Pet mice and cats

So I had two of the sweetest litte girl mice when Karma first came home. It ended up in disaster. We just were not prepaired for mice and cats. We ended up having to donate the mice to a school for their safety. What I want to know is how do you have rodents with a cat in the house. My DH misses then terrrably and wants more, so do I. What kind of cage do you use, the wire frame is what we had and it was not cat proof. How do you keep cats away? Is it even possable to heve the two coexsist? Karma would love to get her little paws on them so I would want them to be safe. Please any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. It will be a few months before we could get them because our snake needs a new tank and a few things but I would love to get some by summer. Please help me figure this out.

Oh you have a pet snake?
Well, honestly the same way you keep the cat out of the snake's cage and the snake in. Glass aquarium, very solid screen lid and lid locks. Put them in a room that you can shut Karma out of if you need to. What is the snake in? You could probably just hand it down to the mice if it's sturdy and there's no parts they can chew up. Clean thoroughly though, snake smell would frighten mice.

I had hamsters as a child. I kept the cats out of their cages and off them by putting the cages on shelves that were hard for the cats to jump up on. I also used the magazines on the edge of the shelf trick. Cat's normally learn after they fall a few times.
I have geckos now that can make quite a bit of noise that could attract a cat's attention. Sho tried when he was a kitten, I would squirt him with a water bottle anytime he got too close. When he showed too much interest in it I would tell him no and redirect him somewhere else. Sometimes physically turning him around repeatedly till he gave up.
Now when I get the geckos out, if Sho's awake, he'll ignore it, turn around, or even leave the room. Tomas still watches but knows better than to try anything (especially with me there), besides his preferred prey is the ceiling fan...

Bottom line, cat proof!

I would have the mice in an aquarium with a locking screen top on it. I had one for my snake (10 gallon) and the cats would sit on top, but could not get to them.

If you have a room where you can keep the mice and the cats don't go in the room too much - it would be safer there.

I know with my 2, a mouse would have instant heart attack! Ling and Charlie would do what it took to get that mouse out of there

just what the others recommended, an aquarium. I have two gerbils which were in a wire cage (which they are not supposed to be in any way) and they both have had pieces of their tails bitten off, so now they are in a tank and are fine. But you will need locks on it, but seeing that you have a snake you probably have those on his tank and know what I am talking about and might even have extra ones. I want mice but my mom says no, which I don't understand seeing that she is fine having gerbils

Tanks are safer, but their really not reccommended for most small animals. The ventilation is terrible in an aquarium and causes respiratory problems. If you can't keep them in a room that is off limits to the cats, then I wouldn't get any.

Tanks are safer, but their really not reccommended for most small animals.

Click to expand...

for some of the larger pets (chinchilla, rat, guinea pig) I know you should use a cage but i have NEVER heard one be recommended for a gerbil (don't know about mice but I'd assume they are the same in that way) If you use the right bedding (Aspen, corncob or carefresh and NOT pine or cedar) and keep it clean I don't see a problem with a tank. I know what you mean about ventilation, but based on what I've read it's not that big of a problem.

As long as you have decent screen on the top for ventilation, a tank should not be a problem, we have one of those silly crittertrail tanks and our hamster spends most of his time in the 'lookout' which has poor ventilation.

Mine don't bother much with the hamster, he has got out and climbed on them without them doing more than looking at him, so I am not much help

Originally Posted by ClaireBear

If you can't keep them in a room that is off limits to the cats, then I wouldn't get any.

Click to expand...

Ditto! Not exactly the same situation but we have fish and during the day when I'm at work I make sure to put the fish in a closed off room. It's only 2 fish so it's not a big deal but Neely doesn't know that.

An aquarium, even with a screen on top, is a BAD place for those sort of pets. Notice that at the petstore they are in a glass enclosure, but have special ventilation. If you are going to put them in an aquarium, have a small fan for air circulation pointing into the cage. They especially shouldnt be in direct sunlight in an aquarium.

Just get a cage where the gaps between the bars are too small for your cat to stick its paws through. My guinea pigs cage is in full reach of the cat (on the floor) but he can't get to her. Just sits there and watches, which doesnt bother the guinea pig at all. Suprisingly, for being a prey animal, he doesnt try to get her. They can even have supervised floor time together. I dunno about mice though, cats might be more tempted to eat them by nature maybe?

Originally Posted by Jaws808

AThey especially shouldnt be in direct sunlight in an aquarium.

Click to expand...

OP has a snake, I'm sure she knows very well how bad of an idea putting any animal in an enclosed space in direct sunlight would be.

Aquariums are fine, though it wouldn't be fair to put two of anything in something as small as a 10 gallon. A larger size would be better since you can add more toys inside of it.

And keeps this from happening.

Originally Posted by Maxy24

just what the others recommended, an aquarium. I have two gerbils which were in a wire cage (which they are not supposed to be in any way) and they both have had pieces of their tails bitten off, so now they are in a tank and are fine.

Click to expand...

For those who think rodents must have wire cages, do you honestly believe breeders use expensive space consuming cages? They use rack systems with solid tubs. (commercial breeders that is, not hobby or accidental breeders)

The one and only time I have seen Boomer interested in the hamster he was dumb enough to stick his nose against the wires and got bitten, now they live together fine.

They ignore him when he is out in his ball (unless he chases them and knocks into the back of their legs which he likes to do and even then they just hiss and run away)

I just told them no every time they went near the cage

we had a mouse and a gerbil for a few years. long story, but they were from the shelter i worked at at the time. they came to me as solitary rodents, and each lived in their own aquarium. i had them on a bookshelf, with books wedged around the cage so it couldn't be pulled down. i know you aren't supposed to have them in aquariums and they aren't ideal, but i figure they were happier being alive than at the bridge. i kept their cages changed often (2x a week for the mouse, 1x a week for the gerbil), with safe bedding. they also had plenty of toys to play with. pinky (the mouse) ran on her wheel until the end. gerbz the gerbil never liked the wheel, but loved his tunnels/tubes and cardboard boxes to chew on (those friskies and meow mix pouch boxes were great for him).

we had rodents from 2002 until 2006 and the cats NEVER lost interest in them. i lost both of the rodents to old age and cancer. i'd love to have gerbies again, but i would have to start from scratch. after gerbz died and i went to clean his tank it cracked. so i donated the rest of his stuff to the shelter. pinky had been gone for 2 yrs i think when gerbz died.