This may possibly be the stupidest question ever

[sashasmahbabeh]

OK, heres the situation. We recently picked up a BP (who I have since fallen for) for my daughter, and my wife seems to think its okay for the cats to frolic around while Sasha (the BP) is out, and I am holding her, playing with her, etc. I realize that cats can hurt her, but the missus seems oblivious of this. I have tried to explain that the damn cat can hurt my baby, and I would rather feed her to the snake, if Sasha were big enough to eat her, but Annie (the missus) does not seem to take heed of ANYTHING I say, so can someone with a bit more experience in this area please help me figure out a way to get my point across without the cat just magically disappearing one day. I am almost to that point. In my eyes, Sasha (the BP) is the sweetest, friendliest, most docile creature in the world, and if it comes down to it ever, she will eat before I do. To put it simply, I have completely fallen in love with her, and snakes in general. How to tell the spouse to keep that damn feline away from my girl?

[Royal Tartan]

deff could be problems there my friend , we have two cats and a dog ...our snakes are never out when they are around ...the other pets go elsewhere when I have ANY snake out ...heck even a live prey item ( mouse/rat ) can cause considerable damage to a BP , if left unattended. Survival is a very strong instinct in all animals.

Cats like to 'play' but this could be devasting to your snake. Now if it was a 18 foot + female Burmese...the odds would swing in favour of it ...sadly ..BP'S are not Burms ( well actually glad there not but ya get my drift , lol )

Its a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay bad idea .

I can only suggest , if your good lady does not wanna listen , that you ONLY have Sasha out when the cat is elsewhere, much safer .

[frankykeno]

Well a huge ongoing fight with your spouse is never going to help and you're a guy, so you will lose LOL. Sorry, couldn't resist!

Please tell your wife we have a rescue here with healed cat scratches. She will carry the scars for her lifetime. In that particular case the cat jumped up and went down through a screened lid of a glass tank this snake was in prior to us owning it. Cats are natural predator, are very playful, inquisitive and reactive to movement so it's not the cat's fault or the snake's fault. It's up to us humans to be the ones that think and plan ahead so our pets don't come into conflict with each other.

Since ball pythons don't need or even like a lot of extended handling perhaps you can set up a household schedule for certain evenings when the snake is out for 30 minutes and the cat is put away in a bedroom. It's not like the snake should be out for hours anyways so a short time put away in the bedroom shouldn't be a problem for the kitty and will prevent a very foreseeable problem.

[darkangel]

Put it in perspective for her. Ask her how she would feel if you bought a huge dog that hated cats and allowed the dog free reign of the house without protecting the cats first.

[MeMe]

Well a huge ongoing fight with your spouse is never going to help and you're a guy, so you will lose LOL. Sorry, couldn't resist!

Ahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!

you rock Jo!

[Freakie_frog]

How to tell the spouse to keep that damn feline away from my girl?

Like this: keep that damn feline away from my girl!

LOL

[slartibartfast]

Speaking as someone who lives significant numbers of both cats and snakes, I don't find it hard at all to keep them seperated*.

I hold the snake in my lap and if an inquisitive cat gets too near, a quick spray from a handy water bottle convinces them not to get any closer. It's simple, inexpensive, and painless and nobody has to lose their home.

At no point do I take my eyes off the snake anyway...they are so quick to get into the couch cushions...so it's not like I'd fail to see a cat coming. Also, I am familiar with my cats and their individual levels of prey drive. Some of them have zero interest in chasing anything, while others will pursue anything that moves. There are cats who I am comfortable allowing to sniff the snakes, and others who are definitely kept away.

*assuming I am smart enough to remember to close the tub. My poor little pastel got out and was lost for two days and the cats played pretty hard with him, but he recovered well and now just has lots of scars to show for it. I tell him it makes him look very butch, but he is unconvinced.

[ctrlfreq]

my wife seems to think its okay for the cats to frolic around while Sasha (the BP) is out, and I am holding her, playing with her, etc.

As long as you're holding and playing with her, it should be fine, just bat the cats away, since you are the dominant animal in that particular relationship. I agree with the squirt bottle idea, and while it may be more effective this way, there is the chance that it may lead to the need for marriage counseling should you use it on the wife instead of the cats.

[MeMe]

there is the chance that it may lead to the need for marriage counseling should you use it on the wife instead of the cats.

or a even hospital visit!

My brother was over visiting the other day and he grabbed my water bottle and squirted me right in the butt and then told my kids that is was buttcrack sweat!

I wanted to knock him out!

Of course my kids thought it was hillarious!

[Melicious]

I had a similar spat with my roommate. We compromised. All the snakes stay in my room, and when I want to bring them out, she puts the cats in their room. Plain and simple.