cats and rats can never be friends

it appears timmy was killed last night. took one well aimed slice of my cats claws through the bars of the cage and he died.


right now im real mad at my cat but alas thats what cats DO

Actually they can be, but they should never be unattended together... and I don't understand how the bars of the cage were wide enough for a cat's paw but the rat couldn't escape... :confused:

it is a cat's natural instinct to hunt and be curious about other living creatures in its surroundings. a cat should never be left alone where it has access to other pets or animals that it would normally hunt. my cats don't seem to care about my rats but they are never left unattended in the same room with them. that's just asking for trouble. :(

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Originally Posted by mlededee

it is a cat's natural instinct to hunt and be curious about other living creatures in its surroundings. a cat should never be left alone where it has access to other pets or animals that it would normally hunt. my cats don't seem to care about my rats but they are never left unattended in the same room with them. that's just asking for trouble. :(

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Right on! :rockon:

hes a tiny cat he wasnt supposed to be able to get on the damn chair (i had one of those safe shock things) but he pulled it off by the cord and jumped up there

hes too smart i swear

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Originally Posted by JeriBeri

hes too smart i swear

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you have a new crisis every week. poor little rattie though

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Originally Posted by qiksilver

you have a new crisis every week.

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no doubt. :confused:

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Originally Posted by qiksilver

poor little rattie though

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:sigh2:

well i do have good news. we dont haveta give my wiem up. we have her a new friend and shes calming down altho she isnt listening shes becoming managable! i just cant figure out why shes slapping the poor dog with her paw

Sounds like you need a cage without bars on side. Cats will be cats :sabduel:

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Originally Posted by qiksilver

you have a new crisis every week. poor little rattie though

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uhu

Cats paws will get into everything, cats will climb or jump to everywhere, cats will swat or bite. It's not fair for any caged rat to be attacked by a cat and unable to get away. It's your job to make sure this doesn't occur by putting your rats into an area or type of caging where they cannot be attacked by your cat. It's not the cat's fault, it's just doing what comes naturally to it. When you keep different species you must be responsible for their interactions and prevent this sort of thing from happening by planning ahead for it.

I had an incident with my zebra finches and an outside cat. I am planning on buying wire to attatch to the finch cage that the cat will not be able to fit its paw through. Maybe you could do something like that with your rat cage. Until then, leave the rats in a room where you can close the door when you are not able to supervise them.

When I get a house, I plan on having a room set aside as the "No Kitty Zone". All of my reptiles, rodents, ect will go in that room so my cats can't get to them.