Concerning cats and BPs

I'm currently in the process of preparing for a ball python. I'm still living with my parents and one of their main concerns with me having a snake is the fact that there are four cats (and two dogs but I'm not worried about them) in the house and they're worried as soon as I bring the snake in, they're going to kill the BP.

I'm going to be keeping it in a tub with a good locking lid so I'm not worried about the cats being able to get into it easily. My bedroom door's shut 90% of the time if I'm in there or not so the cats wouldn't be in there anyways. What can I say to help them understand my belief that the cats won't kill it? They don't think the BP striking at them would stop the cat.

i think wht they are trying to do is stop you from getting an exotic pet, maybe they dont like snakes, if they dont like the gurth of the bp, get a colubrid, preferably a corn snake, there fairly small, and a good beginner snake, my mom had always said she would never get a pet snake, but after i got my bp she fell in love with him, and also, to try nd get her to think the cat wont get it, i would get a tank if you only have one snake, its easier with just one and a tank, but for the cat situation, my cats loved watching my snake when he was out at night, but then one got eaten by my visious dog, then the other one just kind have stopped watching after a few days of it being there, so just tell her tht its all safe, the cats will just look, my snake has actually looked at my cat and did the "s" neck thing, but then i stroked his back nd he just laid in a ball in my hand.

I have two cats and 6 ball pythons. they even interact. Cats never attacked the snakes and visa versa. The only time I have a problem is when I feed them live rats. Than the cats get excited. LOL

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Originally Posted by decensored

I have two cats and 6 ball pythons. they even interact. Cats never attacked the snakes and visa versa. The only time I have a problem is when I feed them live rats. Than the cats get excited. LOL

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same with my cat, he always gets right up against the tub i feed him in, and its crazy, he always wants to pounce then i stomp on the ground nd he spazzes out and runs off .:P

yea feeding time with cats is interesting but other than that you shouldn't have a problem

Thanks for your advice. After a bit more questioning, my mom's admitted that she didn't think the cats would be a problem but she wouldn't want to end up taking care of it and also she doesn't understand why I want a snake. :rolleyes:

my mom was the same way,the only thing u have to do is feed it nd make sure temps nd humidity are good, and thts all she wont have anything to worry about, also, theyre addicting so tell her tht yu just have a passion now!:taz:

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Originally Posted by Jasonx

my mom was the same way,the only thing u have to do is feed it nd make sure temps nd humidity are good, and thts all she wont have anything to worry about, also, theyre addicting so tell her tht yu just have a passion now!:taz:

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very true :clap:

Well, you could always tell your mom You want a RTB or a reticulated python. ;) lol. You shouldn't have a problem, ball python wise I had problem and our Black Pastel bit him.on the nose and since then our cat has never even came near our balls. Now... my fiancée's cat IA different it likes to screw with my Burmese Python Because it does whatever gets it in trouble. Which in turn has made our Burmese a little problem to work with. But...to.be honest.. if your cat gets bit it shouldn't try again. ;)

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Originally Posted by zeion97

Well, you could always tell your mom You want a RTB or a reticulated python. ;)

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Imagine a parents face when you tell them you want a Reticulated Python. They would be like "yeah sure" and when you start walking away you say "Oh, and they get to be 20+ feet by the way" lol so funny.

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Originally Posted by Viperk

Imagine a parents face when you tell them you want a Reticulated Python. They would be like "yeah sure" and when you start walking away you say "Oh, and they get to be 20+ feet by the way" lol so funny.

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Lmao. I did That's to my mom with our first Burmese.. burmy a full 28 inches.. (R.I.P. 10/11/2011) but she saw it And said "OMG it's so cute" then she said "I can't wait till It gets 4 feet and full grown" I said "oh yeah, 4 feet? Try more like 8-12" And she actually wet her pants it scared her. That was the funniest day of my life. :) lol

Ahahaa I'd probably get kicked in the ass (figuratively, not literally) if I said I wanted a Retic. That's maybe too much snake for me for a while. I'd love to have a pretty Retic sometime in the future, but not while I'm still in my parents' house. (Retics are actually what got me into snakes (or at least not scared of them) in the first place - got to pet one all the time when I was younger - I think it was a 20+ foot albino now that I think about it. S/he was a big snake.)

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

Ahahaa I'd probably get kicked in the ass (figuratively, not literally) if I said I wanted a Retic. That's maybe too much snake for me for a while. I'd love to have a pretty Retic sometime in the future, but not while I'm still in my parents' house. (Retics are actually what got me into snakes (or at least not scared of them) in the first place - got to pet one all the time when I was younger - I think it was a 20+ foot albino now that I think about it. S/he was a big snake.)

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Retics are in my top five favorite breeds. ID love to own one, but with Illinois having a 15 ft limit, ID rather not chance it. I do love handling them though. :) I actually had the Chance to handle a almost 15 footer. Mean little/big devil! They're so miss understood though... my friend has a 18 foot female who's docile and as calm as can be..

The cats could and would kill a young bp and if not kill maim and possibly kill from an infection. I'm pretty sure that the bp striking at them would only entice them more. Keep the snake in its cage whenever the cats are around or the door is open. When you take it out make sure no cats are in the room and keep the door shut. I would just explain to your parents the way you're going to handle the snake, the fact you'll NEVER let the snake and cats meet and the locked set-up you'll have.

There's only one experienced hunter out of the four we have and he doesn't really care. We have a old fart who's calm as could be (doesn't even play), one who's terrified of anything that moves, and one that's a little too big for his britches (and he's got big britches - he's a Maine Coon). But yeah. I would never allow the cats to be in the same room as the snake especially if the snake were loose and would be extremely careful in always making sure the lid was locked properly.

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Originally Posted by decensored

I have two cats and 6 ball pythons. they even interact. Cats never attacked the snakes and visa versa. The only time I have a problem is when I feed them live rats. Than the cats get excited. LOL

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Ditto. They love watching me feed the snakes, I have 3 cats. They don't mess with the ball pythons because they stay hidden most of the time and are slow moving. They were more interested in the geckos and I had to actually block access for a while, lol.

I have 1 8 year old cat and 3 kittens. They dont really care for Lily, though they like to sit on top of her cage. Whenever I have her out they care more about my hand than the snake on it. The two younger ones will actually let her sit on them while they sleep. Once Garbage(oldest kitten) was sleeping and I put the snake on him and he woke up, looked at her, looked away, did a double take and jumped 3 feet and fell off the table! Cats are weird. Anyway, just make sure you have tank clips and supervise the snake when its out of its cage.

Be careful with the lid you choose. If it is a screen type top, then watch out if you have fat cats. One of my two cats likes to lay on top of the tank(mainly because i have a towel on top of it to maintain temps), I'm just glad it's the 7 pound cat and not my 22 pounder. Yeh, you heard right, he's a big boy!

It sounds like it would be easy for you to keep your future snake and cats separated.

Worse case scenario would probably be the snake escaping and being found by the cats, who are always inquisitive, and harming the snake with their claws. I doubt a well cared for cat would kill a bp, unless the cat is particularly vicious. Bp's have a pretty good defense mechanism (balling up and protecting their head).

I would recommend reinforcing your tub lid with several bungie cords to prevent the snake's escape. Bps can be really strong and they will find the weak spots in your tub.

Ball pythons make great pets and have many positive attributes. Low maintenance, generally docile and they're just plain adorable / awesome.

The only advice I'd give is that, if you get a baby, that you keep she/he in the tank when the cats are around. Or that you hold on to it and walk around. My cat is somewhat interested in my young male BP.

But if you get a little bit older snake, (which I would recommend for a first snake, as hatchlings can be frustrating and picky about feeding) maybe a year or two old, the cat might be afraid of it. I know that when my large female is in her tank (though she's a bit larger than perhaps you would want to start out with), the cat will sit and watch her, and she will likewise watch the cat (The 75 gallon tank is on the ground in my office room). In the case of my female, I'd be more afraid for the cat if Isis got out of her tank. Which I think my kitty knows because whenever I take Isis out of her tank the cat bolts and hides. She can sense the danger. :P

Overall though, no worries. Just try to keep the cat off the lid of the enclosure, especially if it's a wire mesh top on an aquarium as those can get warped from the weight of the cat.

I'm surprised they are more worried about the snake than their cats, lol. I have four cats and one of them is a killer. He will kill anything that comes in this house, birds, rabbits, mice, rats, etc. He has even killed two shrews in our house, don't ask me how, I didn't even know Iowa had shrews till he killed one. Snakes are actually one of the very few things he doesn't want to kill, although, it one got lose, I wouldn't put it past any of the cats to play the snake to death. Just make sure your snake can't escape and it will be fine.