We can give in, (even to ourselves,) and get a hamster, or fish, or a lot of pets which are interesting to look and fun to have. We will be doing it for the cats.
Who are, after all, not going to be taking care of them. If you know what I mean.
Safety first with small, dinner-like, pets.
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The appeal of lively small animals is shared by us and our cats, though not in the same way. But since we both should probably be hands off for considerable amounts of time, we can all enjoy watching them swim, tunnel, and run in their wheel.
They don’t even have to be that lively. I had a lizard, for months, who only moved at very rare intervals. He had a warm plastic rock that plugged in and the mealy worms disappeared at a steady rate. I found him a bit boring, but the cats were fascinated. Several of them would appear around the cage, content to wait for the time he did move.
We had a highly confident parakeet who got out of his cage behind closed doors for years until he passed on. If the cats got too close to his cage while he was in it, he ratted them out.
Our rabbit lived in an outdoor hutch in the outdoor cat enclosure. No matter the weather, one or more of his cat buddies would come out to spend time with him.
We should have some way of closing off small pets in open wire cages for stretches of time we can’t supervise. Fish tanks should be securely covered. Keep furniture away from a bird cage. Hanging the cage from the ceiling or off a long bracket (and then securing the cage and its support,) will let the cage swing and repel intruders until we can arrive.
It’s not just that the cat’s pets amuse us both. It’s that seeing our cat and their pet can be even more enjoyable and thought-provoking. As long as we keep ahead of them, just like Sylvester and Tweetie Bird, we can enjoy more pets in a small space or limited budget.
Supervise access, make sure they know the new additions are Under Our Protection, and they will spend many happy hours with their interesting pets.
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Yup, our little predators can be fascinated by small pets. However, in my experience, our cats got fed up with the hamsters we had over for the weekend. Well, not literally fed up, if you know what I mean
But after the initial excitement, they weren’t all that interested.
What does always work for them is bird watching, so I recommend a good cat shelf by the window and a bird house outside, with enough feed to constantly attract birdies.
Anne @ Cats Go Shopping´s last blog ..Let the Cats Hop and The Neighbors’ Jaws Drop