If you are an owner of a cat and have just brought a new hamster into your house or if you tend to bring a hamster into the house, you need to learn some things. Hamsters and cats are totally different animals. To be frank, cats are the predators of hamsters.
Cats can attack hamsters for many reasons. Sometimes just for fun! So, if you notice your cat is watching your hamster, naturally you feel scared and think why does my cat watch my hamster?
Today we are going to talk about this fact. Stay with us to know why your cat is watching your hamster and what you can do to save your hamster from the cat.
Why Does My Cat Watch My Hamster?
A new animal can be attractive to your cat. That’s why it may wonder and watch the animal all day long. Furthermore, if a cat tends to attack a hamster, then it may watch the hamster for quite a long time. Also, there could be just no reason behind a cat watching a hamster.
Whatever the reason is, you never give a wide berth. Your ignorance can be dangerous to your little hamster.
Do Cats See What Humans See?
While we ask- why does my cat watch my hamster, we should learn how a cat sees. A cat’s vision is similar to a color-blind person. Cats can see only blue and green and shades of these two colors. They can not see any deep color.
A cat can see almost 200 degrees. That means they can detect any movement faster than we humans do. Whatever it is, the cat can surely watch the hamster even if it is in the cage. Hamsters can be black, brown, golden, chocolate, gray and so on. But the colors are deep or medium deep which attracts a cat’s vision easily.
Do Hamsters Attract Cats?
Well, hamsters are tiny in size and they are prey animals. Cats definitely can be one of the predators of hamsters. Dominance is a basic instinct in every living species. To act dominant, a cat can attack a hamster even when it doesn’t want to kill the hamster.
Also, hamsters look like rats which can be another reason why a cat watches a hamster. If this is the reason then the cat may attack the hamster at once.
However, a hamster can surely attract a cat. You see, a hamster in the cage is always running or moving. If you pet a hamster then you need a running wheel for it. So, when a hamster runs, a cat instantly notices the movement and then the cat might stare at the hamster.
Can Cats Sense Hamsters?
Though hamsters themselves are not smelly but their pee and poops do. Also, they eat a lot of foods like nuts, vegetables and other commercial foods which smells good. These are enough for a cat to sense a hamster’s existence. So yeah, a cat can undoubtedly sense a hamster.
Will My Cat Hunt My Hamster?
Remember just a while ago we were talking about hamsters and rats? A hamster almost looks like a rat. Though the smell of these two animals is different, still a cat doesn’t understand the dissimilarities.
Also, a hamster can make some noises either by running or by its mouth. A hamster can make sounds like clicking, hissing, chirping, cooing, or sneezing. These sounds may affect a cat, and they can haunt your hamster.
Do Cats Eat hamsters?
Rodent animals like hamsters can never be friends with prey animals like cats. And yes, cats can eat hamsters. Even though a cat is not hungry or aggressive in nature still, it can attack a hamster and end up eating.
How can I keep my cat away from my hamster?
As hamsters are prey animals, they are widely hunted and killed by various prey animals. Wild hamsters save themselves by hiding inside any hole or burrow. But when a hamster is your pet, it’s your duty to save the hamster from your cat and any other killer animals.
- Keep your hamster inside of a cat proof cage. You can buy a cat proof hamster cage from local pet stores. Or you can use flexible wires to make an ordinary hamster cage cat proof.
- Keep the hamster cage away from your cat, and never give an entry to that place. You can keep the cage on a higher place like a table or any other furniture. Just make sure your cat never reaches it.
- If you want to leave your hamster inside a playpen, keep the door shut so that your cat can’t come in.
Can I Introduce My Cat to a New Hamster?
There is a saying that with love everything is possible. So, if your cat is kind enough then there is a chance your cat and hamster get along.
If you understand your cat and your cat is kind of docile then yes, you can introduce your cat to the new hamster. First, keep the hamster in a calm and quiet place. The hamster feels stressed in a new place.
Slowly you can keep your cat in the room where you have kept the hamster cage. But check the door of the hamster cage and keep a sharp eye on your cat. If you notice anything suspicious, keep the cat away at once.
Don’t bring the cat close when it is hungry. A hungry cat might misunderstand the hamster with food like rats. And then it might tend to attack the hamster.
Also, if you have trained your cat to hunt insects or rats in your house, then it is never a wise decision to bring the cat close to the hamster.
Final Words
Both your cat and hamster are innocent. A cat is no evil if it attacks a hamster. It is the cat’s basic instinct to attack little creatures. So, when a cat is watching a hamster, it is definitely not a good sign and you can sit back and relax. You need to keep your hamster and cat in a separate place. And if you want to make a good bond between cat and hamster, you can follow the steps above. Just remember, a cat, how polite and gentle it can be, still, it can attack your hamster when it gets a chance.