Seeking advice from pig/cat owners

DaveyCavy

DaveyCavy

New Born Pup
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I've had my piggies for almost 2 years now, and I love them dearly. They live in a big C&C cage, get plenty of veggies and fresh hay, and lead happy pig lives.

I have been wanting to adopt another pet for a while, and I recently learned about a breed of cat (Ragdoll) that is very sweet and gentle and has a relatively low prey drive. I adopted one last week and brought him home. I waited a few days to let him into the room with the pigs (my bedroom), not before reinforcing the C&C cage and adding a lid. Baloo (the cat) was curious about the pigs at first and sniffed them a bit through the bars, but quickly lost interest. Sometimes he lies down on my bed and watches "Pig TV," but he has shown no signs of aggression towards them so far.

Nevertheless, I want to be maximally cautious about protecting my pigs, and since adopting Baloo, I feel like their quality of life has declined. I don't snuggle them or play with them nearly as much anymore since I don't want to put them in danger, and they no longer get as much floor time as before. The new lid on their cage makes it harder for me to reach in to pet them or give them random treats throughout the day. Because of all the hubbub associated with adopting a new pet, I neglected to clean their cage all week; I just cleaned it, but I never should have let it get that dirty. I am feeling incredibly guilty that I may have compromised the pigs' happiness in order to selfishly acquire a new pet. I am also constantly worried that I'll come home to find some horrible scene (although I keep the door to the bedroom closed whenever I leave the house), and I feel irrationally resentful of Baloo for his natural hunting instinct.

I feel strongly that, barring exceptional circumstances, one should never give up a pet that one has adopted: I made a promise to care for all these animals, and I intend to keep that promise. Yet I feel truly awful that my pigs might be suffering because of this adjustment and that I may not be able to bond with them in the same way anymore. (I also feel bad for Baloo... he cries whenever I'm in the room caring for the pigs and I shut the door on him!) Cat/pig owners of Reddit, how can I be the best possible mom to all of my furry children? Thanks in advance, and so sorry for the length!

TL;DR: I adopted a cat and feel guilty for the impact it's having on my pigs.
 
Right then - time for you to take a deep breath! I'm going to say that I have experience in animal worry / anxiety. When we adopted my second cat, I felt eternally guilty because he really pestered and irritated my lovely, older resident cat. She hated him! And I worried so much about it.

Then when we adopted our guinea pigs, I worried continuously if they were OK - because I, like you - and many others on here, truly want the best for our pets.

I don't think you are selfish - not in any way! Quite the opposite. When you love animals, you want to give them a loving home. Loads of people have tons of pets and probably don't look after them or love them as much. These feelings will ease after you have all been together for a bit longer. You can only do your best.

I'm feeling guilty today because I haven't been able to get my piggies out for floor time for the past two days (it's so wet here in the UK), and I have also had work deadlines. I know if I get them out, I have to set it all up and then clean it away and it will cause me more stress. I feel like I have neglected them. But you know what, they'll be OK. I'll get them out when I can, and they are fed, watered and loved.

What I'm trying to say is there's only so much you can give. And if you compromise your own wellbeing because of the thoughts and feelings you're having, you'll be no good to any of your pets anyway. Your wellbeing comes first.

I have two cats and also have the piggie pops, and my cat is currently asleep in their room on top of a heater. He does watch them, but they are protected in their C&C and they have each other. And he's not fussed really. My other cats take no notice at all.

They also have really short memories! They won't mind about all of this, and once you've all adjusted to your new routines, everything will feel much better.

Also, I'm just going to say that as much as I dearly, dearly love my piggies, my pussycats are my besties!

So just take a breath, give yourself a break. Give yourself and your cat a hug. Then give your piggies a hug. Make sure they are fed and watered and clean enough, and know that "this too shall pass", and in a month or so, you'll have figured it all out naturally.

Take care of yourself. X
 
I think @alpacasqueak has both piggies and cats and may be able to advise 🥰

sorry I can’t be of more help. I have dogs and piggies. But I do sometimes feel guilty or worry that they don’t all get equal shares of my love and time!
 
Ragdoll cats are very sociable and need a lot of interaction. Is it possible to get a friend for Baloo?
Is it possible to extend the c and c, if floor time is harder?
They all have a very caring home so however you work it out, they've landed on their paws 🐾😊
 
Hi @DaveyCavy until last year I had both piggies and cats for 18 years, until my second old cat had to be pts at age 18. they got on great and I never had any trouble. I already had pigs when I got the cats and as they were kittens I was able to socialise them with the piggies, so they grew up knowing that the pigs were part of the family and not something to harm. I always made sure the kittens were around when I did anything with the pigs so they knew that all things piggy were just a part of the normal routine in my house.

Perhaps you could crate Baloo in a large crate in your room when you are cleaning out the pigs and giving them floor time, etc instead of shutting him out? That way he can see what's going on and learn how much the pigs are part of his new life and see how you care for both them and him. When you have finished caring for the piggies give him some cuddles and fuss.

So long as Baloo isn't trying to get at the pigs they will quickly adjust to him being there and not feel threatened.

Don't worry that your cleaning out routine was disrupted, it won't have harmed the piggies, and with a little time you, the pigs and Baloo will all adjust just fine. I remember when I brought the first kitten home having a terrible sinking feeling like fear and regret all mixed up. I think that is normal for some people, it didn't last and was replaced with the joy that animals bring into our lives.
 
My cat has grown up around the piggies too! When I am syringe feeding a guinea pig, Priya will come and sit on my lap too and cuddle up to them! I've always involved her with the care of the piggies and whilst I would never leave her alone with access to them, I don't think she would ever harm them.
When the piggies are outside in the run, they constantly try and get Priya's attention. They are certainly not worried by her! Priya is a hunter too and will catch mice and eat them, but she seems to understand that the guinea pigs are family members.
 
I understand completely where you are coming from, we have A LOT of pets, all rescues bar 1 snake and a bunch of accidental babies from other rescue pets.
We have 3 cats, 6(hopefully still 6 guinea pigs by the end of today one in emergency care right now) 3 fire belly toads, 1 leopard gecko, 1 kenyan sand boa and a bajillion accidental baby toads (turns out our fire belly toads were not all male as we were told, they were just waiting for a better home which we provided on rescuing them, whoops!)
I regularly worry about how much attention I give each set of pets. the cats are easy, they come and demand attention when they want it or if we haven't fed/cleaned/watered/petted them exactly on time. Everyone else is a bit quieter so sometimes I worry they fall by the way side. and some times things do lag a little behind like when one pet gets ill I do have to focus down on them a little and sometimes cleaning cages or litter trays can end up being a little late.

But, I think it's all just a matter of getting a rhythm, remembering to set aside time for each pet, initially this may be a little tricky but make an effort to get a routine that includes both cat and piggies. Make sure there is closed door time for them when the cat is out of the room and they can do their thing, the cat will get use to this routine and just go sleep when you do it, much the same as our cats sleep when I do!
Once you've got a rythem and routine it'll get easier.

Key things are to ensure your cat doesn't poke paws through the bars, some cats are very casual about guinea pigs others aren't and some wait for when your back is turned to harass them. Raise the piggies up is my main suggestion so it's not EASY to get to them, even the most docile cat in the universe might still poke or bite a guinea pig if given enough chance, its not worth the risk. Enclosing the cage as you have done is ideal but does make things difficult its true, working out an easy access mechanism to your cage will help you get them out for cuddle times and floor time. WE're still trying to figure out the easy access bit that doesn't give easy access to our cats, but I just make a point of making sure I spend time with the piggies even if its a pain in the back side to get them in and out.

You can juggle time with all the pets you have, it just takes some time and re-organisation of the way you do things, and, remember, while guinea pigs do need exercise exercise, cuddle times are probably more a you thing than a them thing, they'll probably be totally fine if left more in their cages munching food, so if you miss some scheduled cuddle times, thats ok, the guinea pigs wont mind, maybe just chuck them an extra treat instead they will forgive you I'm sure. ;)
 
It's lovely that some cats are able to understand that the guinea pigs are part of the family and not prey, but all my childhood guinea pigs were killed by our cat. Found their bodies scattered :( Please be careful.
 
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