Cats and hamsters?

Hamshak · 03-11-2016, 12:25 AM

If any of you have cats and hamsters on would love to hear how they deal with each other. I am having a problem with my younger cat adjusting to my hamster being here. While the hamster is sleeping he is fine but as soon as she wakes up he won't leave her alone. The hamster doesn't seem to care that the cat is sitting outside her cage staring at her, but the cat just decided to take it a level further by trying to jump up next to her cage and ended up giving it a big push(scaring himself as much as her, especially when I got up to chase him off). I put all her old cage stuff on top of her bin to discourage him from trying to get on top of it, but he is a bit of a terror and I can't say that I trust him to not jump up anyway.

We keep the bedroom door shut during the day if we're at work just in case so the cats and dog can't get in to bother the hamster or our mice. However the cats and dog have always been allowed to sleep in our room, and for the first few nights we were moving the cages into the bathroom at night so we wouldn't have issues. We don't want to keep doing that though, as I don't want to be moving their cages constantly as we just upgraded the hamster to a 110qt bin, and the mice to a 105qt bin and they are difficult to keep moving without startling the animals.

cypher · 03-11-2016, 01:15 AM

Cats & dogs are predators & hamsters are prey so the two together are usually a recipe for disaster!
The best option is to just keep your other pets out of the room where the ham is permanently.

pinkneon · 03-11-2016, 01:50 AM

I agree. Just keep them away. We have a cat, but he's quite old now and unable to jump on furniture which means he hasn't actually seen the hamster. But I'm sure he knows he's there. We've always had cats and when I was a kid the cats weren't allowed in the living room if the hamsters were in there during cage cleaning time, but the rest of the time they were. Hamsters were kept in our bedrooms. I never used to let the cats into my room as I didn't want them near the hamster. My sister loved having the cats sleep on her bed so would still have them around the hamster. Our cat now isn't allowed in any bedroom anyway, or the living room. So the hamster stqys in my rooom. Should the cat get in my room because someone left the door open then I get him out quickly, because even though I know he can't jumpnup where the cage is, he could still try!

Hamshak · 03-11-2016, 02:06 AM

I may have to talk to my SO about keeping the cats out of the room at night, it'll be quite an adjustment for the spoiled little things. Might be made easier by the fact my old timer has taken to sleeping on his pillow hehe. I'm not concerned about the dog because he only notices the hamster if her cage is directly on the floor, but we might start keeping him out too just for safety. I was hoping they would adjust but I'm starting to doubt it.

velma · 03-11-2016, 02:10 AM

I keep my hamsters in a cat free room. When we got our cats a few years ago and then my last hamster passed away we didn't get anymore as I didn't have anywhere cat free in the old house. Although the cats never really bothered with the hamsters, I couldn't guarantee that would be the case with new pets. The hamsters were in tanks and they seemed unaware of the cats presence. I sort of feel it's a double whammy of unfair really, as it's unfair on the hamsters to have the stress of a cat bothering them but also, it's unfair on the cats as you end up telling them off for just following their natural instincts. If I were you, I'd find a permanently cat free room.

pinkneon · 03-11-2016, 02:11 AM

What does SO mean?

Our cat is supposed to be out during the night. Well his bed is in the room where the washing machine machine is, and that room has another doos leading to the back garden which has his cat flap in. So we shut the door to that room shutting him out of the rest of the house at night because otherwise he will meow all night wanting to come into your bed! But someone forgot last night so of course he kept everyone awake. But it was fine because the bedroom doors are shut at night anyway!

velma · 03-11-2016, 02:16 AM

SO = significant other.

Hamshak · 03-11-2016, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkneon

What does SO mean?

Our cat is supposed to be out during the night. Well his bed is in the room where the washing machine machine is, and that room has another doos leading to the back garden which has his cat flap in. So we shut the door to that room shutting him out of the rest of the house at night because otherwise he will meow all night wanting to come into your bed! But someone forgot last night so of course he kept everyone awake. But it was fine because the bedroom doors are shut at night anyway!

Sorry, SO is significant other. My big boy kitty is too old to be outdoor anymore and we raised our little indoor so that option is a no go for us. I think for the first week or so it will be tough but I am willing to bribe with a treat dispensing toy the first night to make the break easier.

We live in a one bedroom apt, and while it is big, we don't have the space to have and extra hammie only room unless we use the closet(double walk in) but then we wouldn't be able to spend as much time near her cage and it wouldn't be fair to her I feel. It might be best to just get the other animals used to not sleeping with us.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 03-11-2016, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Cats & dogs are predators & hamsters are prey so the two together are usually a recipe for disaster!
The best option is to just keep your other pets out of the room where the ham is permanently.

I agree here its a recipe for disaster & stressing the hamster out continually is cruel in my opinion, would you like a big hungry lion starring at you, while you were locked up in a cage with no was to escape the big hungry lion?

pinkneon · 03-11-2016, 04:23 AM

Plus hammy has nowhere to come out to play if the cats are around ...