Cats and Rats

[yorkshirelamb]

My mom is interested in getting a pair of rats, so of course I'm passing on the great information here and we can go to a rat rescue in my state. But she is worried since we have four cats at home and if that would be an issue. Will their instincts make them too interested in the rats and will this cause the rats stress? If anyone has both pets and can share stories please let me know.

[pennykit&amanda]

I have both. The cat is actually scared of him, and wants nothing to do with him, but my rat is so curios about everyone hes not afraid of my cat or our dogs. but It really depends on the cat... and the rat. Just avoid direct contact as much as possible.

[crazywiggy]

This is my expereince / opinion...

Predator and prey animals can live in the same household so long as they are kept safe.

Most prey animals will initially react with fear and become stressed by a predator hanging around outside their cage. However, in my experience, once they realise the other animal can not get to them they usually become desensitised to to pretty quickly. (My guinea pigs are more scared of me than my dog - they will sniff and rub noses through the cage bars, and my old rabbit used to deliberately sit by the fence in the garden to wind up the next door neighbours dogs!)

I would just say to make sure the cage is totally cat proof, and that the rats have plenty of places where they can hide and feel secure.

[Taboo]

I have 11 cats and plan on having rats sometime soon. They'll be housed in my room in a big FN143 and only 1 cat goes in my room and she doesn't hurt other rodents/birds.

As long as the rats are housed in another room than the cats (which is recommended in case the rats escape) then it should be fine.

[Ly&Pigs]

I have ratties and one cat. Our 9 year old cat Sassy will watch the ratties play in their cage at times and if she's not hiding away sleeping when the ratties come out to play, she will sometimes watch them then. She went after Popeye once when Popeye was still young and I had him out for playtime on the couch and she was quickly told no in a rather loud stern voice and since then she hasn't tried to go after one again.

What's funny is that Sassy is afraid of the guinea pigs and will go hide in another room when the pigs are out.

If you are going to have both you just have to keep safety concerns in the back of your head at all times when you have them out.

[Should I?]

We have cats and rats. The rats are not stressed out by the cats, they are rather interested in them. I caught one of our young female rats and our 3 month old kitten playing together today. The kitten was sitting on top of the cage and kind of batting the bars while the rat would chase her paw. If the kitten moved to the other side of the cage the rat would FOLLOW her! And would keep playing with her. It was so funny and sweet to watch. The rat kept following her paw. (the bar spacing is 1/4 of an inch and no way the kitten could accidentally hurt the rat).