Cats and Claws?

[JaneTheKidd]

Scrat has grown up so much and she likes to play with my kitten through the bars of the cage. I would love for her to be free range in the house/back yard (we're building a HUGE caged in yard for her that will connect into my room so she can come and go as she pleases), but I fear my cats. My old cats (the ones who stood over her until I came and the hawk fled) don't seem to give her the time of day, but my kitten is mesmerized. I've introduced Scrat to my two dogs, both small, and my kitten. I sit on the floor and hold her so they can sniff and lick her clean and such.

Every goes well (though I would still never consider leaving them unsupervised), but my kitten tens to poke (or paw at) the squirrel. With her nails out. She's at that age where she chases anything that moves.

With that said, is there an age where a squirrel is less prone to infection from a cat? I know cat bites are deadly to them as babies, but does that ever improve? I've seen several videos and cats and squirrels play wrestling or hanging out so I know its not impossible for mine to be like that.

[Spanky]

With that said, is there an age where a squirrel is less prone to infection from a cat? I know cat bites are deadly to them as babies, but does that ever improve?

No. Squirrels do not outgrow the their deadly susceptibility to fatal infection caused by cat bites.

[SammysMom]

To be honest, what you are describing is a VERY dangerous situation for a squirrel. All the squirrel needs to do is accidentally hurt one of the other animals with their sharp claws or teeth and the other pet will retaliate. There will be nothing personal about it and the other pet will not be wrong. They will simply be acting as their species is meant to act. It will not end well for the squirrel. The best thing you can do is to keep them totally away from each other. Anything else is taking a really big chance.

[JaneTheKidd]

Okay. Thank you for the responses!

[Shewhosweptforest]

I think that's the secret....older cats...kittens are just too playful they can even hurt themselves when they become engrossed with catching something. I would never trust a cat with my squirrels....as you stated..unless closely supervised I do understand you wanting to incorporate them all into the family....but it's dangerous....when I see those pics and videos...I always wonder how it all ended

I love the setup you're building....the large caged back yard attached to your bedroom ...that is soooo cool your squirrel is certainly lucky

[DarkLies212]

Just read in another of your threads that you've taken her outside to play in the grass. Not sure if someone mentioned this or no or even if you're still doing it, but watch doing that. She can get away from you in an instant even if you're super careful.

Do you have some pics? I can't find any!