Getting a hamster when you've got cats

[PhoebeMcPeePee]

DS would love a hamster (& so would I!) but we have 2 cats and I'm a bit nervous about having the two in the same house. Cats are shut in the downstairs at night & officially aren't allowed upstairs but do roam up there occasionally. Hamster cage would be in upstairs playroom. I'm partly worried about cats getting in the room & just traumatising hamster albeit through the bars but also wondering whether they would actually find a way in to the cage as one at least is a real hunter. Should we just knock the whole idea on the head or is there a solution we haven't considered?

[vestandknickers]

We have a hamster and two cats and have had no issues at all. The room where the hamster lives has the door shut at all times. I don't think I would have risked it otherwise.

[YeOldeTrout]

I wouldn't. Cats ate 2 of my hammies when I was little.

My penance for having killed a fair few animals thru sheer negligence, when I was a child, is that any pet 'owned' by a DC I really do almost all the care. I wouldn't trust any child of mine to do it.

[ToadsJustFellFromTheSky]

I think it depends on the cat tbh.

I have two cats and a hamster and neither of my cats have ever really shown any interest in the hamster or any of the hamsters I've had in the past.

It's the same with my guinea pigs. The cats were a bit interested at first but soon lost interest and now they don't bother them.

[ToadsJustFellFromTheSky]

I also grew up with cats and had a fair few small animals as a child and never had a problem.

Perhaps I've just been lucky though.

[DustBunnyFarmer]

Same as Trout, we had a fierce hunter cat which dispatched a series of hamsters and they were kept in separate parts of the house. You also have to factor in some hamsters' determination in escaping. Bars only protect them if they stay put! Still, makes for interesting sport for your cats. (In case you were in any doubt, I wouldn't get hammies in your position.)