Cats and mice, living together?

[valkyrie]

So there's this girl who needs to get rid of her mouse, and is looking to give her away for free, along with a cage and all the little mousy accessories one would need. Nobody else is volunteering to give the poor critter a home, so I'm thinking about adopting a new pet. I'm concerned, though, because I have cats and of course would want the mouse to be absolutely safe. My cats are not aggressive at all, and have few to no hunting skills.

Have any of you ever had a mouse and cats at the same time, or for that matter, any small animal with cats? Did it work out okay? Is this just a foolish idea?

[UKDaisy]

I would be so scared to put the two together! I would literally be freaking out everytime I got home. Unless you put the lil' guy up on something that the cats could not get to him, and believe me cats can get all most anywhere, I would even think about it. I think its kinda foolish, but I also think it is so sweet and something I would prolly do. Poor lil' mouse! But if its letting it loose in the wild, which it'll prolly die now that its been in a cage and tamed, I would take it. Just make sure the cats can not get to it!! Good luck!!

[aggieAXO]

I had a mouse -rescued it from a pet store and a large snake, unfortunately my cat got into his cage and ate him . My boss has a mouse though named Eli and he lives with 3 other cats. Just make sure you get a cage with a good lid and keep them in separate rooms.

[Kevin]

Had hamsters when I was a young.. The cats and dogs never gave them much trouble.

The cat would sleep on top of the hamster cage though

[1savvydiva]

Originally posted by ktsnake

The cat would sleep on top of the hamster cage though

Damn...that's pressure! Poor hamster!

[SSS1365]

Well... okay so I'm gonna freak some people out and tell you all that I have pet RATS! No, they're not big monstrous rats, they're cute little ones. And I used to live with a roommate that had cats. Of course the cats were always VERY curious about the rats, but I always kept the rats in a a room with the door closed so the cats couldn't get to them, and everything was fine! I think it's cool that you're thinking about taking in a mouse, because most people I know don't want anything to do with rodents!

[ToBeSororityGrl]

When I was younger we had a hamster named Chunk well because he became realllly huge! Anyways we had those horrible open cages that are all wire and we had/still have the cat. She would like someone else had mentioned sleep, sit on the cage. I don't remember her ever trying to kill him or bother him just sit there and watch him. I guess to her maybe Chunk was her pet to watch? Also would like to mention this cat of mine also likes to kill things outside so it could work. But you are sooooooo sweet to even consider doing this!

[aephi alum]

Why am I suddenly having visions of "Tom and Jerry" .....

[navane]

My [biological] sister, our friend and I used to be roommates before I moved. I had a cat named "Xanthia" and my sister has a salamander named, "Perris". Yes, a salamander. It's like a gecko but doesn't climb walls - we found it in our swimming pool some 10+ years ago. Anyway, she keeps it in a terrarium like environment. It's a fish tank with pebbles in the bottom and a tub of water for him to go swimming.

There was no lid on the tank; but the tank was up on a shelf some 5ft off the floor. Xanthia used to jump up there and want to look at him. My sister was afraid that the cat would eat him but she never did. One day I heard my sister panicking and I ran in to find that Xanthia had jumped *inside* the tank and was sitting in there with Perris. Not eating. Just looking.

Later, I got another cat, "Bella" and Bella does the same thing. She just likes to jump up and have a look.

So, I suppose it really depends on the cat. If I was babysitting some of my friends' cats I would definitely take extra care because they strike me as the kind of kitty who would want to make Perris lunch. However, neither of my cats were interested in eating him.

If you adopt the little mouse, then I would suggest that you make sure that the cats are put away in a bathroom or something if you need to clean the cage or want to play with him. Even if you let him out to crawl on your shoulder or something, I wouldn't put it past a cat to creep up and snatch it right out of your hands. If your cats don't seem to care, then you probably won't have too much to worry about!

.....Kelly

[Lady Pi Phi]

I had a pet rat and my cat was terrified of her. She would not go anywhere near the cage. She wouldn't even go into my room. So it really all depends on your cats. I say give it a try. You'll know soon enough whether the two can live together. And if your cat is terrified of it like mine was you'll have no problem.

[Kristin UTD*AGD]

I was having dinner downtown Saturday night and saw the coolest thing. A man had a rottweiler dog, a cat sitting on top of the dog, and a mouse sitting on top of the cat. They were all cool with it. In fact the dog was trying to sleep, and the mouse was playing all over the top of the cat.

I guess anything is possible...

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by aephi alum
Why am I suddenly having visions of "Tom and Jerry" .....

lol!
I was thinking of Wild Kingdom. I would be afraid that there would be a bloodbath.

[valkyrie]

Thank you all very much for the information. It sounds entirely possible.

I haven't heard back from the mousy girl yet, but if I end up with a new little friend, I'll let you know!