Hamsters and the family cat

[Domdinino]

Hello!
As a child my family always had a cat, and I had several hamsters in succession. I have no recollection of the cat ever shownig much interest in the hamsters and there were certainly no disasters. I would be really interested in the experiences of those who have a kitty and a hammy and what measures they take to ensure hammy's safety. Many thanks!

[Smarties]

When we had hamsters and cat our cat didn't seem to care! she was too lazy to pounce or eat them haha. One day a hamster escaped from the ball and the cat was just sitting there watching running around the floor but she did care and just sat there. he was a very good cat

[whitehamster]

Big mistake, cat has eaten a Robo :-(


Frankly I wouldn't trust any cat just because they don't show interest once doesn't mean some day they wont go for them, its their natural instinct to kill.
I don't trust my dog with the hamsters either alot of breeds would naturally play with small rodents.
Anyway the link above is some poor soul who recently lost theirs even though they had a cage it broke the tubes apart and then it ate the poor hamster, I imagine many hamsters have been lost to cats.

[JinjaMakes]

I think the post that whitehamster has linked to is the 4/5th post I've seen about cats and dogs harming hamsters.
I wanted a cat then I got Harry and now (even if the landlord and my boyf said I could) I wouldn't get a cat. I just wouldn't take the risk.
From an extreme point of view it's a bit like leaving a child on their own with the oven on, just because they've not touched it before it doesn't mean they won't.

If you can be 100% certain that cats and hamsters will never be in the same room then it might be ok.

[Smarties]

I think I was just exceptionally lucky with my cat and hamster, she was just so old she didn't care. I'd never trust another cat though, no matter how good Snuggles was with them

[~Bell~]

I've got 6 cats (one being a kitten) and none of mine show interest, However I only let them into my room when I'm in there. I think it depends on the temperament of the cat as well, like one of the cats is always bringing "presents" to the back door, and I don't really trust him with David. But my other 5 are pretty much house cats and just couldn't care less about a hamster. I wouldn't trust any cat or dog with a hamster free ranging though.

[ANGELBABIES]

When we bring in a defenceless little hammy into our lives and homes, we are making a commitment and a promise to our little furry babies that we will love them and keep them safe from all harm. Cats and dogs will follow their own instincts and are seen as hamsters' predators. If you haven't got a cat or a dog now, I personally wouldnt get them if I had hamsters at home. Even if the cat and dog showed no interest in the hamster, the hamster still goes through the stress of being near a predator. These are just my thoughts.

[Domdinino]

I am very grateful for everyone's thoughts and time taken to reply, especially since I did discover belatedly that similar questions have been asked on the forum before! It seems to me that the answer is, 'it depends....' Doesn't it always?!
Leaving me continuing to ponder!
Many thanks x

[ham888]

We had various cats when I was a kid and my hamster was always shut in my room - except one night the cat had crept in and I was woke by the cage being knocked flying. Fortunately - I'll never know how - the cage was in bits, the hamster was under the bed washing and the cat was on the windowsill scared. I swept the room for the cat every night since then. Cats may be all fluffy but they are skilled predators waiting to pounce, and to make matters worse they will play with small prey and scare them to death and then walk away.

[GhostsInSnow]

We have a family cat and 2 dogs but the hamsters live in my room and I keep the door shut. Very very occasionally they come in if I'm in the room and sitting by the hammie cages so they can't get near but I would never leave them unsupervised