Wed night Hammy got out of his cage. Chewed carpet and not been seen since. We all feel so sad. Left his food out but not been touched. Even worse we have a cat!!!!!!!!!!!!! (who we love very much too) What are his chances and will he return. Turned house inside out but no sign of him. Any tips or advice to a very sad 2 children and mummy and daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would say to set up bucket traps normally but it isnt really safe with a cat in the house as hammy would be trapped and vulnerable to the cat. If its any consolation I had a hamster loose in the house for a week once and we have two dogs and 4 cats. have you tried putting flour on the floor around your skirting boards, if you see little footprints then you know hes still about, not sure how good that would be in a carpetted room though. My cats have never been that interested in hamsters, they are very interested in the quick movements of the gerbils and mice, added to that the fact that hamsters are usually pretty feisty and will normally fight back. Fingers crossed you have him back soon.

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

Do you think hes contained to the room he got out in? If so you could put something stinky down like tuna? Although that may excite the cat a bit. Id also suggest checking in draws, cupboards etc as i found my escaped ham in a drawer snuggled in the clothes. When i was younger i had a ham that had mysterious items keep turning up in her cage, a sock, a piece of potato and other stuff. One day i realised she was getting out but coming back with stuff so if possible leave his cage open on the floor and dont clean it out and he should smell his bed and come back hopefully. Good Luck

We tries bucket traps but what worked was a strawberry on a saucer. He came out sat on the saucer wating strawberry and we picked up the saucer. Oue gerbil got under the floor boardswe had to rip them up and dangle teatowels . so check for holes.

Good luck

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Jarhead and friends

hamsters tend to stick to the corners instead of open floor where theyd be more vunerable so try putting the hamsters cage in the corner of a room you think hes in with a small food trail leading into it

you could also shut your cat in the bedroom with you over night just incase although im sure youd hear the hamster shriek if the cat grabbed hold of it. if you lie down in each room while the house is quiet evening time you might hear some small scuffles after a while which would mean it was in the room youre in and youd know where to block off.

id also leave small shallow dishes of water out as hammy would be quite thirsty by now

really hope you find him x

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My old boy used to escape regularly, he always used to go under the dishwasher! I spotted him run under there one day and sat and waited for him to come out and then grabbed him, and i'd do this everytime he escaped.

As tdm said, I dont think a bucket trap is a good idea with a cat in the house because it would make the hammy very vulnerable.

All I can say is to keep an ear out for scratching and scuffling. I hope you find him safe and sound xxx

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Bob the Chinese Hamster, Jamie the African Pygmy Hedgehog, Bugsy and Nelson the Guinea Pigs, and Stewie, Dora, Jessie and Billy the BunniesR.I.P My Beautiful Bridge Babies

Lost Hammy came out last night and had a good fill up of his feed bowl. His cage is an all plastic one with the grill on top. I put the bottom bit on the floor with his little ladder leading into it. Need a longer ladder for him to reach the top when its on and once in I hope he can't get back out if I remove his tall toys. he can then hide in his usual hidey tubes from the cat till morning. Or anyone know if I can buy a trap to catch him. (cat protection needed) So pleased he is ok. Oh he could be anywhere open plan living in our house. Hope he is not upstairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think that is so cute when they do that - go back to their house! He's probably having a whale of a time right now exploring!

I know someone who lost their hamster for 3 months!! They had to give up and accept that he was gone. But then they were having a new kitchen refitted and guess who turned up a very fat bemused little hamster, who was a bit like - 'oh hiya, you alright.......not seen you in a while,' hehe.

If at all possible I'd probably try and contain your cats to rooms where the hamster is unlikely to be - also - keep them really well fed, basically try to keep them as filled up that they can be without making them ill! Makes them less inclined to run around when their nice and cosy and not hungry. Are they outdoor cats? Can you keep them outside whenever you aren't at home?

Maybe as it's the weekend, get the person who sleeps the lightest to sleep on the sofa tonight! As he'll be sleeping all day and up all night, I think night time is your best time at a successful catch. Maybe put little houses and hidey's down around the place - that way if the cat goes for him - the hamster has somewhere to bolt to that the cat can't get to him - things like kitchen roll paper tubes leading into a house / box - whatever you have really etc - all securely taped up.

Other than that - the idea of getting him in his cage but not able to get back out seems best.

Good luck! I have every faith you'll catch your little man - when he decides he's had enough of living on the wild side.....

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Mummy to 4 piggies, Manny, Floyd, Izzy and Eve, 3 hammie's, Jean Claude van Ham (aka JC), Princess & Prince Philip, 3 Gerbils Itsy, Bitsy and Ditsy. Foster piggies China & Alfie.

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something like this would be good, you could put a smelly food like scrambled eggs or boiled chicken inside it along with hamster food to attract him in the same place as you noticed he ate some food

itd need you to shut in the cats again though incase they scratched him through the mesh

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http://uk.pedigree.com/pedigreeadoptiondrive/ Please take a second to do this vitual dog walk and raise money to save a dogs life! itll only take a minute, thankyou for helping! xx

Glad you got him back ok

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Jarhead and friends