# Terrified of my cat



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

I mean it makes sense but I've hot aris on my belly right now and she's locked in a stating match with pandora, every time pandora moves aris jumps, how can I help her start to get over her insane fear of pandora?


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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

Wouldn't it be better to hold your rats without the cat around? I don't see how a rat could be comfortable with a cat unless you have one of those cats that don't like to hunt at all... even then it's risky.


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## Crezzard (Jul 20, 2013)

My cats scared of the rats lol 


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Siringo said:


> Wouldn't it be better to hold your rats without the cat around? I don't see how a rat could be comfortable with a cat unless you have one of those cats that don't like to hunt at all... even then it's risky.


Oh shoot I didn't EVER think of that, my living space is the size of your closet and my cat isn't the type to go away , she's more of a "imma sit here, screw you" type a cat, even all the way across the room aris sees her and gets terrified, my cat goes wherever I go, she follows me no matter what, her "not being around" would mean I'm at work, can't have my rats at work....honestly, if it were that simple, trust me, I would have done it


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Crezzard said:


> My cats scared of the rats lol
> 
> 
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Yeah, so is pandora most of the time, she won't even get close to the cage, she's just a big fat scaredy cat, but that doesn't make aris less afraid of her


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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

You don't have to have a big house, just any room with a door, like a bathroom or something while you play with your rats. It may not be ideal, but it's better than having your rat frightened all of the time.


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Oh gee I didn't think of that either! Honestly, do you think I'm a preschooler? I can't take her to the bathroom, too much to hide under, can't take her to the living room that's where her future roommate is quarantined (plus pandora follows me, and my grandma doesn't want rats in the living room) the only other rooms are my dads bedroom (he's allergic) ad my grandmas bedroom (she'd rather die) I live in the laundry room


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Getting pandora further away from me than this






i a miracle


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## EJW323 (Jun 18, 2013)

Could you possibly put/shut Pandora in another room while you're with Aris?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I don't know what you want us to do if you cannot separate the cat away. It is natural and something necessary for your rat to fear a predator. Losing this fear could mean your rat losing its life. For hundreds of years if not more rats have learned how to live. It's not "insane".

If you try to introduce them and something goes wrong, you have no rat. Or, your rat could strike your cat. There's no fun outcome to it. It is very dangerous as well, in case your rat ever escaped you its life would be forfeit if it didn't know when to run and when to hide. 
Even my dog who is afraid of the rats and very obedient to me is not allowed in the room when the rats are out. The rats need to run around and have fun, that's what free range is. They cannot do this safely or really at all if there is a predator in the room.


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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

Okay, you don't have to be rude about it. It's not really that difficult to close yourself into a room without your cat.


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

I'm guessing your sarcasm is because you didn't want people to just say cats and rats probably won't get along. 

You've got to remember that one misunderstanding between the two, however friendly, and there'll be tears. People on here aren't going to suggest forcing an interaction, especially if your rat is already tense as **** around the cat, who doesn't want to move. It's not good for the health of the rat - either make time and room to have playtime apart, or consider having someone else look after it while you find somewhere with more room. 

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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

The rat is scared of the cat because the cat is an unfamiliar & large creature that could most likely eat it, aka a predator. Your rat is doing exactly what has managed to keep its ancestors alive and its species going for hundreds of years. Even if your cat is a cuddle bug like mine (and my cats are scared of my rats) I'll never let them play together because a cat can easily kill a rat, or the rat can injure the cat.

I really don't know what else you want to hear. You're going to have to get rid of the cat when you want to play with her. Lock her in somewhere? Everyone jumped to the conclusion that you should just play somewhere else because it's usually the most obvious choice; nobody knows what kind of house you live in so no need to be rude.


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## Sylver (Sep 5, 2013)

I have a clingy cat, too. 

No, you can't lock her out of the room. Not if you want the door frame and the carpet to survive. She WILL try digging her way in if she knows you're in a room and she's not. We live in a rented apartment. The cat goes where the cat wants to go. 

Our rats are from different litters, and possibly different breeders (pet store boys). Our older one just LOVES the cat. He'd love nothing more than to play with her and touch her fur. She likes to watch them, but she's scared of them. She's not a hunter, her idea of entertainment is watching videos of birds on Youtube, or playing Game for Cats on iPad. If there is a bug or a spider, she sees her only duty as simply notifying us that there is a bug, and we are to kill it, she will not touch it. When Carlos is out of his cage, he tries to interact with the cat, which freaks her out, and she panic-smacks at him a couple of times before bounding away (she's getting calmer about it, she at least touches noses to say 'hi' first, but then the rat gets ahead of himself and forgets his manners), leaving a rather confused rat standing there, wondering if he should follow her again. The other rat was very jumpy at first, but now doesn't pay her any mind when he's in the cage. As long as he feels we're protecting him when he's out (he likes a hand cupped over his back), he doesn't bother about the cat. Tries to hide sometimes, but not always, and no longer in a panic. I imagine it's either because she never seems to care when he's out, and does not come close, or because he sees the other rat toddling right up to her and being no worse for wear, or chasing her off. 

Might just need time, but I wouldn't even try if my cat had any actual hunting instinct that wasn't reliant on a video game or a laser.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

A cat staring match, if I remember correctly, indicates that this cat is not much interested in friendsies with the rat.

"Humans love eye contact - it is friendly. For a cat, prolonged eye contact is an assertive, or even threatening, signal. The classic case is when several people are in a room for a social occasion and the host's cat walks in. It unerringly goes towards the person who doesn't like cats. Is it simply being perverse? The answer is in eye contact. Cat lovers will be watching the cat, hoping it goes to greet them. Those who don't particularly like cats will ignore it, hoping it will leave them alone. For the cat, the eye contact made by the cat lovers is somewhat threatening. It avoids them. The people who don't particularly like cats are not making eye contact - to the cat, they are signalling that they pose no threat. They are being polite in cat terms, so it goes to socialise with them."


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## September (Jul 30, 2013)

Grawrisher said:


> Oh shoot I didn't EVER think of that, my living space is the size of your closet and my cat isn't the type to go away , she's more of a "imma sit here, screw you" type a cat, even all the way across the room aris sees her and gets terrified, my cat goes wherever I go, she follows me no matter what, her "not being around" would mean I'm at work, can't have my rats at work....honestly, if it were that simple, trust me, I would have done it
> 
> 
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Are you seriously going to make assumptions about other people's living arrangements, people you've never met? I can't speak for the person you decided to be rude to, because I won't presume things about people over the internet, but I lived in a bedroom closet with a water heater taking up half the space less than a year ago, because 5 people were living in a 2 bedroom trailer. My bed was a plywood cutout with foam on top of it sitting on top of concrete blocks, and I _still _found a way to keep my cat away from my mice when I got my mice out of their cage. A cat who I used to joke was a dog in a cats body, because she followed me everywhere I went and was constantly in my lap. What did you expect people to say when you made this thread anyways?


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Siringo said:


> Okay, you don't have to be rude about it. It's not really that difficult to close yourself into a room without your cat.


You've never met pandora, when I lock her out of the room, she meows so loud she wakes everyone up and freaks aris out even more


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

It really is that simple, OP. Your cat can either go in another room if she doesn't get along with your rats or you can try an intro. I wouldn't advise it though, you should really only intro with animals you trust and know exactly how they will react. 

Maybe if you are in such tight living arrangements, rats and a cat are too many animals. Responsibly, you should only own pets you know you can take adequate care of. 

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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Sylver said:


> I have a clingy cat, too.
> 
> No, you can't lock her out of the room. Not if you want the door frame and the carpet to survive. She WILL try digging her way in if she knows you're in a room and she's not. We live in a rented apartment. The cat goes where the cat wants to go.
> 
> ...


Finally! Someone who understands what I'm trying to ask! No pandora will not attack my rats, penny's not afraid o her so I know it's possible, even though pandora lightly "bopped" her once, I shoved pandora away and penny was satisfied that I would keep the kitty away, aris has never even been less than four feet away from kitty,

I'm not trying to be rude but I wouldn't ask for help if the answer was really so simple I would have done it already

I cant find someone else I look after either of them nor can I exactly find a bigger place, no one that I know even likes rat, at one point I was supposed to get rid I aris I asked everyone I knew, and asked them to ask everyone they knew, a couple people offered to feed her to snakes, the only person who coul take my cat even for a short while I my mom...and he has 5 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 sugar gliders, last time pandora was there she was neglected and abused by the rambunctious kids that are there, I can't afford rent so I live in my grandmas laundry room, in a week my dad and I are moving next door, and MAYBE at that point I'll e able to lock my cat out of my room, but honestly I doubt it, she's very clingy to me, regardless of space


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

Grawrisher said:


> Finally! Someone who understands what I'm trying to ask! No pandora will not attack my rats, penny's not afraid o her so I know it's possible, even though pandora lightly "bopped" her once, I shoved pandora away and penny was satisfied that I would keep the kitty away, aris has never even been less than four feet away from kitty,
> 
> I'm not trying to be rude but I wouldn't ask for help if the answer was really so simple I would have done it already
> 
> ...


So let's take stock here. You have a cat that loves you, and hates being away from you. You also have a rat that is terrified of the cat. Your options essentially revolve around giving time to either one, with the other stressed. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I'm never going to suggest trying to mix them in any way - some might, but not me. I don't want to see you posting in a week saying how they were getting on fine until someone slammed a door, and your cat struck your rat, how your rat puffed up and scratched your cat's eye, or how your rat seems to have had a heart attack due to stress.

I really don't want to sound heartless, but whatever your living circumstances, you should consider how it would impact any pets you decide to take on - it's not fair, they have no control over their situation, and it's down to you to ensure whatever you adopt is happy and healthy. It's the reason I don't have my snake yet - despite having a larger living space than you, I just don't feel there's enough room to have two animals, that would in all honestly end up eating/eaten in the wild, living far enough apart. 

Hopefully when you move, you'll have the space - and all of this will work out.


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

Grawrisher said:


> I'm not trying to be rude but I wouldn't ask for help if the answer was really so simple I would have done it already
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Honestly doesn't sound like you're looking for an "answer" at all.. just someone to say they've had the same experience as you. And really, though, blatant sarcasm and condescending, dismissing phrases ARE rude, and there is no denying that. Not sure what you classify as "rude" if that isn't it. 

What solution are you looking for other than "keep doing what you're doing"? Rats are not one and the same. Just because Penny's not afraid doesn't mean Aris shouldn't be. It's normal for a rat to not like another animal. One of mine NEVER warmed up to my dog, but the others have because that is their personality, and I only ever allow my dog with them when he's not rambunctious. The rats love him and he loves them! But I kept him away from the rat that was scared of him... It's not really fair to force your terrified rat to interact with a cat or have to be constantly on-guard. Can't another member of your family hang on to the cat for an hour?


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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

No, I know what you mean. I have a siamese cat, one of the most vocal out there. They also tend to bond to one person and that person is me.

Her meow is an extremely loud YOWL and she meows nearly all day long. She wakes me up in the morning or the middle of the night by sitting on my chest or back and screaming. She can smell my trail everywhere I go and follows me into the basement and into the ATTIC and jumps into my lap when I eat and cries for some. Her meowing is obnoxious and she craves attention despite being spoiled beyond belief. If I want to free range my rats, I lock her out. She howls and claws the door but it's too bad for her. She's spent an hour doing it before finally giving up. Keep in mind I have 3 cats and I have a rat that is out of her cage nearly all the time but I still compromise and split my attention. All I'm saying is that I know how freaking annoying cljngy cats are but you are going to have to be stern and your family has to put up with it for the sake of your rat.

If you absolutely can't try purchasing a large playpen you can sit in with her or see how you can fix the bathroom so she can't hide as much.


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

alexn said:


> So let's take stock here. You have a cat that loves you, and hates being away from you. You also have a rat that is terrified of the cat. Your options essentially revolve around giving time to either one, with the other stressed. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I'm never going to suggest trying to mix them in any way - some might, but not me. I don't want to see you posting in a week saying how they were getting on fine until someone slammed a door, and your cat struck your rat, how your rat puffed up and scratched your cat's eye, or how your rat seems to have had a heart attack due to stress.
> 
> I really don't want to sound heartless, but whatever your living circumstances, you should consider how it would impact any pets you decide to take on - it's not fair, they have no control over their situation, and it's down to you to ensure whatever you adopt is happy and healthy. It's the reason I don't have my snake yet - despite having a larger living space than you, I just don't feel there's enough room to have two animals, that would in all honestly end up eating/eaten in the wild, living far enough apart.
> 
> Hopefully when you move, you'll have the space - and all of this will work out.


When I "adopted" them I lived with my mom (she had fewer animals then) and the house was big, aris had her own room and pandora was less clingy, I don't live with my mom anymore because she constantly tells me how worthless I am and she gave my room and all my stuf to my aunt , my town has a severe cat population problem, so giving up pandora to the shelter would mean certain death as she hates everyone but me, giving up the rats to the shelter spells the same outcome for them as our shelter only does dogs and cats

I am looking for an answer some way to help aris understand that I will protect her or something, pandora is not a hunter, she weighs 18 pounds, she doesn't even eat spiders anymore

I know not all rats are the same I'm simply pointing out tht since not all rats are afrai of cats there must be some way to make them comfortable with a cat in the room


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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

Unfortunately? I don't see it happening. Like I said your rat is following her instincts to keep herself alive. We are predators at first to rats until we sit down and socialise with them and they know to trust us. Your rat is clearly afraid of Pandora and unless the cat wants to sit down and do immersion with her Aris won't understand.

When rats get scared they are capable of fiercely defending themselves. I'm sorry about mentioning this example but I heard about a BP that had to get its eye removed after a rat struck at it. Your rat might run and hide now but if it gets pushed to the limit there are no hesitations about a bite, and then you risk a scary family decision about what to do with your rats when Pandora has a scary injury on her face from rat teeth. If your rat destroys your carpet purchase some cheap tiles and put them down or like I said see how you can cover the bathroom.

Both of these animals have instincts. I know some rats aren't scared of cats, mine aren't, but even a cuddle bug cat has instincts and you can never truly predict what an animal can do. 


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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

I meant if your cat destroys the carpet, not your rat. My apologies as I'm on the app and can't edit.


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## Sylver (Sep 5, 2013)

It doesn't really sound like she's trying to find out how to free range her cat and her rat unattended, merely how to have them both out in the same room. Certainly not an unreasonable question. 

When I first got my little rat, he'd try to bolt at any loud noise, or if he saw the cat. Until I started carrying him mostly wrapped up in a towel, and he could duck inside if something bothered him (he isn't terribly outgoing, and doesn't often make attempts to run around). He doesn't so much hide in the towel now, but likes to have it there in case he does. He stays on my lap at all times when he's out of his cage, so if he's going to bolt it's going to be into the towel, where he can peek out when he's ready.


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Xerneas said:


> I meant if your cat destroys the carpet, not your rat. My apologies as I'm on the app and can't edit.
> 
> 
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Actually you can! I jus figured it out, you tap your post, then hit more, it's in there


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Sylver said:


> It doesn't really sound like she's trying to find out how to free range her cat and her rat unattended, merely how to have them both out in the same room. Certainly not an unreasonable question.
> 
> When I first got my little rat, he'd try to bolt at any loud noise, or if he saw the cat. Until I started carrying him mostly wrapped up in a towel, and he could duck inside if something bothered him (he isn't terribly outgoing, and doesn't often make attempts to run around). He doesn't so much hide in the towel now, but likes to have it there in case he does. He stays on my lap at all times when he's out of his cage, so if he's going to bolt it's going to be into the towel, where he can peek out when he's ready.


I could kiss you right now, thank you, I'll have to try the towel thing


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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

I did not think that she was trying to free range them unattended... I think most people can understand that's a bad idea... Merely that I don't think that Aris will ever be able to be super comfortable around the cat, and the cat can never be fully trusted. 

Whatever advice you want to listen to is your choice, I was just offering my opinion.

And thanks for telling me how to edit on mobile!


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Xerneas said:


> I did not think that she was trying to free range them unattended... I think most people can understand that's a bad idea... Merely that I don't think that Aris will ever be able to be super comfortable around the cat, and the cat can never be fully trusted.
> 
> Whatever advice you want to listen to is yours, I was just offering my opinion.
> 
> ...


I Didnt mean to ignore your advice, I don't have carpet outside my door, but shel destroy the door, and I can't lock her out anyway, grandmas allergic, when we move, we can't modify the house it's a rental, and there are to many wires and things for me to let her run an hide right now


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