What other pets should be avoided if you have a cat?

Some pets are not compatible with each other. Mostly due to they might fight each other, or one might be a danger to the other, or simply one will stress out the other. To a cat owner, what other pets should be avoided if you have a cat?

I don't think there is a simple answer to this question. I have had cats in my house my entire life, and have had carnivorous lizards free roam my house and never had any problems. It greatly depends on the actual cat/s, and the actual other pet. I make sure my cats and snakes never meet, all of my cages are both escape proof and cat proof, as I don't think anything good would ever come of that. But I would never say you shouldn't have a snake because you have a cat.

I have seen video of a cat killing a snake. I don't think cat is "snake safe". At least not for the smaller ones. Cats are natural born killers. Sometime ago on Animal Planet, there was a program to show top killer animals in the world. It turned out the title was given to the cats. Most other predators only kill no more than a dozen species for food. Cats on the other hand has been documented to kill over 2,000 different species. Some for food, some just for playing around. They are killers!

On the other hand, Pythons dumped out in Florida have been known to eat cats.

Cats can get along with a lot of animals. I think the secret is introducing them very carefully, or better yet introduce them as a kitten. With dogs and cats together, no matter what you do the cats always seem to end up in charge. The combinations I would be carefull of is cats with birds or fish. One of my cats knocked over a cage of two parakeets at a friends house. She heard the cage go crash and went to investigate. One of the birds was cowering in the cage and the other was attacking my cat. The cat was getting the worst of it, but then he was not the brightest cat in the world. This was the same cat who kept going around and around an octagonal fish tank, trying to get at the fish on the other side of the glass. Fish can be great entertainment for cats, but be sure the tank is securely covered so the cats don't go fishing.

I agree with Karenskatz entirely. The snake/cat relationship is not all that compatible. It goes from cat wants to kill snake, to snake wants to kill cat. And I secure my snakes more so the cats can't get in than so that the snakes can't get out. Really.

Those python from southeast Asia are HUGE. They are known to swallow American alligator whole. Of course they might eat a cat if they think it isn't too small of a meal.

With large aquariums, I would more worry about the cat might drown in there. Think about those tall tanks. If the cat jumps onto the top of the tank and try to get at the fish, or simply lost foot, I have a hard time to imagine the cat can get out of the tank once falling into it.

I had actually seen a video of a cat tried to bother a large fish. It ended up that large fish was fed up with the cat and grabbed the cat by the leg and pulled the cat down into the fish tank. The cat drowned.

The bird people probably have some good stories of encounters with cats. Smaller birds would not fair well, but any decent sized parrot could do a lot of damage with that beak, and I think any fairly smart cat would realise it.

I think the cats have become soft after being domesticated. All animals in the cat family are predators capable of taking down larger preys than themselves. Most parrots aren't bigger than full grown cats, except for a few extremely large species. Still, these birds aren't predators. In the wild, most animals are either predator or the prey. I would be more worried about the birds being killed by the cats.

Cats generally go after small prey, typicaly mice. Squirels are about the biggest prey they might catch, though some large cats have been known to bring home small rabbits. I think most cats are smart enough to figure the odds and go after prey that won't likely fight back. I have a healthy respect for what a parot's beak could do to me, and I'm a LOT bigger than it. A cat's hunting instincts are triggered by rapid horizontal movement or by fluttering movement. A bird like most parots that holds it's ground is going to make a cat stop and study the situation, and perhaps test the waters with a paw to see what the bird will do. Still, I would not leave a cat and a bird unsupervised. Smaller birds would defenitly be fair game for a cat.

I have also heard the stories of cats killing rabbits. It is not common though. However, it is hard for me to imagine a cat would have trouble with a non predatory bird such as parrot.

Birds and small mammals should all be a part of the wildcat's diet.

I have a comic from the newspaper that I kept: A parot is sitting in a large hoop-type perch and is looking down at the cat. There is a large bend in the side of the hoop, and the parot is saying to the cat, "This demonstration of beak strength is brought to you by Acme Cat Prosthetics."

Just because they don't hunt prey to eat doesn't mean they're defenceless! If a cat tangled with a parot, I'm not sure who would get the worst of it!

A cat has more than just teeth as weapons. If they are not declawed, they have claws. It can strike from a distance without putting the cat itself in danger. A bird like Parrot would risk head injury by attacking with its beak. The Parrot is at a disadvantage because it has no hand. Just my opinion.

That would be an unhappy situation either way, I don't think either animal would come out without serious injuries if a serious altercation were to occur. Some "domesticated" cats have more of the natural hunting instints than others. So it would vary quite a bit.

As for snakes, I will never leave a snake and a cat alone together, no matter the size of either. Their general physiology and movements seem to intrigue cats, and snakes are pretty simple creatures, either you are of an edible size, or you are not. So, either way, it's pretty much loose/loose.

I love the way you put it, "You're edible size or you're not." That pretty well sums it up.

A wife of a co-worker had gotten a roost of chickens and had asked if she should worry about the cat going out to the coop and killing the chickens. My co-worker told her not to worry as he watched the cat approach the coop with its tail up for the first and only time. Needless to say some animals have surprisingly good defensive ability.

It really depends on the cat. One would think they'd eat anything smaller right? Not always the case, my friend has two cats, a dog, and three birds and they all get along nicely. I have 3 cats and a dog and one of my cats likes to play with my dog. The only fighting that goes on is between two of my cats, and it's more of a small bullying problem =\

Although cats and dogs don't always get along, I think it's possible to own both and to figure out a living solution that suits both. However I don't really think it's best to have small rodents (mice,rats,gerbils,hamsters) in a house with cats. Even if you keep the door to the rodents room closed, I feel it's still a little too risky. I'm curious as to how cats behave with a fish tank in a room as I've never had fish?

A friend of mine has always had fish and cats together and there has never been a problem. I've always had birds and cats together and never had a problem until I got the little Tonkinese devil cat! I have to keep the Quaker parrot locked up, which is a shame. It was used to being out of its cage until we got the Tonk. The Eclectus and Tonk are more of a match for each other. The Tonk has learned to be a little more respectful of that larger, more aggressive bird! They do sometimes fight over the heater in the bird's room. The Tonk doesn't have much fur to speak of & is usually cold so he loves laying on the heater in front of the cages. The Eclectus parrot gets territorial sometimes and will hang off his cage and lunge at the cat. The cat usually jumps down & walks away.

I have a cat and a bird, and the combination can absolutely work as long as you take precautions. In fact, I had two cats when I first adopted Buzzy, but one cat crossed the bridge last August. Anyway, Buzzy's cage is virtually cat-proof - it's about fifty pounds, made of metal, and it sits against the wall with a shelf on the other side, making it almost impossible to knock it over. I introduced everybody slowly, and the cats quickly got the idea that the bird is "friend not food." That being said, I don't let them play with each other, and I don't ever leave them alone together. Buzzy gets plenty of time outside the cage, but he spends most of that time sitting on my shoulder. I also have a spare room in the house which became the "bird room," so Buzzy gets time to play and exercise in there (though he usually chooses to just sit on his playstand by the window and watch the robins outside). I just make sure the cat's out of the room and close the door.

Well, one of our cats does not like dogs or female cats - our other one loves dogs, though. My fiancee tells me that if we got a hamster, gerbil or even a fish, he or she would be tormented endlessly. So I assume those listed animals are not a good fit.

I had a mini zoo when I was a kid - guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, turtles, fish... and a cat. The cat knew to leave the other critters alone, though he and the guinea pig became best friends. We'd often catch him hanging out near the cage, and if we took the piggie out around the cat, they'd snuggle up together. When the piggie died, the cat sat where the cage had been and howled because he missed his buddy.

I would have to say you should really avoid getting a dog. But some dogs get along with cats.

All cats have different personalties and different compatibility. I have a dog with my cats and one is fine with him and one doesn't like him at all.

I feel like birds, rabbits, mice and rats should be avoided, because cats may see them as prey animals, but I have a rabbit also and both of my cats don't mind her.

The only pet I feel safe having around my cat is my family's Jack Russell terrier. I wouldn't trust my cat around any small rodents or pet birds.

Some of you guys might have gentler cats. Mine still likes to hunt even though she has plenty of food.

A lion or a hungry dog?

No I'm joking. I think that we would be surprised what animals would get along together well. I have already had dogs and cats together and never had any problem, they were even good friends.