Rat advice

[onisteverina]

Any rat owners out there with some advice? I've been contemplating getting a couple rat friends.. but there is one thing that is causing me to hesitate.. my cat. She is a 7 year old Siamese (rescue) who is VERY curious. I would really like to get a couple male rats, but I'm wondering how stressful having a cat around would be. My hope is that she would be very curious at first.. but then get bored of them.. but she may also end up watching them all day or try to sit on top of their cage (she sometimes does that with my snake.. who doesn't mind). Any thoughts on this? I wouldn't want to get them if they would just constantly be stressed.

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[Shepherd Lover]

I don't own rats but I've been researching with them for four years in a lab that studies stress effects on the brain. I personally think it's a bad idea because labs like mine use the smell of cats to stress rats out. Rats have an innate fear of the smell that would probably cause them extreme duress in your home.

 

[RainN]

I have rats! And I have two cats. The cats were curious about the rats for a few days, but thy got over it very quickly when they realized that they cant get in the cage. I let the rats roam the room when the cats are locked out. My rats are not scared or stressed out at all by cats, in fact, they are more curious than anything. If you want to get a few rats I would encourage a cage lifted off of the ground so the cats cannot just sit in front all day such as the one below. (see link)

http://www.amazon.com/Mcage-Parakee...?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1419016799&sr=1-3

 

[onisteverina]

I have rats! And I have two cats. The cats were curious about the rats for a few days, but thy got over it very quickly when they realized that they cant get in the cage. I let the rats roam the room when the cats are locked out. My rats are not scared or stressed out at all by cats, in fact, they are more curious than anything. If you want to get a few rats I would encourage a cage lifted off of the ground so the cats cannot just sit in front all day such as the one below. (see link)

http://www.amazon.com/Mcage-Parakeet-Cockatiel-Removable-Black/dp/B00C332AOG/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1419016799&sr=1-3

Thanks for the advice! A cage like that was what I was thinking... but I'm sure that my cat could jump on top of it and hang out if she wanted.. With rats, can you put a blanket/something to cover the top of the cage? Or do they just end up tearing it apart and bringing it in to their cage?

 

[onisteverina]

I don't own rats but I've been researching with them for four years in a lab that studies stress effects on the brain. I personally think it's a bad idea because labs like mine use the smell of cats to stress rats out. Rats have an innate fear of the smell that would probably cause them extreme duress in your home.

Thanks for your input. Definitely something I have been thinking about.

 

[Skimble]

I had rats, they are the best pets! They are like little dogs that live in a cage. I also have cats that are very skilled hunters yet they seemed pretty afraid of my rats. The rats didn't really care about the cats, and they would even cuddle with my one cat who wasn't afraid of them.

 

[RainN]

Thanks for the advice! A cage like that was what I was thinking... but I'm sure that my cat could jump on top of it and hang out if she wanted.. With rats, can you put a blanket/something to cover the top of the cage? Or do they just end up tearing it apart and bringing it in to their cage?

That depends on the personality of the rat, although it is highly likely that they will pull a blanket in with them. My cats used to jump on it, but we alleviated this by giving them a tall bookshelf close by but just far enough that they cannot jump to sit on top of and watch the rats. In addition, we have the rats in a room that we can keep the cats out of when we are not home. The worst that happens when the cats do get at the cage is that they poke at the bars. The rats do not mind, and in some cases the rats actually scare the cats more by giving them a little nibble. I would recommend just making sure your cats nails are trimmed regularly so they are not too sharp and keeping the rats in a room that can be closed off when you are not around.

I have never had issues, and LOVE my rats to pieces!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Not a rat/cat story.....but I had a guinea pig for 6 years and got my dog when my pig was about 2. Her cage had no roof and was on the floor. My pig LOVED saying hi to my dog! She'd popcorn and squeak whenever my dog came in the room. They even had the same coloration.....sisters for sure My dog did the whole confused head-tilt thing when she'd see the squeaks coming out of the pig....priceless. I never had a problem and never felt the need to close my bedroom door to keep my dog out. Other dogs would have killed her without a doubt.

It probably depends on the personality of your cats. I have a cat now and am bringing a large rabbit home in the next few weeks. My mom is worried, but tbh I'm not. For starters, my cat is declawed, so less chance that he can cause trouble. Second, the rabbit is not much smaller than my cat. Third, my cat is far too lazy and 'unwild' to try and eat the rabbit. Granted, none of this means I'm going to let my cat and rabbit be locked in a room together unsupervised. But you get my point.

It's better safe than sorry. I think you should supervise all interaction until you can confidently determine how the cats behave around the rats. If your cat is constantly batting at the cage, I think that would for sure stress your rats out. If the cat just sniffs around a lot...I don't think it'll be that big of a problem.

 

[PppermintTwist]

I love rats!!! I used to have 4 I miss them. They really are wonderful creatures.

I think they'd do fine if you take the nesisary precautions.

There are rat adoption websites.

 

[Psorophoraferox]

It depends a lot on the individual animals. I had both rats and cats for years, and the cats learned that if they got too close to the cage, they got nipped. After a while the cats completely lost interest. I never let them out while the cats were in the room though, and everything was fine.

And then a couple years ago, I had different cats and decided to have rats again. The first day I brought the rats home, one of my cats launched himself across the room, landed on the side of the cage, took a big chomp, and partially degloved one of the rats' tails. Her spay I'd had scheduled for that week turned into a spay plus partial tail amputation. I kept the rats in a separate room with the door shut after that, for their safety and psychological well-being (and my own psychological well-being ... still feel terrible about it).

So it really depends. Supervise extremely carefully.

 

[onisteverina]

Thought I would give a little update... I ended up getting two male rats (litter mates). I was told they were five weeks when I got thme, so they are now six weeks. They are doing fine with the cat.. they seem to be more interested in her than scared. The cat does like to watch them.. especially when they are playing/making a lot of noise but doesn't get too worked up about it. On another note, does anyone remember how long it took for their rats to be friendly/enjoy being held? Right now they seem to tolerate it.. especially once they calm down a bit.. but I still have to go in and grab them out of their little huts. I've tried giving them treats while they are out and also try to tempt them with treats to come out but they aren't having it. They will let me scratch their little heads while they are in the cage, but once they realize I'm going to pick them up they try to get away. Totally understand that it has just been a week and they need time to trust me. .. just curious how long it normally takes.

 

[RainN]

It can take a few months, depending on the rat. Taking the time to make sure that they get out every day will make the process much quicker! If they have a favorite treat like cheerios or yogis you can teach them to climb onto you from the cage by giving them a treat every time they take steps onto your hand etc. However this requires patience that they might be hesitant to be shoulder rats immediately

Remember that to them you are a giant, and as they get used to being touched, held, and watched by something so big they'll learn that you are a friend. Eventually male rats tend to love snuggles and wont need treats to want to be with you. However, for the time being some bribery with cheerios is quite useful!

 

[onisteverina]

It can take a few months, depending on the rat. Taking the time to make sure that they get out every day will make the process much quicker! If they have a favorite treat like cheerios or yogis you can teach them to climb onto you from the cage by giving them a treat every time they take steps onto your hand etc. However this requires patience that they might be hesitant to be shoulder rats immediately

Remember that to them you are a giant, and as they get used to being touched, held, and watched by something so big they'll learn that you are a friend. Eventually male rats tend to love snuggles and wont need treats to want to be with you. However, for the time being some bribery with cheerios is quite useful!

Nice! *off to buy some cheerios*

 

[Shannon2117]

Personally I like female rats better (less pee and less fighting.

I have two rats, a cat and a dog. My rats are up on a bookshelf where the cat can't reach. I just make sure there is nothing she can climb/jump on to get to the cage. I've had them over a year and it's fine. She watches them and loves it lol. They don't seem to care. I just put her in another room when I take them out of the cage.

 

[crv2016]

Also, some rats really don't like to be held ever. I've had six over the years. They all liked attention and would climb all over me during out time, and a few were content to curl up on my lap and sleep when they got older, but they never were fond of just being held.

Three of mine were super skittish when I got them, and what helped with them was to just put my hand near the entrance of their cage with a treat in my palm, my hand flat. At first I would just ignore them and let them crawl on my hand and get the treat wth out touching them, but eventually when they weren't afraid of me as my much, I would give them the treat after they were on my hand. I worked my way up to them only getting the treat once they were out on my lap eventually. After that they were fine with being picked up, but it definitely took a few months to get there.