Cats and rats living together

[Anna Toothaker]

I would like to get a cat, but I have rats and would like them to be in the same area some of the time. The rats are in my room, but I'd keep the cat mainly in the living room. I'd want the cat in my room sometimes, though. Do any of you have tips on how to do this? And cat breeds that would be better? How could I make this work?

 

[Emmabeeee1996]

I wouldn’t recommend it! My poor rat is really afraid of the cat that’s upstairs, when he smells the cat he really gets nervous. Some people don’t have a problem but maybe just wait until they pass on to get a kitty! It could cause them stress and make them be more shy and less willing to come out. There are even videos of people allowing cats and rats to play with eachother but I find that to be dangerous and not worth the risk. Also my cat would absolutely try to eat my rats so he is never allowed downstairs, the one time he ran down he went straight for the cage and the rats got all puffy as they were afraid. My other rat is not afraid of the cat smell but a lot of rats will have that natural fear. I don’t think you could predict based on the cat breed if the kitty will be less inclined to want to hunt rats.

 

[Anna Toothaker]

I have heard about many people who have made this work out; I definitely would never leave them alone together unsupervised. I would also get the cat as a kitten and would try to train them. I just need advice on how to try socialize them. If it doesn't work out I definitely would have a backup plan.

 

[Emmabeeee1996]

I think it would work better if the rats were younger when introduced to the kitten as well because they would see it as more of a normal thing maybe? Even when supervised it could potentially get pretty ugly very fast however as you said people do make it work without any hiccups! I have a cat and my rats still get on with their lives but I do wish I knew how scared one would have been, I do regret that part. It would probably be less of an issue if your kitty was upstairs like mine. I guess it’s a personal choice and depends on what you’re willing to risk, it would suck if you ended up having to give away the kitty. Rats don’t live that long so personally I would wait it out. To each their own, I’m definitely not an expert, hope someone can give you safe and useful tips and good luck!