvilll cats) i put a board over the front of his cage, so he isnt stared at, and the door to my room is closed XD

as i kid i once left the door open, luckily below the shelf was our big music center in a cabinet with a glass door, and toby sat on some videos watching the cats XD

i guess we learn from this! the hamster was only wet and not hurt? they ahve coped with the stress? what kind of bin cage is it because i know of some material mesh that streches over the wilko ones :D we are using them on the fish tank with aurora in downstairs

[Elliriyanna]

Turns out she DID climb out ... I saw her sitting on her wheel trying to do it again LUCKILY that half of her cage has been covered so she cant get out anymore :) No accidents since.

Thanks for the concern :) Everything seems to be fine now :)

Nami was wet not injured at all she has recovered well and seems to have forgotten the whole incident :)