Chins and cats?

[BlahBlah]

Hello all,

I used this forum back when I first got my chin 3.5 years ago and found it to be really insightful.

I was wondering If any chin owners here own cats because I am thinking of getting a Ragdoll kitten and don't want my chin getting clawed at or too stressed out. The ideal situation would be that they are friendly with one another and the cat doesn't bother my chin to much.

I will work on introducing them as best as I can from what I've read online. Is there anything I should be worried about or watch out for? Would it be wise to get the cat declawed?

Also, the cat will remain an indoor cat

Thank you in advance :thumbsup:

Edit: When I got my chin from the breeder she had kittens running around so maybe my chin won't be as stressed out?

 

[Amethyst]

I own 8 cats indoor/outdoor cats (pretty much all hunters) and they pretty much don't care about the chins, though it could be that I had a guinea pig prior so they grew up with a small furry thing in a big cage and know that the furry critters in in the cage are to be left alone, so a kitten is better so it grows up with them. The current two chins I have I don't think got the memo that they are prey animals, lol, they will actually bite the cats if they get too close to the cage so some of the cats are actually afraid of them. If the chin came from a place with cats then it probably wont be stressed out by living with one again. That being said cats can never be 100% trusted, they are predators after all and therefore should never be in the same room as the chins when they are out for play time. Cats and rodents I don't think can really ever be friends, especially a chin since they are delicate compared to other rodents, one claw or hard swipe, even in play, can hurt or kill the chin. I know I'm probably going to get people disagreeing with me but do NOT get a cat with the intention of declawing, it really is mutilation and cruel (it's actually outlawed in some countries and considered animal cruelty) they surgically remove the tips of each toe.
If the cat does decide to go after the chin though the bars of the cage that can be a problem, cats carry a lot of bacteria in their claws, you need to make sure the cat doesn't have access to the cage if it wants to eat them. The room I keep mine in has the door closed at night and when I go out so if I am not awake or home the cats don't have access to this room.

 

[BlahBlah]

Thank you for the reply Amethyst, after much thought I've decided it would be best for me not to get a cat. They never really can be trusted around chins and mine is just too precious to me.

 

[Lanette001]

Well, I have two cats and one chinchilla. I just got my chinchilla two months ago and I have had my cats for 11 years... They do take interest in him so I have to watch them very carefully. It isn't entirely the cats' fault, my chinchilla does antagonize by nipping and jumping at them, but still. In general, though, ragdoll cats are breed to be really passive. A ragdoll probably won't have the same reaction to a chinchilla as my 11 year old cats that spent 10 years of their life as outdoor hunters. You would just have to watch during play time and slowly integrate them. Kittens cannot be trained to be devoid of instinct, but my bet is that you will have an easier time with a ragdoll. Take care

 

[Dragonflye]

I have a cat. I have chins. The chins are in a spare room with the door closed and a gate. My cat is an indoor cat. I would never risk having him interact with my chins, even with a cage between them; it's too risky.

I say get the cat, if you can keep it separate from your chin. If you do a search, you will see horror stories of emergency vet visits related to "playful" cats.

 

[gizandcharlie]

I have two cats, one never goes in my room where I have my chinchillas and the other practically lives in there. The one that is always in the room couldn't care less about the chinchillas and vice versa. But my cats were there first, and they're both also pretty old and kinda worn out from hunting, so the chinchillas don't really mind.

 

[ninjaturtletayy]

I have two cats myself and one chin. My cats are older (19 and 13) so it may be different since they're older. But anyway, the first day I brought my chin home, both of my girls were super curious about him and sniffed around his cage. However, after they watched him move around and whatnot for about 10 minutes, they didn't even bother with him anymore. I got my chin a new corner cage that is right next to the couch, but my cats don't even bother sitting on the arms of the couch to watch him anymore. The first time my chin came out to play, my mom was holding my fluffy cat on her lap and my chin hopped up to my mom and started grooming my cat! Turns out my cat is more afraid of him than he is of her, haha.

 

[EternallyCynical]

I own a cat and have had many rodents in close proximity to her with no problems. While she is CURIOUS, and I NEVER leave her alone unsupervised, she has never harmed any of my hamsters or guinea pigs. My first guinea pig would often try to bite her tail (to the point of persistently following her around trying to get a nibble... he was... special, to say the least) and the most she ever did was turn around and poke him in the face. She HAS killed mice that come into the house, however she does not eat them and does not seem to really even like to bite them - I suspect she thinks they're some sort of fun moving toy and 'plays' with them until their poor little hearts give out.... >____>;; We have come home on a few occasions where she's had a little mouse in her clutches and as soon as we show up, its like, "Oh, hey, the human slaves are here to deal with the problem!" And she'll lose all interest and let us deal with the mouse that is now escaping...

It should be noted, however, that my cat is quite old (17), and while she is not obese (we actually have to work to keep weight on her), she is slowing down. A lot of things will depend purely on the individual cat - not all cats have a strong prey drive, and some may decide a chinchilla is too big to bother with. I will say, however, DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT. Declawing is a cruel practice that I can't believe is still carried out. No matter how its done, it causes problems. The most common way results in... well, basically 'de-knuckling' the cat in the process. This means that the cat no longer has a portion of its foot bones which can cause problems with how the cat moves. Cats are digitigrade animals - they walk on the tips of their toes, which de-clawing removes. The resulting changes in the cat's gait can contribute to joint pain and arthritis, since the joints are being incorrectly used to compensate. Additionally, many declawed cats often suffer from pain in their paws, especially when using the litter box, and this can SEVERELY inhibit litter box training because declawing may make the use of the litterbox highly painful. If you must remove the danger of scratching, I would advise having nail caps put on your pet - it simply blunts the tips of the nails so they can't do any slicin', instead of damaging your pet's feet. Remember that no matter how good your cat may be near your pet, they should never be trusted alone with a rodent with now SOLID, STURDY barriers in between (or anything the cat could could jump over).

 

[Godofgods]

Thank you for the reply Amethyst, after much thought I've decided it would be best for me not to get a cat. They never really can be trusted around chins and mine is just too precious to me.

i agree with that completely. They can never be trusted near each other, and it only takes one altercation for a dead chin. I would personally never do it.

 

[chinsNdobermans]

A ragdoll may not be as interested in the chin as some other breeds, but it's hard to say as a kitten what the adult personality might be.

I have cats and chinchillas plus a rat. My two oldest cats do not care about the rodents in the slightest. At one time they had full access to the chinchillas and it was fine. My siamese, however, has intense prey drive. He is constantly trying to get into my daughter's bedroom to bother her rat and if he could get to the chinchillas, he would (he cannot but he is very, very interested if I have one in the house for some reason).

I cannot trust animals not to be animals, so I keep them separated. It's the safest thing I can do for them. If you have no way to separate them effectively, don't do it, or adopt an older cat with a known temperament and prey drive.

 

[akane]

While they should live in the house just fine I wouldn't let the chin out of the cage with the cat in the room. Cats carry a lot of bacteria and I've lost baby rabbits just from cat saliva without wounds inflicted. It would only take one attack to potentially kill your chin. Not worth the risk.

 

[hurrikos]

I, personally, would never risk having a chinchilla and a cat together. I learnt my lesson in the most painful way by losing my first chin to a cat attack. She was around 13 and our cat was much younger than she was and was completely used to her. He was an indoor cat with no hunting experience and as soft as anything. I had both for about 4 years with no incidents, keeping Trin in a spare room with a closed door.

One day, the spring on Trin's cage door snapped while I was at work and she, naturally, hopped out of her cage. My mom went into the room to see what the bang was, the cat ran in and grabbed her. She got a seriously nasty scratch on her neck (not deep, but grisly to look at) and died a week later from the shock. I spent that week caring for her, giving her antibiotics/painkillers and hand-feeding absolutely hating myself for letting it happen. I never forgave myself and I have vowed never to put a predatory and prey animal together. I have only started keeping chinchillas again since I have moved out.

Our cat (a lazy, indoor Persian) had never shown any signs of aggression, never hunted, anything. It was so unexpected. It only takes one incident to lose a life and it's not a risk I would ever suggest taking.