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Cats and snakes, can they be friends?

G

GRNDPNDR

New member
I have a 10 year old cat who is generally very well behaved. She's come to be the baby of the family.

She tends to get a bit jealous of the snake if she sees us taking him out and wants attention herself.

She's very curious about the snake, but doesn't seem to want him to be a snack. At the same time the snake seems a little curious about the cat but without being hostile.

So when I have the snake out I've been cautiously letting them sniff each other. The cat wants to just run right up and have a sniff, often startling the snake just slightly when she rushes into his face to sniff him.

This still doesn't result in the snake trying to strike or even getting into strike position. The cat also wants very much to touch the snake, not claw or harm
Him (we know our cat) she just wants to touch him.

So I've had the snake out, with the cat calm and rolling on the floor as I pet her and holding the snake, the snake seems content but cautious to be around the cat and the cat seems ok as long as she's gettig attention, even to the point of having the snake on her a bit while sprawled out on the floor.


Does anyone else have cats? Is it possible for them to be friends or is my cat maybe just biding her time until she can get "that long slinky toy friend"?

She even comes out to watch the snake feed.
 
Personally I think it is a tragedy waiting to happen. I know there can be exceptions to every rule but most cats would be waiting for the chance of the "slinky toy" I have seen the cats around here bring home a little of everything from snakes to rabbits. I would be erring on the side of caution just me though.
 
Please no. No, no, no.

Don't allow your snake and cat to play, or sniff each other, or really have contact.

What you are doing is asking for trouble. It make seems cute when they are "interacting," but one wrong move and your snake could be clawed or bitten.

My cats adore my snakes but I NEVER let them have contact with each other. It's asking for an injured snake.

I suggest reading through this search: Cat attacked my snake.
 
I have an 7-8 month old kitty, but we had all the snakes before him. He doesn't seem to care or notice the snakes, even when I'm holding them, but I still would NEVER let the snake near the cat purposefully. Why take the chance?? I just don't see any reason to want these two creatures near one another. If a mouse bite can be potentially fatal, imagine even the most well meaning of playful swipes or nips from a cat?

I think that by drawing attention to the snake while the cat is near you are really encouraging the potential for something very bad to happen. I mean that in the kindest way possible! I purposefully don't make a big deal about the snakes so the cat doesn't care about them, I might as well be holding a book or an apple or something. If the cat ends up finding the snake interesting, it could easily jump up or try to grab it, or if ended up on the floor somehow?

Please, please, don't put your snake near your cat!
 
Oops I made that sound like it's not. The cat and snake aren't playing with each other, I've held the snake, coiled around my arm.

Both the snake and cat have a curiosity for each other. The snake will attempt to even go sniff the cat.

There is no real interaction other than me having a snake wrapped around my arm, and petting the cat.

This wasn't a thread of "can they hang together" more just curiosity if they can coexist.

I know the cats natural instinct is to play with food before they eat it, no matter how friendly, instincts can't really be changed.

Don't worry guys, they aren't going to start hanging out together, and I know while the cat appears friendly to the snake it wouldn't take much of anything for that to change real quick.
 
Miquote: that's basically what I want is the cat not to pay attention to the snake. My cat is curious about anything new that moves period. She needs to get used to it before she will ignore it.

I'm not making a big deal about the snake or drawing the cats attention it purposefly.
 
we did the sniff sniff, be friends bit with our snake and cat- it worked for a while until our cat took the initiative and jumped on the tank, ben the cover, scratched her and she escaped for 6 days- it may be cute, but each of thier instincts are different- just be cautious, cats are methodical, they take thier time about what they will do about things, and snakes are skidish around larger animals anyway- no need to add to the stress- sorry :(
 
My cat was interested in the baby corn snakes. I was worried about kitty getting into the tanks or knocking them over. When we brought in the adult ball python she mended her ways. Since we got bp Titus last year kitty ignores the snakes. She does enjoy watching Titus eat; other then that if a snake is held, she's in her corner. Cats are natural killers and a snake is a self propelled string.
 
I have three cats and two of them are really curious in snake. When I was taking her out yesterday and holding her for a bit, one of the cats also wanted my attention and from experience with holding out smaller animals to him so he could see what I was holding, I knew it was a bad idea.

Even if my cats start to act friendly towards the snake if I let them see her more outside of her viv, I wouldn't hold my snake while petting my cat.
 
I'm afraid I don't see the "bond" between the barn owl and the cat - kitty has a fabulous toy there and there's a reasonably good chance someday that bird will lose its life to the pasteurella bacteria that cats carry in their mouths and on their claws.

I have seen first-hand what happens when a cat gets hold of one of those brilliantly self-propelled pieces of string. Miami was lucky to survive, and I am amazed her jaw and neck healed, because when we first retrieved her from the cats I thought she might not survive until we could get her to the vet. We do not encourage our cats to interact in any way with any of the reptiles - for the safety of the reptiles, and in the case of the tegu, the retic and the boa, for the safety of the cats too.
 
GRNDPNDR said:
Miquote: that's basically what I want is the cat not to pay attention to the snake. My cat is curious about anything new that moves period. She needs to get used to it before she will ignore it.

I'm not making a big deal about the snake or drawing the cats attention it purposefly.
Click to expand...

I know all cats aren't the same, but with my young cat showing him something and then keeping it out of reach/putting it away makes him all the more determined to find and investigate/play with it.

I just think putting the snake near the cat and letting her sniff it is a bad idea. If it were my cat, it would definitely be drawing additional, unneeded interest to the snake as a noteworthy object. I wasn't trying to say that you are tantalizing the cat or dangling the snake enticingly, just that that kind of interaction seems unnecessary and based on my experience would be making the cat more interested, not less. If your cat needs to sniff it out to be able to ignore it, I don't have any advice for you, sorry.
 
Miqote said:
I know all cats aren't the same, but with my young cat showing him something and then keeping it out of reach/putting it away makes him all the more determined to find and investigate/play with it.

I just think putting the snake near the cat and letting her sniff it is a bad idea. If it were my cat, it would definitely be drawing additional, unneeded interest to the snake as a noteworthy object. I wasn't trying to say that you are tantalizing the cat or dangling the snake enticingly, just that that kind of interaction seems unnecessary and based on my experience would be making the cat more interested, not less. If your cat needs to sniff it out to be able to ignore it, I don't have any advice for you, sorry.
Click to expand...

Not need to sniff it out, basically just get used to a new thing in the house. Once it becomes old news to her, she won't pay any attention to the "self propelled string" (funniest thing I've ever heard)

I also built a very strong lid that the cat could NOT ever get through. It's a solid piece of 3/8" makrolon, and weighs 10lbs. Nothing gets out, nothing gets in.
 
Dreamsnake said:
a snake is a self propelled string.
Click to expand...

agreed, best line ever :D

anyway, even then, haveing your cat climb on top can still be stressful- my cat did that to my poor gecko for the first month i had her, and she would stress out so bad that i would have to clean her tank every time the cat did that because the smell of the cat plus whatever fear scent my gecko left behind, would make her miserable.
i know it seems like we are bashing you- its just experience and care about snakes that drives us to push caution on you- like i said, we did the same with our cat, thinking that she would do the same- instead, she went crazy over them and would get up on thier cages at night and torment them- it seems harmless and cute, but we cannot be mediators for every instinct and species.
 
No bashing taken, we do love the snake and wouldn't do anything that would put him in danger, when the snake and cat were close neither was in a state of panic.

The cat was on her back in her "totally relaxed" mode when I was rubbing her belly. The snake was coiled safely around my opposite arm, and just hanging out sniffing around. He got curious and started slithering towards the cat. She laid there calm as ever, the snake had a closer, but safe inspection of the odd soft creature.

I moved him away, and it isn't something I intend on repeating, I was just letting the snake explore a bit so he could be a little more familiar with everything in the household.
Since the cat didn't budge and inch, I didn't see harm in letting stu inspect her a bit.

Trust me though, I wouldn't have let stu do it if I thought for a millisecond the cat would do something, and I do my best to make sure she isn't around when I do bring the snake out.
 
Kali got her name from the attitude she gave off the day I got her and the fact she lunged at my cat! o. O
I'm super careful when I have the snake out that I know where the cat is at all times. She's managed one swipe at Kali and I'm very lucky there were no claws involved. I know I have two living cat toys in my home now, and I'm super careful, but i know if I don't let the cat see she'd just be even more intent to get at them. She's been good, and I keep a minimum distance between them and no time spent unsupervised. I know she'll never curl up next to a snake or let me put one on her.

Instincts are instincts.

Off topic- My baby tank is on my computer desk and Trinity just shuffled a bit, stuck her head up, glared at me, sighed, then curled back up. "Stop typing on that silly forum already!" ^^
 
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