# Cat sits watching chinchillas- can I stop it?



## RosieW (Sep 23, 2014)

I have two chinchillas ; Fitz and Fifi who I've had for years now (Fitz is neutered) 
I use to have a cat called Tiger who sadly died last year (she was 12) and they use to live together happily- Well Tiger was never too bothered about the chinchillas when they were in their cage.

I've recently moved house and got a new rescue kitten who is 11 weeks old.
He's called Tyrion , he was found abandoned and had been run over so had to have his whole tail amputated  
He is extremely friendly, he literally follows me around the house constantly rubbing his head all over my legs, He is also very playful and often wakes me up at night by pawing my face wanting to play xD. 
I didn't get the kitten right away, I got him about 6 months after moving in so the chinchillas are well settled.

For the first few days of getting the new cat I've watched them quite closely and they were both fine and neither the cat or the chinchillas paid any attention to each other. 
I have found though that the cat often sits for ages and watches the chinchilla's, sometimes he'll do this from a distance, but sometimes he wont!
He's not as of yet tried to get into the cage or tried to attack them.. he hasn't tried climbing up the cage either which is good. 

Three days in Fitz, who is the older, male chinchilla has started asking for trouble and is now sitting on the bottom of the cage in direct height with the cat and will just eyeball him! (I have no idea why)  
So when the cat walks past or goes over to watch them he tries to attack him through the bars, this in turn makes the cat paws at him which I don't want!

This morning I noticed that when the cat is playing with his toy he will sometimes go over and paw at Fitz when Fitz has his back to him- Fitz sometimes won't even react to this and the cat will just walk away.
So I don't know if when he paws at them he's simply trying to play or if he is actually trying to get at them.

I have been telling the cat off when he paws at the chinchillas or sits two close as I don't want to encourage that behaviour- the cat dose listen and dose walk away. 

I live in a bungalow so keeping them in separate rooms is quite hard. 
At the moment I have the chinchillas in the dining room as its the only place with the most light and ventilation.
This is where I have also put the cats things, but on the opposite side of the room. 
There isn't really anywhere else I feel I can put the cats things.
I don't really want to put the cats things in our bedroom or put the chinchillas in our bed room as I've tried this in the past and the chinchillas kept me up all night!

Just today too Fif has started barking, and I've never heard her bark ever! 
I know chinchillas stress quite easily and I don't want either of them getting overally stressed out by the cat.... but I just find it strange how they seem suddenly so bothered about the new cat, who is smaller than them when they weren't bothered with Tiger. 

The only thing I'm worried about it what the cat will do when I'm at work as I won't be there to tell the cat off!
The cat dose have a lot of toys to play with so I'm hoping theses will be more appealing than the chinchillas 

Is there anyway I can stop the cat from going over or do you think it's just the novelty and the cat will eventually lose interest.. and visa versa. 
Am I just worrying about nothing.. as its not like Tyrion is constantly trying to get into the cage; at night he sleeps on our bed and its only really in the evenings that he tend to watch the chinchillas. 
Fitz only really goes for him too if he gets too close- guess he's just warning that him (but he doesn't help by sitting on the bottom of the cage!)
If either of them were really trying to attack one another then I'd have a problem.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

I'd be careful because if a chinchilla were to bite your kitten's paw, it could be extremely painful and bleed alot!!! I have been bitten by hamsters which was awful enough, but have heard that chinchilla bites are far worse 

So I would definitely try to put the chinchillas somewhere they can't get at the cat (and vice versa). Maybe a cage with smaller mesh? Especially whilst your kitten is young. He may well grow out of it when he's older but he's at a very curious age at the moment. Some cats will always be obsessed with any type of rodent, I know my Jumpy would, so I would definitely invest in better housing for your chinchillas.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with Treaclesmum, I would not take any risks of either your chincillas or your kitten being hurt, which I am afraid could easily happen if the chincillas feel under threat. They probably realise the kitten is very interested in them from the way he sits staring at their cage, and this has put them on their guard. Evidently they don't feel safe, as things are. 

As TM advised either buy a cage with much smaller mesh for the chincillas, 
or else buy a dog crate and put the chincilla's cage inside that, so the kitten cannot near the bars of the cage. There are several different sizes of dog crate for sale on amazon, they are not too expensive, and have the advantage of being able to be folded for storage. A dog crate has fairly large gaps between the bars, i.e. larger gaps than on a kitten pen. Ensure you get one big enough so the kitten's paw could not reach inside as far as the chincillas' cage. 

If you get a crate I would also do something to prevent the kitty from being able to annoy the chincillas from the top of the crate. Either put some planks of wood on the top, or at least some non-see through plastic.

Hopefully once Tyrion is old enough to be allowed outside he will find more interesting things to occupy him than watching the chincillas, e.g. mice he can chase.


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

chillminx said:


> or else buy a dog crate and put the chincilla's cage inside that, so the kitten cannot near the bars of the cage. There are several different sizes of dog crate for sale on amazon, they are not too expensive, and have the advantage of being able to be folded for storage.


Chinchillas need very large habitats - far bigger than even the biggest dog crates available.

I'd go for meshing as the physical barrier. But also do distracting-but-rewarding things in the room with the cat for something fun to focus on otherwise. This is how I trained foster cats away from caring about my rodents. However the most worrying ones were not allowed in the rooms with rodent cages without supervision. I think putting your cats main things in the same room is slightly asking for trouble though.


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

Totally agree with the others - you will need to 'cat proof' the chincillas' cage so they are safe from your kitten AND your kitten is safe from them

Personally, I wouldn't allow them to be in the same room when I'm not there until there is a protective barrier between them


I would never trust either of mine with small animals - nor my dog (which is a shame as I'd love some!) - and I do really worry that Archie especially will one day get into my neighbours garden to their guinea pigs :yikes:


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## bingolitle (Dec 6, 2014)

First - congratulations on chosing the best two species on the planet - cats and chinchillas! Much nicer than humans as a rule - present company excepted 

If you are a little DIY oriented you can cat-proof your chin cage relatively easily. Get hold of some 3/4" 16 gauge mesh (not terribly pretty but highly effective) and using wooden dowels about 1/2" diameter as spacers, make a big cage outside the chins' actual cage - if you see what I mean. The gap will avoid teeth going into paws and claws going into eyes! 

If your chins are really worried about the new kitty - they will probably freeze in place at the first sight. The fact that your male chin is going downstairs and having a good old look suggests that he's not so much stressed as nosey - which all chinchillas are!

If there is a threat situation developing, the chins will pee at the cat as a first port of call. They sort of stand up on their back legs and flick/spray urine - extremely accurately. Very few cats will get within range of this more than once or twice 

My five chins grew up with three cats, one they ignored, one they chewed the fur of if she snoozed on their cage  and one they sat perfectly still and didn't move a muscle if he was in the room. They clearly can talk CAT as he was the best hunter of the three and would have a crack at anything!

Sensible precautions should be all you need - chins and cats can get on fine - but you need to be avoiding accidents.

Good luck with them - and remember - chins are great cat tv!


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