Introductions New Guinea pigs and a Kitty!

[ForeverEmber]

I'm getting new guinea pigs very soon and I am just a little bit worried about my cat.

I am inheriting a large cage with a closed top so that he cant easily get in. My door locks when I'm away but while I am sleeping he just walks right in all the time
My cat has never been around a pet rodent before but he definitely hunts mice! Does anyone else have cats and piggies and how do they react?
I really don't want him terrorizing them trying to put his paws in the cage or anything like that.

Can you offer advice on introducing them and teaching the cat that the piggies are my pets?

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Usually cats are curious at first. They might try sticking paws in the cage, but the guinea pigs usually just move away. After awhile the cats seem to lose interest. None of my cats have ever considered the guinea pigs as prey.

However, you should always supervise any interaction between them.

 

[ForeverEmber]

here is a picture of my cat trying to climb between the cage and the wall to get them... he wouldn't leave my room all night!

 

[Princess_Piggie]

I would advise using dog style training on your cat, it seems to work for plenty of people. Cats are incredible clever and with perseverance can be very well trained.

Get your kitty (who's super cute by the way!) a lead and collar. Have plenty of his favourite treats in hand. Walk him in to your room on the lead, and if he gets excited, trying to get at the cage etc, walk him out. Wait a minute, then go back in. Repeat until he's calm walking in, then provide a treat. Continue doing this while gradually getting closer to the cage. Eventually, he'll pick up that being calm and ignoring the cage is a good behavior. Once he's picked this up on a lead, try it with him off the lead. The lead is only there so you can control him, ensuring he doesn't try any funny business with the piggies. This may take a good few days, so do it every evening to ensure the lesson is sticking until you're sure it's stuck with him.

 

[ForeverEmber]

The cage is right beside my door so this might be a little difficult. I will try it once I find a lead though...
Last night he was meowing and wondering how the heck he could get to them .. but this morning he seems to be calming down and he was just laying down to watch them.
Thank you for your advice

 

[Epiphaneee]

[MENTION=30190]ForeverEmber[/MENTION] -- You've gotten some really great advice about teaching your kitty to be nice to your piggies. But just an FYI, we've had our piggies for 6 months & both our cats have been taught to not mess with them. One of the them is usually OK with it. He'll hang out & watch "Piggy TV" & is pretty casual about the whole thing. But in all honesty, I wouldn't trust him with them on his own. Not even for a minute. I've seen him go over to the cage when the piggies are running laps. His pupils dilated & he definitely went into that "Hunt-Catch-Kill" mode. If given the opportunity, he would have them for lunch. And I don't mean as guests. haha And our other kitty is even worse. Our cage is a 2X6 size & right after we got it, I was down at one end spot cleaning, and the kitty ran through the kitchen & launched herself into the other end of the cage! Fortunately, I was right there & able to grab her & toss her back onto the floor. But she has tried to get in since then & the second time, she was much more sneaky about it. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but I had my husband change the cage design so it now has 2 doors. That way, the kitty can't go in on one side while I'm doing piggy stuff at the other. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry in this case! Our little huntress kitty still climbs up & will stick her paw through the bars. (I'm sure it's all completely innocent & she only wants to "pet" them.) Yeah, right! So we never walk away with one of the doors open. Cats are fast & our piggies wouldn't stand a chance. And I've heard terrible stories about friendly family dogs & cats doing serious piggy damage. So please, no matter how well your kitty takes to the training, do be careful.

 

[ForeverEmber]

of course i got a closed cage to keep him out and would never leave him with them for a second! my door is always locked when i leave the room

its day 2 and hes definitely not as crazed about them as he was the first day. hes just been watching and not even using his paws.

 

[Epiphaneee]

of course i got a closed cage to keep him out and would never leave him with them for a second! my door is always locked when i leave the room

its day 2 and hes definitely not as crazed about them as he was the first day. hes just been watching and not even using his paws.

I remember you said you were getting a closed cage. And obviously, you were going to be an excellent piggy parent. I mean, you were concerned & posted about it before you even got them! But it's still really encouraging that your kitty is being good about it. I'd imagine that from a kitty's POV, a pair of piggies would be quite a tasty treat. I can just see the little kitty thought balloon. haha The good news is that there's no harm in a cat imagining a piggy feast. So you have gotten through Day 2. Many congrats to you! How are you adjusting to your new life with piggies? Are they settling in well? Are you going to introduce them & tell us a little about their personalities? And I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but we just love pigtures!

 

[ForeverEmber]

I remember you said you were getting a closed cage. And obviously, you were going to be an excellent piggy parent. I mean, you were concerned & posted about it before you even got them! But it's still really encouraging that your kitty is being good about it. I'd imagine that from a kitty's POV, a pair of piggies would be quite a tasty treat. I can just see the little kitty thought balloon. haha The good news is that there's no harm in a cat imagining a piggy feast. So you have gotten through Day 2. Many congrats to you! How are you adjusting to your new life with piggies? Are they settling in well? Are you going to introduce them & tell us a little about their personalities? And I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but we just love pigtures!

Once they are more comfortable with me I will take some proper pictures and introduce them n_n. I am adjusting well I actually love preparing their veggies as a part of my routine haha.
Toffee lets me pet her and is really cool, she doesn't even run away, but Candy is quite the scaredy pig! I can tell that Toffee is the alpha fem because she rumbles and Candy squeaks and hides xD. Candy is really chatty, she just sits there and makes cute bubbly noises in her pigloo hehe
Otherwise they don't really mind me sitting around watching them in their cage, they seem to be used to people other than being picked up.

 

[ForeverEmber]

Here's some pigtures:
View attachment 58706 toffee pulled a bunch of hay out of the box (probably to get to the botanical) and decided to burrow under it!

View attachment 58707 candy

View attachment 58708
i was planning on doing a formal introduction once we are more comfortable, since this is only day two. the girls are a little camera shy!

 

[Matchamom]

I don't know how to train cats, but do you think your cat will get used to having the guinea pigs around and then not bother them? I was looking through pics the other day and saw that someone had put a small pillow and then a small pet bed on top of their cage because their cat lies there. I know that one of my dogs is very inquisitive and he might not leave them alone if they were ever let loose. I do have to keep an eye on him at all times. When he first came to us we had a hamster and a bird. He could not get enough of either of them. He would climb up onto the desk to see the hamster. And, he would jump as high as the bird cage was to see the cockatiel (He's a schnoodle - schnauzer/poodle mix). I thought maybe that he's older he would give up trying. But, I did catch him lick one of our boys the other day through the cage. That's why they are all safe and secure on the bottom cage level!

 

[ForeverEmber]

yeah i think he will get used to it... the first day hed just never seen anything like them before haha

 

[Beth Pearson]

We have two cats (both age 1) and two piggy cages. We've had the pigs since May 2013. Both of the cats are mouse hunters. One can be trusted with them WITH SUPERVISION and one cannot. Neither of them can be trusted with them with me out of the house. If I'm cage cleaning or something, they can get in the cage without any problems. But I definitely don't trust them to be in there without me in the house. They're sneaky little cats!! lol Just follow your gut and remove if/when you feel it's being more than a friendly chase/smack. Good luck and congrats!!!

 

[Epiphaneee]

Thanks for the pigtures [MENTION=30190]ForeverEmber[/MENTION]. Both Toffee & Candy are super-adorable! And I just love hearing about their piggy personalities.