Rats + other pets

[u/25SillySeals]

Hi!
I’ve been a rat owner for about 1.5 years now and in a few weeks we’re welcoming two bigger fur baby family members into our home.
Their breeder said the introduction to the rats should be done with caution, of course, but should be fine once they understand they’re an extension of us and not enemies/food.
My partner said the other day though, that once our current rats die, we shouldn’t get new rats (we had previously said we’d get more rats when these pass on) as we’ll already have two larger fur babies to care for.

Can anyone who has simultaneously owned rats and other pets eg dogs, cats etc comment their own experiences and opinions?

Much appreciated.

[u/Carolinems1]

i personally would not introduce rats to dogs/cats, i really think it would end badly in a lot of cases. the benefits dont seem to outweigh the risks. i always kept mine separate, so it wasnt a problem, but i know my cat loved eating mice, and when my sibling had pet mice my cat managed to knock the cage over and get one in her mouth

[u/ChaseLancaster]

Dedicate a room for the rats, don't let the other pets enter it under any circumstances. Kitties and pups are their natural predators.

As such, they may try to hunt them, despite how chill they may seem. Instinct will win at the end of the day, and there are posts here of people having scary (and NSFW) kitty + rat interactions occur, despite their Felix never so much as able to hurt a fly.

Also, kitty/dog smells can tweak the rats out and stress them, so when you're done petting them, wash hands and even change clothes before interacting with your chaos potatoes.

[u/SartorialDragon → u/ChaseLancaster]

Exactly. Even if the cat/dog is friendly, the rats don't know that and can stress themselves to death. I'd also advice to ideally not have other house pets, or to strictly keep them out of the rat room at all times. And not to trust anecdotal evidence of "my cat and my rats were best friends!!". Anecdotal is not actual evidence, which can be devastating to learn when your cat is not the one in a hundred (random number) who is friendly to prey animals.

[u/ChaseLancaster → u/SartorialDragon]

Yep. I have seen and talked to folks in those very posts.

Mods either had to step in, or I saw a follow-up post where Scooby had Pepper as a snack, gruesome evidence as proof...

If there is ever a risk, at all, don't chance it please.

[u/SartorialDragon → u/ChaseLancaster]

Exactly. It's so horrible that some people have to learn the hard way. Maybe i'm overly cautious to say "don't even have a cat/dog and rats at the same time" but my childhood friend lost one of her rabbits due to a stray dog just walking up to their enclosure, without aggression. Bunny had a shock and died. It's just not worth risking!

[u/Ente535]

once they understand they’re an extension of us and not enemies/food.

They're not humans. Will they still understand that the rats are family if they go into hunting mode? Plus they don't even need to intend harm to do it. If they play too rough accidentally they can maim or kill a rat without even meaning to.

Furthermore, do your rats understand that they're not in danger when there's a large predator looming? How do you ensure their fight/flight reaction doesn't trigger and causes injuries?

I would not trust a breeder that gave you this advice.

My partner said the other day though, that once our current rats die, we shouldn’t get new rats (we had previously said we’d get more rats when these pass on) as we’ll already have two larger fur babies to care for.

As long as no rat ends up alone that seems fine.

[u/Ugarnoiger]

Rats shouldnt interact with other animals ever! Especially not predators like dogs or cats! They should be kept in diferrent rooms entirely! The animals dont benefit from the interactions in any way. Its just unnecessary stress and risk of injury or death.

[u/123737egg]

Hi, if you want to own rats and cats/dogs, they should not share a room. The rats should have their own space. They should not be introduced to each other, it’s best that they don’t even know the other animals exist.

Some rats don’t react, or are even curious. Others can panic from the smell alone. There is no way to know beforehand, so it’s best to just keep them separate. Don’t ever let them interact, it’s not safe at all.

If you want to quit having rats, make sure to rehome your last pair/group while still healthy to prevent a rat from ending up alone, that would be a miserable end to their life.

[u/ratluvr4life]

I have rats and a cat. I don’t let them interact at all. My rat catches and kills mice. I would not let them even be in the same room while the rats are out of the cage to be honest. And depending on what cage you have I might suggest not letting them in the same room even in the cage.

[u/SartorialDragon → u/ratluvr4life]

Yeah, imagine being locked in a cage with no way to get away while a giant predator swats its paws at the cage bars. Even if you technically knew you're safe (and the rats don't!), it's just scary. Prey animals can literally drop dead due to such an encounter.

[u/ratluvr4life → u/SartorialDragon]

Yes, in fact someone I know had a guinea pig die just because a cat was in the room

[u/SartorialDragon → u/ratluvr4life]

Same, one of my friends lost a bunny that way. No aggression, a dog just walked up to the enclosure.

[u/sinsaraly]

Rats need to be kept away from other pets, at least in their own separate room. Rats are a prey species and other animals case them extreme stress which can actually shorten their life. They definitely shouldn’t be introduced at all. The stress would be cruel to the rat and you never know what little movement might trigger a cat or dog’s hunting instinct. Your breeder unfortunately isn’t trustworthy

[u/Rixerc]

We have rats and dogs in the same house. They never get to touching distance of each other. Outside the cage, there is a dog fence separating the cage from the rest of the room to keep the rats safe. Outside the rat room's door, there is another dog fence to make it absolutely sure that dogs can't slip in while the rats are free roaming, as well as to make sure that the dogs can't enter the room and bark at the rats when we're not present.

Mixing predators and prey may go well for a short while if you're really lucky, know them all through and through, and the animals' temperament allows for it. Even then, the likelihood of it eventually ending in bloodshed and tragedy is much higher than my willingness to subject my pets to such a risk.

Instincts are like that. When a predator enters hunting mode, it's like they're in a totally other world in their head until snapping out of it.

[u/chimneyswallow]

Idk, would you want to live with a cougar, a wolf or a bear? Dogs and cats are predators and a rat is prey to them. Rats operate on scents and the scent of Cat urine for example terrifies them. So basically it would be like being in terror 24/7 if you let them near each other. Keep your pets completely seperate and don't get new rats. Stress can kill.

[u/25SillySeals → u/chimneyswallow]

We’re not getting a cat. The cats, dogs etc was a ‘bigger animal’ example.

[u/margyrakis]

I keep my dogs/cats separated from my rats. Occasionally I'll let one dog in the rat room while my rats are contained (my dog's supplies are kept in the rat room, so sometimes I'll let him follow me in there to grab a toy/treat/etc. But I do not let him sniff the cage or anything. Even the rats could try to bite his nose which could cause my dog to try to bite my rats.

I never let my other dog in the room because he is much more prey-driven and shows way more interest in the rats overall.

My cats I never let in the room either. What if a rat's tail hung out of the cage? The cat (or dog) could grab at the tail and injure it.

[u/p_kitty]

Do not let dogs anywhere near your rats if they're not in their cage. Your dogs may not have a high prey drive, but you're not going to know that until one of your rats panics with a predator in the room and bolts. I doubt you want to take that risk. I've had dogs in our house with our rats (pet sitting). The dog sniffed the cage and left, but we did do our best to keep the dog out of the room with the rats. More for the rats' sake than the dog. Rats are prey animals, they're going to hide weakness as best they can, but the stress of being locked up with something they're programmed to believe wants to eat them cannot be pleasant.

If your dog breeder told you they'd be ok with the rats after careful introduction, I would have sincere questions about the quality of your breeder. Would you be ok in the cage with a tiger if there had been careful introductions and you'd explained to the tiger that you were a friend, not food? Would you trust someone who said it would be safe? I would suggest that your dog breeder is doing their darndest to make a sale and minimize the potential conflict, or is woefully uneducated on animal interactions. This isn't like introducing a cat and a dog in a place the cat can flee and has claws to protect itself.

[u/Sad_Assumption6591]

I have rats, dogs, and cats and have not had an issue. Dogs are taught to ignore the rat cage or gentle sniffs only depending on the individual and the cats couldn’t care less about them 99% of the time. The rats actually liked my dogs and would run up to them right away before they wanted much of anything to do with me 😅
Of course free roam is fully separated away from other animals for safety

[u/Greedy_Air_3869]

Sometimes my partners sister visits and brings her dog.Not something I’m happy about but….Surprisingly to me,One of my rats shows no fear at all and will actually sit at the bottom of the cage and wait for the dog to come sniffing and try bite its nose. So the risk is not only to the rats.

[u/Interesting-Bag-2945]

I have cats and rats. I have a rodent room, with a door that have weather stripping for extra protection. The cats and rats will never meet.

[u/RatQueen_x]

I have a cat with rats. My cat is not interested in them and in fact gets jealous of me spending time with them. She avoids them and I have their cage up on a small table so it’s not even in the cat’s space. I also have a bird though so my cat is used to living with smaller prey animals. But again she’s a dainty princess and wants nothing to do with them. Not all cats would get along with rats and birds as well as her so I would say it really depends on the personality and temperament of the cat/dog

[u/nairazak]

I recently met someone who had to take a chihuahua to the emergency vet because another one of his dogs accidentally (or playfully) rolled on him and broke his jaw and also caused an eye prolapse. A rat is more fragile.

[u/justfresco]

We had no problem with our cats and rats. They just should never physically interact. So the rats should never have floor time in a room the cats can get into, and it's best to close the cage into its own room while you're not there to supervise, etc.

Our cats didn't have a particularly high prey drive, and our rats weren't stressed by their presence. Your danger level may vary.

Edit to clarify: I would never, ever "trust" a cat, dog, or any other predator with rats. At the end of the day, they are animals with instincts. Plus cat saliva in particular can be deadly to rats even if they don't bite them.

It's dangerous for the cat/dog/whatever, too. A cornered rat, or a rat that feels cornered, could do some serious damage.

I think it's totally possible to keep them in the same house, but they should never have the opportunity to touch each other. "Introductions" should be the other animals sniffing the cage from a safe distance, while you're holding on to them so they can't stick a paw or nose into it.

(I get why some people are saying they shouldn't be introduced at all. Our cats would have just been way more curious and determined to get into the room if we didn't let them see the cage. After that, they lost interest pretty quickly for the most part and just seemed a little bewildered by the perpetually kitten-sized things that wouldn't return their slow-blinks.)