How to Let Cats Live Peacefully with Other Animals
Ragdoll cat
1. Hunting is natural for cats, and owners protecting the weak is key.
Cats’ hunting nature makes them quite excited when seeing living creatures; their instincts are triggered. Even if they have no intention to eat, they may unconsciously extend their “sinful claws” causing small animals to tragically die under their paws. Therefore, it is very important for owners to protect weaker animals. All small pets at home must be kept in places unreachable by cats and must not be allowed to roam freely. Fish tanks should be covered with glass lids, bird cages hung from the ceiling in the center of the house, and hamsters kept in hamster cages instead of letting them roam around...
2. Allow cats to interact with small animals under the owner’s supervision.
As the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Cats need to get in contact with these small animals; otherwise, their curiosity will be overwhelming, increasing their desire to play with them. Therefore, owners should closely monitor interactions between cats and small animals. If the cat shows any behavior of trying to claw or harm the animals, it must be stopped immediately. Let the cat become familiar with the scent of the small animals so they realize these animals are family members and should not be harmed. Then, have multiple supervised interactions until the cat fully understands the small animals’ behaviors and loses curiosity, thus giving up the idea of clawing at them. A friend who owns a mynah bird said their cat initially wanted to catch the bird, but after more interactions, the cat got used to the bird flying around and flapping wings and lost interest, eventually becoming friends with the mynah.
3. Let kittens get familiar with small animals in the home at a young age.
When cats are young, if they lack the mother cat’s training, their hunting skills won’t be very good, and their interest in prey is less intense. Therefore, it is best to let cats interact with small animals when they are kittens, reducing the chance of them clawing them. (Source：PetsZone)
