Cat Vs Hamster

gothic~mermaid

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Ok Henry has suddenly discovered Belle after her lil escape the other day, now he is permantly trying to get into the cage and we are concerened and dont know what to do!

Please before anyone starts with its naturel for cats, I know they can out grow it but its for now im worried!

I know because Im 26 and was brought up with cats, rats hamters, in the 22 years I was living at home we never had a problem with them mixing, I have so many photos of rats and cats and things sat side by side!
But the cats I was brought up with have always been girls and Henry is my first experiance of a male cat and Im wondering if thats part of it? I have noticed he is a lot more hyper then what Im used to, which I think is great he has a bit of life lol!

Is there any way of teaching them that Belle doesn't = food???? or what do we do with Belle? Shes on a shelf at mo out of the way but Henry this am has discovered he can jump to that shelf!!! really clueless!!!
 

goldenkitty45

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Sex of the cat has nothing to do with their instincts. You might have been lucky for 22 yrs, but IMO I would never trust any cat with small prey animals. I adopted a 4 month old kitten from the SPCA. At the time we owned a little hamster (in a 10 gallon aquarium). It had a screened lid. The kitten used to sit on top of the cage looking down at the little hamster all the time.

This kitten has NEVER been outside to hunt, but we gave the hamster to one of my son's friends cause I didn't want to come home one day with a knocked over cage and a dead hamster.

The only thing I can suggest is you put the hamster in a room where the cat is not allowed to be in.
 
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gothic~mermaid

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Sex of the cat has nothing to do with their instincts. You might have been lucky for 22 yrs, but IMO I would never trust any cat with small prey animals. I adopted a 4 month old kitten from the SPCA. At the time we owned a little hamster (in a 10 gallon aquarium). It had a screened lid. The kitten used to sit on top of the cage looking down at the little hamster all the time.

This kitten has NEVER been outside to hunt, but we gave the hamster to one of my son's friends cause I didn't want to come home one day with a knocked over cage and a dead hamster.

The only thing I can suggest is you put the hamster in a room where the cat is not allowed to be in.
we never left the animals alone together when I grew up but they never tried getting into the cages or anything, maybe it was coz they got used to it and realised they were never going to be able to get into the cages!
 

mrblanche

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I assume the injuries to the hamster were caused by Henry. For that reason, I would guess it would be long time before he won't attack what he considers to be "his escaped prey."
 

calico2222

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Is there any way you can move Belle's cage into a room where you can close the door and keep Henry out? I doubt he is actually trying to "kill" Belle, but he now knows she is a real live moving toy and it may take a while before he stops trying to get at her.

I used to have an indoor rabbit that lived with my 5 cats and they got along fine and played together, but a rabbit is MUCH bigger than a hamster. Plus, I had the rabbit first so she was the "resident" and most of the cats were introduced as kittens which made a difference. The one stray cat I did bring in as an adult wasn't sure what to make of Bunny (original name, I know) but once I introduced them with Bunny in my lap, she seemed to realize that Bunny wasn't prey but was part of the family. I'm not sure that would work with a hamster though.
 

strange_wings

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^ Not now, it wouldn't.

If I'm understanding correctly, Belle was injured? If so, she needs to see a vet if she hasn't already. If Henry bit her she could get a very very bad infection and die from it, or she could possibly have a broken bone that you don't know about.

As everyone else has said. You'll need to move her. If he can get anywhere near the cage he is going to harass her and attempt to get into the cage. That's very stressing to a small animal who knows this big creature means danger.

I also suggest that you make sure to wash your hands before reaching into Belle's cage. She'll likely more closely associate the cat smell as something that could hurt her and may try biting to protect herself if she smells cat on you.
 

kittyl0ve4

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I think that you should move the cage into a room, where you can close the door when you arent paying attention to what Henry is doing & when your not home.

We have 2 birds, & Monster learned a long time ago that the birds are off limits. Mittens likes to sit on the floor & look up & watch them, but she knows she isnt allowed to try anything. The cages are big ones that stand on wheels, & they are in a room with a door that closes. only one of the birds comes out of the cage, but when we let him out, we close the door to the room so the cats cant come in. but, one morning one of them knocked the one of the bird cages over, & it was upside down so the things that slide up for food & water were opened & the bird flew out. luckily, i was able to catch him & put him back in the cage, while someone else in the house put the cage upright. so, whenever theres going to be a time when nobody is home or whatever, the door gets closed & locked so that cant happen again.
 
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