Rats with cats?

[Methe]

Rats are lovely, aren't they! I had 4 when I was a teenager and loved them to bits so I would like a couple more. My previous rats free ranged my room... Obviously with a cat that won't be possible unless she's out but how realistic is having the two in the same house?

We have 4 guinea pigs that the cat is fascinated by but she doesn't seem to want to eat them or anything.

Good idea or not?

Bad idea. Rats are rather incompatible with almost everything else, sorry to say, unless you can be extremely careful. Either predator to prey to all the others.

I have rats and a terrier. Rats are strictly upstairs only. Dog is strictly downstairs only.

I have done some training on him though, just in case, I've taught him to ignore them when they're in their cage.

Free roaming rats? Seriously?

Yep, some people let their ratties free range and they answer to their names

Though give me piggies any day. No climbing the curtains or pulling my clothes into their cages to shred.
I'll take the trade off of them not doing much

I had a rat who would free range. I also had cats. The cats would stand and look at the rat, bemused, with a "WTF! The rat's wandering about the house again Mum!" look on their faces. The rat was totally nonplussed about the cats.

So, it's not impossible but depends on the calm of the cats and confidence of the rat/s. I can't imagine that it would be much fun for a rat who was scared of cats, smelling and seeing them in the vicinity, it would be a life of constant fear and trepidation.

I couldn't have a rat now, as much as I'd like to. I know that our current cats are killing machines and would make a rat's life misery.

The rat sitter we left ours with last week has two cats, apparently they grew up around rats and will watch them curiously but not much else. She just removed the cat before free ranging. We live with a terrier who runs in when our door is open too and he just stares at them. We just close the door when we free range :)

As long as they're well trained and introduced well you can have both out at the same time but it has to be done carefully. I reckon it'd be easier to introduce cats as kittens to older rats, but people do do it the other way around.

Hmm some interesting responses, thank you all.

millimat yes! free ranging. Rats are very clever and can be trained. They know where their sleeping house is and while I wouldn't have left them out permenently they were fine to roam about when I was in.