# Hedgehog and cats in same household



## Kasia (Sep 6, 2012)

Hi everyone!

Pepper's doing well and finally warmed up to me. I've always wanted to own a cat on my own (my family's owned a couple over the years), and finally one of my roommates who's allergic is moving out. I've seen on here that a lot of people own dogs and cats and other animals, but was just wondering if having a cat will put a lot of stress on Pepper. I'm looking to adopt an older/senior window/couch potato cat (or two) from the RISCPA. 

I guess my main concern is about the cats actively trying to get into Pepper's cage and stressing her out, and her being afraid of me once she smells the cats on me. 

So my questions are: do you keep the cats and hedgies in separate rooms? Does the cat smell freak the hedgie out initially? 

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks in advance, 

Kasia


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## Poptart_the_hedgehog (Apr 1, 2013)

We have 2 cats. Initially I was very concerned because they sat outside my daughter's room for the first month and I thought for sure they would go after Poptart. However we introduced each cat individually to Poptart without any issues. Poptart does not care about the cats or our dog and while the cats and dog show some interest, it has been friendly. I know Poptart can roll into a ball to protect herself and the visits have been heavily supervised but it has been a pleasant surprise. We are now to the point we being Poptart downstairs to "hang out" and the cats and dog ignore her.


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## Kasia (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks Jenny! Your reply has definitely made me feel less stressed out about the whole thing!
-Kasia


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## DesertHedgehogs (Apr 2, 2013)

We have 4 cat's and it's the same. Some of the cats ignore the hedgehogs, and some of them are just fascinated by this living moving thing in their house and watch them constantly. All interactions are supervised, but the most that has happened was some of the cats attempting a curious pat... once. One of our female hedgehogs having found that the cats don't like spikes will actually chase them with her forehead spikes down. No injuries on either side, hedgehogs are very good at protecting themselves, and cats generally don't try more than once or twice. A kitten might, but the kitten is more likely to hurt itself then the hedgehog.


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## bluebyrd333 (Dec 28, 2012)

My cats are fine with my hedgie. I do have to watch Cosmo (the cat) because he is to curios for his own good. At first my cats tried to get into Scarlett's cage and i thought they wanted to hurt her, turns out they just wanted her cat food :lol: . I'm sure that Pepper will be fine especially if you adopt an older cat.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

In my experience hedgehogs are really indifferent to other animals. It's mostly seeing how other animals react to them.  We have a lot of new owners ask about cats, particularly if they have cats with a high prey drive, but cats for the most part seem uninterested in hedgies. Some of them will get poked, and lose all interest at all.


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## AlexONeil (Nov 14, 2012)

My cat is fine with the hedgehogs, but my dog thinks they're food. Fortunately my dog is a small breed, so there is no way he can even reach their cages. He also knows that while they're out and about, he has to stay away. Houdini charged at my cat the first time they met, so she stays away from them. Since the boys are housed in my room, she's not allowed in my room unsupervised. She likes to jump on their cages if she thinks I'm not looking.


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

My cat was initially very curious about Prim but after she poked him a couple of times he now watches from a safe distance. I never leave them alone together of course but he doesn't bother her. Just keep a close eye on your cat and make sure you have a top for the cage .


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## 23henry (Mar 2, 2013)

henry my hedgie loves nova our new kitten and she feels the same way about him, they will pass a ball back a forth between them and they like to spend time together. i always keep a eye on them though.


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## Alyybear (Nov 8, 2012)

My cat is rather obsessed with Nimitz, as Nimitz's cage is in a totally different room, and I never let him really interact with him. I've allowed him to sniff Nimitz a few times, and he got poked in the nose...and didnt care. He's convinced Nim is a fun noise making toy X_X I never let them interact ever unsupervised, because although my cat gets surprised when Nim "pops" at him, he is too curious to let that really deter him.

My dog is curious, but doesnt really care other than to see what all the fuss is about 

Although we did have a successful "mammal" party on the bed this morning...Nim in a snuggle sack, the dog passed out, and the cat an acceptable distance away from Nim that he just kinda chilled while peeking out of the sack


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## Jtymay92 (Apr 30, 2013)

Usually I have 2 cats in my house, but right now there are 5 because my sister brought her 3 with her to visit. I also have a maltese that lives in the same room as my Penelope girl. None of the cats bother her in her cage, but when I have her out to play on the ground, the cats love to watch her. I have a dog/baby gate in the doorway between the cats and the hedgie so they can't get in to the room when Penny is playing even if they wanted to. I would just keep a close eye on your cats if your hedgie and the cats ae close, or you could get a tall dog gate like I have. It helps so much and it makes me less nervous!


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