Cat time out

Is that okay?
My two cats knocked over my daughters hamster's cage for the third time even when I yelled at them, they don't learn that they've done wrong.
I put them both in seprate rooms, not exactly large rooms but there is alot of space.
Is this an okay to get them to understand they've done wrong?
Please help me out and tell me some other ways if possible too.
thank you very much!

Hi, I tried the same thing (all day long!) when our new kitten went after the rabbit (just to play, but he drove him nuts and made a mess of his environment). It doesn't work. I would instead find some way of fastening down the hamster's cage, being VERY sure the door won't open (against a wall?) when the cat's around, and if you stop giving the cat all that attention, he will eventually stop bugging you, but a hamster is a very strong temptation to a cat - maybe you could keep it in some room with the door closed? He'll suffer a lot less that way (and the kids will still play with him) than if he's scared out of his wits by the cat and dumped over.

I would definately put the hamster in another room with the door closed - Its just too much temptation for a cat. They see the little thing moving around in there and want to get at it.

They will learn absolutely nothing from that other then to not like you because you lock them up all alone. All you can really do is keep the hamsters either out of reach or in a seperate room behind a closed door. Little animals like that are natural prey for animals that like to hunt like a cat. You can't teach them to ignore nature and what they are meant to do
I have 4 rats in 2 cages in my room and I have them stacked and on top of a shelf that is the exact size of the cage. So it is really high. They can still jump but they usually just sit in front of it and watch. I don't really like them doing that though so, and I know everyone hates this, but I squirt their butts with a spray bottle. Just their butts, but now I rarely have to because they see the bottle sitting next to me and don't go past the bed!