Cats and Fish

Does anyone have a cat or cats that peacefully coexist with any fish that you may have? I have 2 cats and one fish and neither of the cats seems to even care that the fish exists! They've noticed the fish but never paid it more than a passing glance. Which is fine with me, I was just nervous that I'd wake up one more to find one of my cats had knocked the lid off of the tank trying to get at the fish.

I have had a cat and fish, and the cat would watch them swim around but not try to get at them. I never had to worry about the tank being knocked over or the cat trying to go "fishing". The bird on the other hand...

I never had a fish but I do own a cat. Unfortunately I don't think this a good combination to have.
I feel that the cat would somehow kill the fish and then I wouldn't be able to live with myself!Haha.
I guess it may work for several people but my cat is extra fiesty and nosy so in my mind it just doesn't
seem to add up in any way.

It really depends on the personality of the cat. I've had cats and fish (as well as cats and birds). Back when I was a teenager, I had one cat that was fascinated by the fish, and one time, I had the lid off the tank for cleaning. I left the room for a minute to get something, came back, and the cat's paw was in the tank (let's just say I never again left the tank unsupervised when it was open). On the other hand, I've had cats that couldn't care less about the fish.

I don't remember ever having cats and fish at the same time, but my dad used to have a cat and a bird (as well as a dog). The cat was hilarious; she would drape herself across the top of the bird's cage and then swing her paw back and forth through the wire rails and taunt him. He would have a fit hopping about and chirping what I could only image were curses at her. Animals are so funny sometimes.

Biney, one of my cats are totally fascinated by my goldfish. she would sit in front of their tank and watch them swim around for eternity. She sometimes even pats the glass if they are not moving enough. I guess for her ir is like watching the newest action series on TV.

Biney and I do have a little fight surrounding the fish tank sometimes, but it is not about the fish, its about their food. She knocks the container around till the lid falls off, and then she enjoys a fish food feast. She finishes a whole container in one go. masking tape is a wonderful thing to keep lids on and avoid a feline from stealing fish food.

The other day I caught her with her foot in the tank, through the round hole in the lid. Initially I thought madam were trying to catch the fish, but later it turned out that she was just drinking the water. maybe fish tasting water is a novelty for cats. Her favourite place for a nap is on top of the fish tank lid.

I have also seen a cat sleeping on top of a fish tank. Provided the lid is secured I see no problem keeping fish and cats in the same household. If the fish are in a pond outdoors it would be wise to place wire mesh over the water. This will also prevent fish eating birds from taking them.

I think most cats take more notice of birds and small animals when they are hopping or running around. Fish might taste good to a cat but their movements are slower than the type of prey cats love to pounce on and play with.

We do have a cat. And my son has two fish tanks in his room. We were worried abouth the same thing at first. I had visions in my head of a turned over fish tank and fish in the cats mouth. But our kitty Simon does not try to go after the fish. He will watch them when it is feeding time. Because the fish become very active and swim around for the food. But he does not make a move to go after them. The only thing we have caught him doing is trying to lick the water. There is a small gap between the lid and the tank itself. And he loves drinking that yucky water.

I too am interested in this, I am really considering getting a fish, but I worry my cats will stress it out, or that even worse my cats will smash the fish tank through trying to get in to it!

I never had fish at the same time as having a cat, but if the lid is securely fastened then I think it would work out alright. I have seen my friend's cat sitting in front of his big fresh water tank completely amazed at the sight of fish. She sits and watches the fish swim from one side of the tank to the other. Often she will stare at the snails climbing up the glass and totally lose track of time. It is entertaining to watch the cat and the fish.

It reminds me of people who play videos of aquariums for their pets to watch when they are not at home. I have seen cats trying to catch the fish on tv, and even climbing on top of the tv thinking they will catch the fish from the top. Cats can be very funny and might try to catch fish in a tank if given the chance to do so when no one is looking.

Cats are natural hunters so take care, make sure you have a good fitting lid on the tank.

Years ago we had a cat, and a hamster for the girls. We arrived home one night to find the hamster cage on the floor and open (it was the type that clipped onto a litter tray).

No sign of cat or hamster anywhere in the room and we feared the worst. I walked into the bedroom hunting out the cat. Turned on the light and there was the cat walking along behind the hamster as it followed along the skirting board. They had come out of the living room, down the passage and into the bedroom. The cat just looked at me as I retrieved the hamster with not a mark on it.

I still to this day think it was more by luck that the hamster survived and not that the cat decided it needed the extra exercise.

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I guess this ties in with my last post as it concerns the same cat. I had set up a new four foot thirty gallon marine tank in the living room. The tank was set on a purpose built stand two feet of the ground so I could view it from my easy chair.

The cat watched avidly as the first couple of colourful damsel fish were added. It would sit in front of the tank and watch the fish, as soon as one went down to the sand it would pounce at the tank. As if pouncing on a bird as it landed.

This it did maybe half a dozen times until, I assume, it realised it couldn't catch them so it would just sit watching them before getting bored and walking off. A week or so later I introduced a new fish, different colour and species. As soon as the cat noticed it would go through the whole process again of lunging at the tank, but only when the new fish headed toward the sand.

Again same result. We went through this twice more as I completed the stocking, and each time the cat only targeted the new fish. Things then returned to normal and with no new fish being introduced the cat never bothered with it again.