Cats with small animals??

I own a few small animals and i realy love cats and would love to have one(or two lol). Would a cat be alright with small animals?

Some cats instincivley have a destructive nature and feel they must take down any prey that comes their way or that they find in their domain.
others (like my mikey) have no care in the world and would rather watch the animal until boredem sets in then go relax on my bed.

There is nothing wrong with having other small animals in the house (i have snakes, fish and rats) as long as the animals are securley enclosed and there is time when the cats are not always taunting the small animals.

I have three cats,, and they are all good with the small animals!!!

I have a cockatiel, and fish, and used to have a guniea pig. Angel actually tries to play with Snikkers our bird. She doesn't try to hurt him,, she just wants to play with him. They have soft claws, so she tries to put her paws in his cage,, but we have all the opening tied down so she can't get into the cage. Honestly Snikkers gets mad at the cats if they don't pay attention to him. He sits and squaks and throws a heck of a fit until one of them pays him attention.

Also snikkers was a resident bird,, he's been with us for a year before we got Angel and Chestnut and now Kella. So he warmed up to them within a good month!! The fish aren't bothered becuase we have a lid on them. and the gp,, well they were scared of him, because he would jump around. My neice took our gp because she begged my husband!! Now the big dog,, that's a whole nother story,, we have a rotti/lab mix and she is scared to death of the cats!! It's kind of funny, but they are still working on the whole bonding!!!

Good luck!! Once you get a cat,, you'll be soo happy!!!

Heather

Yes and no. Depends on the cat. If its a full grown cat that has been outside hunting, then no I would not trust them with any small animals. Some cats have a very strong natural instinct. Ling has been inside since she was 5 weeks old (mom was an outside hunter). Her instinct is very strong - if we brought in a mouse (for example), she would kill it - no doubt.

Some cats like persians are more laid back and will let a mouse run over them without bothering it.

If you have small animals, be sure they are kept in a very sturdy cage with a top/lock, etc. Then observe the cat's reaction. Our first cat, Mitten was scared of water, so fish were fine with him - but he also hunted outside the house too.

Thanks guys! That helped, i will keep secure lids on their cages and keep there doors tightly locked. Thanks again = ]

We have 5 cats (soon to be 4 because a friend is adopting one of ours - he fell in love with him & he is having behavioral problems with our other adult male) ...anyway we also have a fish and we had a rat and they dont/havent bothered them... but our cats are distracted by their loads of toys nd jungle gym and eachother lol... We just keep the fishy on our dresser and the rat was on our bathroom counter... our cats are laid back hoguh - theyd rather play with their toy balls hah!

.Myles-Anthony

I have tried introducing my rabbit to the cat, and she seems a bit untrustworthy at the moment. I adopted my cat so I have no idea if she was ever outdoors, but she is a good little "huntress", the way she acts with her toy mice makes it seem like she was perhaps outside for a time, but it's hard to say. Nonetheless I watch her reactions very carefully if I have her near the rabbit. She's a fresh cat, she nipped me when I scolded her for trying to paw at the rabbit, but she has to learn that's not okay.

I have 4 and two were strays that were outside as oldish kittens and they don't bother at all with my hamster. Boomer will occasionally sit and watch him (and has been known to help him break loose of his cage).

I woke up last night to my hamster and Bumps asleep on my bed - they have ceased to worry me... my hamster however can be bad for taunting the cats - if he is in his ball he will chase them and run into the back of their legs so when he is out Magnum hides

Mine will hunt 'fake' mice and chase bugs though and do not like rabbits - but a hamster is ok? I guess it just depends on the personality of the cats and small animals

I was gonna add to this... I have a pic i'm gonna post of Angel (cat) with our Bird Snikkers..

They loveee each other.. Snikkers is pecking on Angel and Angel is just sitting their lovin it!!!

Originally Posted by angelkitty

I was gonna add to this... I have a pic i'm gonna post of Angel (cat) with our Bird Snikkers..

They loveee each other.. Snikkers is pecking on Angel and Angel is just sitting their lovin it!!!

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but this greatly disturbs me.

I understand they love each other but predators have pastuerella bacteria in their salvia which can be quite fatal to birds and small animals.
Your bird is ingesting it every time she preens the cat.
This is also why you are never supposed to let a bird kiss your lips, or share food that you have bitten directly from.

Do be careful with that feathery life, I'm sure you and the cat would miss the bird a great deal if something bad did happen.

we have five cats..two fish..a guinea pig and a rat snake..and sadly we just lost our rat..but they all get along fine..my kitten of five months trys to play with guinea but near gets her claws out..