Hello guys!

This is actually my first official post here. It looks like a great place to learn

I could really do with some honest and sound advice!

What is the reality of keeping a cat as a pet, if you have gerbils (or any smaller household pet) in the same house?
Is it too difficult? Is it manageable? Do you have some tips or advice for how to "teach" a cat to not intefere or try to get into the cages all the time?

The other issue is this: how do you even find out how a cat will behave in the early stages of bringing a cat into your home? Do you allow the cat to sniff around and let it explore, to get comfortable? Or do you try and teach from the start to try and keep it away from the cages?

I have heard of people saying to use certain sprays, or foil around cages to ward the cat away - are these things that really work? Is there anything else to try?

I would truly appreciate any help/tips/advice, especially from those who have kept cats and smaller pets in the house before

Thank you so much!

To be honest they really should be kept seperate ie. have one room with the small fluffies in that the cat has no access too. I think it is unfair on the small prey animals to have to be around a predator all the time that they can't escape from and can smell 24/7. Most small things like gerbils hamsters etc are nocturnal as are cats, so they maybe fine during the day when you are about but at night you could risk smallies getting injured and traumatised by the cat.
I know a lady that kept rats and ferrets in the same room - the rats were always ill as they were continuously stressed out, when the ferrets were moved outside the rats were totally fine. Cats are only doing what nature intended them to do and it's hard to undo thousands of years of evolution and instinct!!

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Cats cannot be trusted around small prey animals, no matter what. To a cat, it's food or at least, a plaything, and you can't undo thousands of years of hunting instinct. So they must be kept separate at all times. Even so, you may have a cat who sees it as his duty to kill the rodents and will not be distracted from his mission. Some cats will refuse to play with toys if they know there's a real mouse/hamster/gerbil in the vicinity. So if you are going to keep both, then be very careful.

My friend had a cat and even though he was elderly he was always getting hold of her son's hamsters. After the third one was caught and killed, they decided not to have hamsters again until the cat had passed. He was a wonderful mouser and simply didn't see the difference between the mice and voles he caught in the garden and field beyond, and the hamsters in the bedroom.

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Rescue cats for many years, currently one moggie and 3 young Maine Coons.

Should be fine with gerbils - my friend has 4 rescue cats and a gerbil cage in the centre of the living room!! They had 2 gerbils, one died of old age and the other one is still going strong at about 4 years old! Sometimes the cats watch the cage and take a playful swipe, but it's well protected (it's a gerbilarium with a deep plastic base). I have a hamster in my bedroom, and so far I don't think Treacle has noticed her, nor has she noticed him! Best advice is to ensure the cage is protective

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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

I have a cat which is fine with rabbits dogs and other cats but try all i like i can't stop him attempting to get at the guinea pigs and anything smaller....my daughters friends came round last year on her birthday and Mr Nobody left the top on the hamster cage open obviously I didn't see or I'd have shut it but the next i saw of the hamster was in the cats mouth....however many times I'd shoo'd him away from the cage he still killed him at the first and only opportunity he got, kept well apart it works ok b you just have t make sure the cat cant get to the smaller animal

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Staffy x Lab almost 10...Fizz
Ginger Tom 2 1/2...Tilly
Bichon x King charles spanel 1 yr 10 months
Latest addition Tex the black shep 11 1/2 years foster pooch
How can I forget my fish..i have 13 tropical fish too...err...2 cats 2 neon and one lemon tetra...2 err...will have to go look and get back on that one i can't remember the names lol
My Dogs are the centre of my world
RIP Dolly Sadly Passed away 7pm 6/3.2011

I agree considering the two species involved I would definitely separate them. Mind you gerbils are pretty good at defending themselves-heard of a case recently where a cat has an infection in his paw which originated from a bite from a gerbil! Apparently he'd been poking it through the cage bars.

I second the keeping them in seperate rooms advice.

When I lived at home we had two ex farm cats and a dog and all was fine until my Sister's boyfriend at the time bought her a dwarf Hamster as a present

One cat totally ignored it......the other spent hours keeping guard on her bedroom and on the odd occasion when he sneaked in he quickly learnt to knock the cage off the shelf to "release" his prize.

Luckily the Hamster managed to survive but wasn't replaced! Arthur spent hours watching and waiting so I really would keep them apart as you can't ever trust a cat not to get the rodent!

Okay, thanks so much for your advice.

I understand keeping them seperate is an option, which I'd consider.

I also wonder this - if my gerbils were in a very heavy, glass aquarium-type cage, which should be too heavy for a cat to move, would that be safe?

I would never want to use one of those light, plastic cages in case the cat could move it or push it... I was hoping weight and glass might prevent the cat from getting at it or moving it... Do you think that might work?

We have 2 cats (one who is 14 months, one is 6 months) They live in complete harmony with our hamster. They often even sit nose to nose with each other through the bars! The hamster is not scared of the cats one bit. Neither cat have ever gone for the hamster, they often sit watching him, the hamster will come right up to the bars, I'm sure they're friends! His cage is padlocked securely and is also attached to the wall with a hook just in case the cats did get playful with him but they never have. Our youngest kitten did sit on top of the cage a couple of times when we first got him, out of curiosity I think, but he doesn't bother doing that any more.

Thanks for your reply, VixB.
Can I ask you a couple more questions? You said you attach your cage to the wall - can I ask how you actually did that? SOunds like a good idea to keep the hamster safe Also, do use a normal wire cage or a type of aquarium? Which do you believe may be safer?

Thanks again!