Also, please if anyone can say what the best way is to "introduce" a cat to the gerbils, I'd appreciate that. I don't know whether to expose them to each other would be better, or whether to get them to be as much apart as possible!

After my loving gentle cats somehow opened a safe door to another room and ate our 3 roborovskis I wouldn't ever have the two together again.

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please look at my website - www.finesthourcats.webs.com - for gorgeous GCCF registered RagaMuffins and Selkirk Rex

Spid - I'm so sorry to hear that. This is my fear. Can I ask - what type of cage you used? Wire? Aquarium?

I have my hamster in a Maxi Duna Fun Large - it has a deep plastic base, then a small wire section, then a plastic top section with a flat wire lid. Very protective! She lives in my bedroom though, and Treacle's not allowed in there unsupervised, as he loves to explore all the small nooks and crannies, and I'm worried that something might fall down on him!! So he's only ever in there when I'm around!!

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RIP Charcoal my shy girl 1987-2000, Patch the wanderer 1987-?, Tabby my darling fluffball 1988-2002 & Panda the rascal 1988-2008

Treaclesmum - Thanks for your reply So you think a plastic based cage will be safe enough? My plan is to have the cat and cage in the same room ONLY when I am in, and when I am going out, I'll put the cage in the other room and put the lock on the door. Do you think that could work? I hope so.

My other idea is to perhaps use aquarium style cages, so it's large and heavy and the cat can't nudge it around if it manages to get access...

It was a huge rotastack - in a separate room with a hook and eye lock and a door wedge jammed hard underneath - we went out one night and found that the cats had broken in tot eh room (lord knows how) and consistently bashed the rotastack so hard there had cracked the plastic on the sides and then proceeded to wreck havoc in the room. We couldn't shift the door wedge without a hammer - how they moved it we don't know - but . . .where there is a cat with a will there is a way.

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please look at my website - www.finesthourcats.webs.com - for gorgeous GCCF registered RagaMuffins and Selkirk Rex

I had lots of animals growing up.

For many years, I trained and raised rats. We kept them in the heavy aquariums with wire and wood covers. Those were very heavy! My cats liked to sleep on top of the covers, if they got into the rooms. My rats showed no signs of fear and were very curious about the cats. One would climb on top of her wheel and "groom" the part of the cat she could reach.

We also had those decorative hamster cages when I and my cats were all much older. One cat in particular would sit and watch the hamsters like they were a TV show. Again, I observed no signs of stress from the hamsters. However, I would remove those light cages to a closed room when I slept or went to work.

I really do think it depends on the animals in question.

The only pet-caused death of a small animal that happened in our house was when we had a dog. A hamster escaped and the dog (a super-loving girl) found him. She loved the poor guy to death. He either drowned in drool or had a heart attack, but she was whimpering and grooming him when we found them. It was so sad. :< She just wanted to be friends.

She was a really gentle dog. My sister once rescued a kitten who was born with some kind of genetic problem that resulted in a gigantic head and tiny body. Buttons took such a protective, cuddling, mother-like stance with her. She didn't live very long and she passed purring next to Buttons' tummy. I miss Buttons. (She was poisoned by some burglars.)

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KockiKi - Thanks for your reply That's so sad about the dog getting the hamter! It seems as if he felt so bad, bless him.

Well, one of the main bits of advice I will take on board is simply only allowing the cat near the cages in the day when I am around, and to take the cages in a locked seperate room while I am out shopping or at work etc.

I am also tempted to buy a heavy-dute glass type aquarium cage, as those seem to be the safest.

Our cage is a plastic based / wire type, its quite a big one, the top part has two levels. We've hooked it to the wall using an old curtain tie back hook, it fits through the bars and then we turn it and it secures the cage if that makes sense! (my creative husband came up with the idea We've also put tiny padlocks through all the various doors on it so they can't be opened either. it has honestly never been an issue. I was worried when we got our first cat but other than natural curiosity, on both parts, they've got along fine.