co-living with cats

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WiildSunflowers

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hey everyone! i'm new to the forum, and i may end up having a lot of questions, but this one in particular is the reason why i signed up lol.

in 2 days i'm bringing home two beautiful boys! i'm almost done setting up their cage, a Fiesty Ferret brand that's entirely wrapped in hardware cloth that's in ½ squares. no baby ratties will be escaping, and my beloved cat won't be getting in either!

i did, however, just catch my cat scaling the cage still, and i was pretty confident that the tiny squares would have made this a much harder task. while i know he can't actually get to them, i'm petrified of him scaring the poor boys half to death. i have the cage set up in my bedroom, and i really don't want to have to lock my cat out 24/7 as he sleeps with me and my dog every night, as well as it being a generally high-traffic area for my pets.

do you guys have any suggestions for how to keep my cat off the cage? i'd never dare to hit him, but taking him off and placing him on the floor with a stern "no" doesn't work in the same way it would my dog LOL. i'm also not sure misting him with water is actually a thing you're supposed to DO with cats, and i don't want to distress him.

i've considered getting some sort of shelving to put on the opposite wall, if he's truly just trying to climb on top of it because it's now the tallest object in my bedroom. do you think this would work, or will his focus be drawn to the rats once they're actually inside and running around?

thanks in advance!
 
His focus will most likely be the rats. And it will probably scare and stress your rats to the point of sickness, and death. It's NEVER a good idea to house cats near rats. Also, you will need to keep an eye on the dog as well. Rat tails will stick out of the cage at some point, and dogs or cats can nip or scratch the tails. I'm not sure if it's the same with rats, but with rabbits, a cat bite is almost always a certain death for them (because of the bacteria in their saliva). I would try to keep the rats separated completely from the cat, and only under supervision with the dog. Congrats on the new ratties, and welcome to the forum! Check out www.joinrats.com for some good info on socializing, and our reference page for good info of diet, and housing.
 
Congrats on the new ratties
Rats are prey animals and it is normal for them to be terrified by the smell of predators such as dogs and cats.
Some rats who are affected by a parasite are not afraid of cats
EDIT: Godmother who is a former member bought a used plastic cat climber for her ratties and brought it into her porch. Although it was cleaned, her pet rats living in an upstairs bedroom were terrified until the cat climber was removed from her home.

You will need to be very careful with your cat and with your dog - many breeds of dogs have a high prey drive and will kill rats
 
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Yes, especially terrier breeds. They were bred to hunt and kill small animals. The parasite she's referring to is toxoplasmosis. It's the same one pregnant women need to avoid, and it's in cat poop or pee I believe. But it infects the rat's brain, and makes it to where the scent of a cat is alluring, thereby making it no longer afraid of the cat.
 
Many rat owners have had both rats and cats or dogs.
Rats are either predators (mice, hamsters, gerbils, AFS, small birds, tortoise, fish, etc) or prey (cats, dogs, ferrets, reptiles, large birds, fish, etc) depending on the other species.
Rats should never be mixed with another species because although it sometimes works out at least in the short term, it means risking lives and often ends with pets being hurt or killed.

Bacteria on cat's claws can kill rodents if they are scratched. Also cats instinctively bat at anything that moves
 
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i'm very aware that rats, cats & dogs should never meet up outside of the cage. i have no intentions of having them all hang out in the same room during free time.

the boys are currently in their cage, running around and playing with all their new toys after only an hour of being home. the cat is sitting on my desk, closely watching them, and the rats have climbed up the cage bars closest to him like they were inspecting him before running off to continue exploring.
 
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