Anyone else have cat problems?

I got my first BP about 2 weeks ago, and my cat's just now starting to realize that he exists. She likes to hop on his cage (conveniently located on the bottom shelf of one of my fish tank stands) and stare at him through the screen lid. She also spends alot of her time gazing at the front glass of the tank now.

Are these cat behaviors problems that will excessively stress out the snake, or am I worrying too much about it? And if they are a problem, has anyone else dealt with stopping them successfully?

Thats an easy fix. Introduce the snake to the cat by placing the snake around the cats neck. And make sure the snake gets a nice firm grip. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Darkice

Thats an easy fix. Introduce the snake to the cat by placing the snake around the cats neck. And make sure the snake gets a nice firm grip. :gj:

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Sarcasm, right?

My cat was always curious too...as long as you know your tank is secure and the snake can't get out and the cat can't get in, you will be OK.

Now, my cat is bored with the snakes and couldn't care less about what's in the cage :rolleyes:

I think there is a risk (not necessarily absolute) of stressing the poor guy out--having a cat stare at him constantly may be frightening to an especially shy BP. I think it all depends on how your BP reacts.

A cat's still a predator, and a snake is lower on it's food chain. (unless it's a huge one!)

That said, I banned my cats from my room but at EVERY chance they get, they'll run/sneak/trample their way in to stare at my empty glass tank--my corn used to live there before I moved... and they'll sit there for HOURS thinking there's still something in there.

Silly creatures.

lmao. i have the same issue with my cat.

i also just banned all other animals from coming into my room. my cat would stare into the tubs and just sit there.... soon as i noticed it, i took her out.

i know the tubs are secure, and theres no way my cats gonna get a snake lol, but i just dont want fur or paw prints on the tubs :rolleyes:

My snakes are in tubs in a utility closet off my living room. As are my rats. My cat doesn't even seem to know we have snakes until we handle them. She's way more interested in the rat tubs, bearded dragon and our dubia colony.

The best way to deter a cat is to think of something that will cause them displeasure within 3 seconds of doing an unacceptable action whether you are there or not. I like to use tape sticky side up but I wouldn't recommend that near a snake as snakes & tape don't get along.

My cat enjoyed watching at first, and will still watch occasionally, but my snakes seem to bore him now. He'd much rather play with toys that jangle...

The sticky tape idea is actually not bad in theory--hey, you can try a trick people use to prevent dogs from jumping on the couch. Basically you cut up a... those prickly mats people clean snow/mud/dirt from their shoes in strips, and hot glue the strips to the tub cover. So it prickles their behind when they try to sit/lay on it.

The thing with cats is their claws/saliva have special bacteria that's toxic to birds--so even if you "save" a bird from a cat, without proper antibiotics, it'll still die. I don't know how dangerous it is to other animals but I don't know if I'd risk it.

My cats are way more interested in my rats than my snakes. Both cats have also been struck at (no contact) by a snake so I think they know that snakes mean bad news. At least I hope so incase a little snake gets out they may think twice before attacking it.

My cat was very intrigued with my snakes when I first got them. I introduced them and when he went to go swat at it I verbally corrected the behavior. My kitty is pretty smart and he got the point that they were off limits. Now he doesn't care at all; sometimes I see him over by my rack peering into the tubs but I'm not worried about him getting in. He'd much rather sleep than waste more than 2 minutes standing outside the tubs.

My cats come running when I am cleaning out my racks. They love to sit and watch the snakes as I take them out to clean out the tub. My one cat will stand on his hind legs to get a better view sometimes. If I put one of the snakes next to the cat (while I am holding the snakes head of course) he will smell the snake and look at me, smell the snake and look at me. It is pretty funny. Sometimes I see them laying in front of my rack systems watching the snake if it is moving. Anyway if your lid is the type you can remove and is held on with clips you should have no problem. If it is one of those tanks that has the lid that slides out of a track watch out it does not fall in to the tank. I had that happen to me with a 40 breeder. I had a monitor in it. The cats loved to lay on it.

i actually cover my rack with a sheet on the front to keep my animals out of each others contacts... I have one really high strung animal that is having a hard time adjusting to the cats. The animals that have the biggest problem with the cats are on the upper shelves, whereas the animals that couldn't care less are more towards the bottom.

I also reprimand my cats if they're pestering the snakes (one likes to bat at the tub... silly cat), with a water bottle/spray bottle. that usually makes them forget.

I dont use tanks anymore, but the cats KNOW they aren't aloud on the top of the rack, ever.

I suggest you purchase a product called "Sss Cat". It's a spray mechanism that will activate when your cat goes near something you do not want it to. This has worked with all of my cats around my snakes. Set it up near your tanks and I guarantee your cats will not go near them again.

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Originally Posted by Nate

Sarcasm, right?

My cat was always curious too...as long as you know your tank is secure and the snake can't get out and the cat can't get in, you will be OK.

Now, my cat is bored with the snakes and couldn't care less about what's in the cage :rolleyes:

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Yes sarcasm. My cat used to always sit on top of my glass cages with screne tops. After a while he started breaking the screnes. I had to put a door on my basement to keep him out. I think he like it because it was warm. He seemed uninterested in the reptiles inside. He has on ocasion tried to steal Asf's while im getting them ready for feeding.

My cats used to sleep on top of my tanks. If I still had tanks I think they would break the screens as big as one of my boys are now. My tanks used to sit on my kitchen table, and the cats weren't *actually* allowed up there, so they never acutally watched through the glass. They were either on top of the tanks (which didn't seem to bother the snakes) or they were on the floor where they couldn't see the tanks.

They don't really mess with the rack at all, but I also don't have any animals in the bottom 3 shelves (soon to be fixed!) The only time they really pay attention to the snakes anymore is during feeding. Since I feed live they are much more attracted to the mice and rats that I bring home, and they like to watch the feedings.

One of my boys has gotten popped a few times, and squirted once or twice for getting too close or too focused on one of the snakes when I have them out. Now any time he comes in the room and there is a snake out, he squints his eyes and just glares at the snake from across the room... it's pretty funny. :P

Haha, also, a good way to correct the cat is making a low mrrrr noise as they get closer to the racks/tubs that increases in volume and severity the closer they get (I'm sure we've all heard this warning from a grouchy feline) and the moment they touch it, you make a quick, fftt sound. This is the correction mama-cats usually give their kittens if they the kittens wander too close to a dangerous area.

For adult cats, it's a "get away!" or "mine!" usually accompanied by a slap or a scratch.

Sometimes, to correct a behavior, using the animal's "native" language is more effective.

=^^=

Our 3 cats don't care about the snakes. However, the one cat who I adopted (she hates me too! :weirdface) loves to mess with the geckos.

She has pounced on top of Spike's cage and pulled him out like a ragdoll (you know that juggling motion cats do when picking up and playing with a toy using their front paws), leaving several small scars on him. Luckily he ran and hid, I found him after about 5 minutes.

The second time she pushed his cage off of the shelf, causing the lid to fall off and him to run out and under my bed (mind you, I woke up to a crashing sound because this shelf is right next to my bed)... Took longer to find him but he was unharmed and still had his tail...

I just keep the door closed now if I'm gone for a while and during the night. That cat has it out for that gecko, no matter how much I chase her out and spray her with the mister. She knows she isn't supposed to go in my room now, if she comes walking in all I have to do is say her name to scare her off. Doesn't stop her from trying though...

Thanks for the advice everyone! Its great to see so many responses so quickly.
I'd love to bad the cat from my room, but I live in a 1 bedroom apartment so that might be a little hard. So far, she responds to spray bottles, but limitedly...shes a very tenacious feline. I do have a screen top but since the cat's been up there so much, I used a towel on top of it to block visual contact. Its held down right now by a ~10lb bag of sand, so its not going anywhere. My snake has been hiding/climbing in his fake vines around the top rim of the tank though...is this a sign of stress or just hanging out behavior? I think he also might be going into shed but I can't quite tell. He's got a tiny pink tint to his belly but no hazy eye caps yet.

Also, I've been covering the one open side of the tank (other three walls are painted black) with a towel at night to help minimize snake-cat interactions.

My cats did the same thing at first when they first saw the snakes, and like another person mentioned they soon got bored with it. Now I'm going through it again with the foster kittens, lol. Just make sure the tank is secure and that your two pets never interact beyond gazing at each other through the glass or screen. If you're still stressed about it you can always spray the cat with water when you catch it up there. The spray bottle is my friend on feeding day, because it's a real pain trying to drop feeders into tubs when you have four curious cats under your feet trying to get to the rodents.

Edit: Forgot to add that the only real problem with the cat sitting on the lid is that over time they can cause the screening to sag, so if you're worried about that keep it off.

Set up a 10 gal with a super strong screen top and get a mouse with a wheel, I did this with a mouse that one of my snakes refused to eat and now my cats (6 of them) find the mouse tank WAY more interesting than the snakes.

Haha...great idea with the mouse cage, but I certainly don't need another tank right now....we have 6 fish tanks plus the snake.
I used the screen top to pin down the towel now so the cat can't pull it up. I also did the balled up paper trick yesterday and he seems to be much more secure so far. Its weird though because he was almost always in hides for the first week here, and then he decided to roam alot (in ways its said to be a sign of stress).

I don't have any problems, and I have two cats. My female cat ignores the mouse tanks, usually. She'll glance at them occationally when she's sitting on my bed wanting petted. The male will sometimes wander in, stand on the floor, stare at the tanks, then leave. I broke them both early. Squirtbottles for the win.

Try taping a thin black cloth on top of the screen, which still allows plenty of air flow, but makes it impossible for the cat to see the snake from above. That will make the cat not be as interested in laying on top and looking down. As for staring into it...well, just give snakie plenty of places to hide! Kitty will get bored before long. My cat is only interested in the snakes when they're out, now.

Of my three cats, only one is particularly inquisitive, and he can't jump high enough to get at my snake because the tank is on top of a 4 ft bookshelf (thank goodness I have wimpy cats). He has tried to climb my leg while I'm standing in front of the tank, though.

The best approach I've found is to pick the cat up when the snake is hiding and let the cat see the tank. Mine thought it was empty and is now pretty disinterested. He is occasionally interested on feeding day, but as soon as he puts his front paws up on the bookshelf, I push him back down and say "NO!" He got the idea pretty quickly.

I gave up on shooing my younger (more curious) cat away, and put her bed on top of the rack. :D She was never that interested in the snakes themselves, just the heat their tubs provided. When I got breeder mice, however, that was a different story... she harasses them whenever possible, so they now live behind closed doors in the shower/toilet portion of my bathroom. Cats do lose interest in things over time, with the exception of live rodents in a cage. :cool: