# Hedgehogs and cats?



## Hedgies<3 (Dec 2, 2012)

I am wanting to buy a baby hedgehog from a breeder in a month or 2 but i have cats. I have a 7 yr old maine **** cat and a 7 year old egyptian mau mix. When i bring my hedgehog home when would be the time to introduce it to the cats and how? How would I keep the hedgehog safe? If the cats showed aggressive signs towards the hedgie what could i then do to protect my hedgehog while I am sleeping? Do you think the cats would be an issue? Thanks for your time!


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## Hedgies<3 (Dec 2, 2012)

Sorry everyone who came for 'Mites"! This was my first post and I put it here by accident, I will relocate it to another topic page.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Sorry, I deleted the other post before reading this one. :lol: Went ahead and moved this one to General Questions, so no worries now. 

Personally, I don't like the idea of having predator animals near hedgehogs, especially if the hedgehog is nervous or scared at all initially. There's plenty of people with numerous animals in the house though, who deal with it various ways. Some do introduce the animals, with lots of caution and lots of supervision. You know your cats best - are they very energetic or playful? Have you ever seen them chase or hunt (or kill) small rodents, etc? If they're either, I would avoid introducing them to your hedgehog, just in case, and keep your hedgehog in a room away from the cats. 

If you think they'd be more cautious than playful or likely to hurt your hedgie, it's up to you if you want to introduce them - most people that have done so have reported that cats tend to either be indifferent after the first few pokes to the nose, or nervous around the hedgehogs and actively avoid them. They tend to be smarter than dogs and won't mess with the spikes.  My biggest concern with the shared household, especially if your cats can get near the cage is a) them somehow making the cage fall off a table or shelf, if it's anywhere but the floor b) them reaching paws in or trying to steal the hedgehog's food, or c) them knocking off any heating set up or burning themselves on it.


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## Hedgies<3 (Dec 2, 2012)

Thank you!!!! Do you know if there is anything to put around the cage? I would be around the hedgehog daily, but during the night my cat likes to sleep in my room....I wasnt planning on shutting the door unless there was nothing else to fix the issue.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

There are really tall pens for rabbits that might work to keep your cat away from your hedgehog cage, if you have the space. I think they are called x pens, there are short ones and I think there are ones that go almost to the ceiling.


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## Huntz362 (Nov 19, 2012)

When we introduced our cats to Bonnie we simply held her in our hands. When the cats went to sniff her she rolled in a ball and poked them in the nose. Now neither of them will come near her. They lay about 3 feet from her container and simply watch her as she runs around and Bonnie doesn't seem notice they are there. They won't get any closer then that though!! :lol:


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

I have a cat and two dogs and Prim has met them all. Obviously there was A LOT of supervision (me plus 2 other people in the room). My dog Rebel has sniffed her and will let her climb near/around him and doesn't bother her. He has sniffed her a little too hard and got poked, so he learned his lesson. My cat, surprisingly, has stayed pretty far away from her. My cat usually just watches from a distance.

I keep Prim in a 55 gallon storage bin on my floor with a modified lid on it. Basically I cut out the inner part of the lid that came with the bin and replaced it with chicken wire. George doesn't sit on top of it because it doesn't look safe enough to him but even if he did, it would hold up to his weight and Prim would be safe from him.

I don't think it would hurt to introduce your hedgie to your cats if you are able to watch them closely. I just put Prim in a blanket in my lap and let my critters smell her through the blanket and after a while I pulled the blanket away so they could just see her back and let them smell her that way. Below is a picture of Prim and Rebel, one of my dogs. He pretty much ignores her now. (Ignore the tarp and paint cans, we're in the process of laying new floors and painting lol.)










Hope this helps!


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Agreed that it can work and other pets don't necessarily have to be kept away from the hedgehog cage but before getting a new hedgehog it's good to have a plan in place in case having the other animals around the cage causes a lot of stress. For instance my Cat likes to sit and watch Koloth run on his wheel, and Koloth runs around the apartment with the cat following close behind (never pouncing though) The cat also sits on the hedgehog's cage which is on the floor. But if Koloth was a very shy hedgehog it might not work for him. If he didn't run on his wheel while the cat was watching or if he huffed and got defensive every time the cat walked past the cage I'd move his cage to a room that I can lock the cat out of. It's good to be prepared just in case your cat really bothers the cage, or if you have drafts on the floor and have to keep the cage on a table it's not a good idea to let the cats near it.


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## Hedgies<3 (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks everyone! I will definitely keep in mind what was said


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