Kind of OT: New addition

As you know we're taking on the fluffy kitty. My husband has already been
calling her Furbie - remember the stuffed toys? Long hair, big eyes? I
don't care for that name, but we'll work that out later. In any case, we're
going to have 4 cats in our tiny 800 square foot house; more zoomies than we
need, but so be it.

Well, to add more madness to the bunch, we're acquiring a 4 month old black
and white male rat, tonight, named Mickey.

Allan has always loved rats and used to have lots of them as pets in the
past. He talks about how smart and clean they are, how loving they are, how
fun they are. Sure, it's going to be lots of fun, for me, with a rat and 4
cats in the house. Sigh.

He thinks he can keep it under control and we'll give it a shot. The rat is
coming to us free of charge, the cage is free, food is free, all we have to
do is pick him up tonight around 7:00 pm.

Dang it all, though, are we becoming a zoo? How do we afford all this?
Well, if my husband is happy and has his ideal pet (although he ADORES cats,
don't get me wrong!), who am I to say no? I'm just questioning 4 cats and a
rat in the same small quarters. Can they get along? Does anyone else have
pet mice or a pet rat and can give me some advice????????

Jack Campin - bogus address...

We have had them at the same time, but we didn't trust the cats alone
with a rat.

One of the few times we made a mistake was when we left the lid off
the aquarium the rat lived in when Muriel was in the room. She jumped
into it, ignored the rat, munched her way through its food and jumped
out again before we could intervene.

kilikini...

Well, I guess that's positive....... :~)

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

I think it depends upon the individual cats, but I'd suggest
the rat resign itself to being securely caged at all times -
simply for its own self-preservation!

kilikini...

mlbriggs...

Purrs that the cats don't invite the rat to (be) lunch. Best wishes.
MLB

polonca12000...

Congrats on your new addition!
Best wishes and lots of purrs for you, kili,
Polonca and Soncek

I would agree with you. Tonight is pick-up-rat night. We shall see how the
cats react to the smell of it under the bedroom door to begin with.

Shoots, Jill has a bird and a cat and her household works. This shouldn't
be any more difficult. Right?

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

True, but I don't think Peaches is allowed to fly free when
Persia is in the room!

Adrian A...

No advice, just good luck purrs.

kilikini...

Thanks! I hope we don't need them and it will all be okay.