Keeping Tarantulas safe from Cats?

[Marlana]

I’m not even sure how you keep a cat inside that really doesn’t want to be. I’ve tried during storms, 4th of July week...etc. And he’s sneaky as heck. I look up and he’s slipped out between the kids feet. Or tricked the husband. And I’m back to luring him to trust me so I can grab him.

Granted he’s a street cat. He’s been outdoors before me. So that’s truly his home. Trying to keep him in is torture. All he does is try to figure out how to get back out.

 

[TGod]

In Europe attempts to decrease the population of outdoor cats usually result in exploding populations of rodents that need to be poisoned - I've seen this happen over the last two decades in my own town.

Thank you!

See how this went from T,s being protected from killer cats,to all about the cats?.
They do this
Why do you think Dr.Evil has a cat,not a yellow lab?.Or a B.hamorii?.

This is how they have overtaken the internet without even trying.
I think one day if we end up being integrated with technology we are gonna all end up doing the smart thing and worshipping these guys like the Egyptians.
Resistance is futile

 

[Westicles]

In my state Eastern cottontails were actually introduced in the 1930s and are not native to my area, which is what my cat catches. They are in pretty large numbers, he’s only able to take down young ones.

I think if you get a kitten, you should do the responsible thing and keep it indoors. My point was mainly that there are other situations and we shouldn’t judge without knowing. My cat would have been put down if it wasn’t for the barn cat program that my local shelters organized. Where unsocialized cats can live out their lives outdoors on someone’s property instead of euthanized. And I’m sorry but it’s not so simple as keeping a cat indoors sometimes. Cats born and raised outdoors don’t adapt well to indoor life, after a certain age. There are exceptions but those aren’t the norm by any means.

Not to get off topic here, but you're absolutely correct.

I’m not even sure how you keep a cat inside that really doesn’t want to be. I’ve tried during storms, 4th of July week...etc. And he’s sneaky as heck. I look up and he’s slipped out between the kids feet. Or tricked the husband. And I’m back to luring him to trust me so I can grab him.

Granted he’s a street cat. He’s been outdoors before me. So that’s truly his home. Trying to keep him in is torture. All he does is try to figure out how to get back out.

It's almost impossible. I have 20+ years of Veterinary Medicine under my belt, and I can tell you if there was some magic cure to keep a cat indoors, we'd be rich. I have 2 cats that were born indoors, and they would rather be outdoors. Just their natural instinct. Anyhow, I keep my snakes and spiders in a separate room that my cats can't access. Even if they could and knocked an enclosure over, I can't say I would get rid of them or blame them. By nature, cats are naturally inquisitive and predatory.

 

[Matt Man]

my neighbors cat is an outside Cat and she's always calling me or my daughter to clear up the death and carnage it has created. Mangled Lizards and birds. Sad.

 

[CommanderBacon]

It's almost impossible. I have 20+ years of Veterinary Medicine under my belt, and I can tell you if there was some magic cure to keep a cat indoors, we'd be rich. I have 2 cats that were born indoors, and they would rather be outdoors. Just their natural instinct. Anyhow, I keep my snakes and spiders in a separate room that my cats can't access. Even if they could and knocked an enclosure over, I can't say I would get rid of them or blame them. By nature, cats are naturally inquisitive and predatory.

Wait, so let me get this straight: you can keep your cats out of your lizard/spider room, but you can't prevent them from getting outside-?

That's strange.

 

[Westicles]

Wait, so let me get this straight: you can keep your cats out of your lizard/spider room, but you can't prevent them from getting outside-?

That's strange.

That's exactly correct. My snake/spider room is only accessible from my back patio. Add on to the house. So, nope it's not strange

 

[ErinM31]

My cats are strictly indoor, and have been their whole lives. I keep all my tarantulas in a room in which the cats are never allowed unsupervised. They’re generally much more interested in scurrying creatures (such as roaches and crickets and even scorpions that wander in from outside) and have shown little interest in the tarantulas but certainly I’m not going to take any chances.

If you cannot have a separate room, I think you would need to use a sizeable glass terrarium with plenty of substrate, on a low shelf, and with an absolutely super-secure lid/door.

 

[TGod]

Err anyone wanna talk about tarantulas?

 

[Mike R]

Neither of my cats pay much attention to any of my tarantulas. They’ll occasionally glance over at my stirmi if she’s trying to climb the glass but even then it’s more of a lazy gaze. Feeder roaches on the other hand - they’re all about trying to get at those. One of my cats has on a couple of occasions caught an escaped adult male dubia, brought it over, and dropped it on me.

 

[darkness975]

I wanted to bump this thread to ask some inquiries. I don't have a huge place so I cannot dedicate an entire room to my inverts.

Clearly the main factor is the cat's personality and whether or not they even care about them.

For those that may have a cat with more interest, what are some solutions that have been successful for those of you that have dealt with this?

Thanks!

 

[TheraMygale]

I wanted to bump this thread to ask some inquiries. I don't have a huge place so I cannot dedicate an entire room to my inverts.

Clearly the main factor is the cat's personality and whether or not they even care about them.

For those that may have a cat with more interest, what are some solutions that have been successful for those of you that have dealt with this?

Thanks!

its an ongoing discussion here. We want cats but always wonder if they would actualy climb the bookshelves and known over the enclosures.

i am glad you brought this up. Ive been wondering the same thing.

even though we love kittens, we will most likely adopt a senior cat at a refuge. Fits more with our energy level. And senior cats definitely need a home.

 

[kingshockey]

harbor frieght rolling tool cart and cages with awide enough foot print to not be toppled over oh and enough dirt to make things to heavy for my cat to move around. slings and juvenile ts i dbl cage them a big vented tub that i put the deli ciups etc into for safe keeping

 

[darkness975]

even though we love kittens, we will most likely adopt a senior cat at a refuge. Fits more with our energy level. And senior cats definitely need a home.

Not a senior but I do want one that's older. 3 - 5 yrs. Not only do they need love too but they're past the kitten stuff.

 

[Gevo]

Neither of my cats is as feisty as they used to be, but I may end up with a younger cat again someday. I have an Ikea cabinet with a glass front for my tarantulas. You can drill ventilation holes in the sides of some of them, but the one that I have has lots of gaps in the door and in the back, so I'm not too worried about it. You can also buy museum wax to help enclosures stick onto shelves and such (also good for minor earthquakes or other disturbances). I wouldn't trust the museum wax solely around cats because I've seen people post about cats breaking through lids and such too, but it can be part of the strategy of keeping the Ts safe.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

My cats never found my t rack downstairs or my slings upstairs both are out of reach . They won’t jump up there .

 

[darkness975]

its an ongoing discussion here. We want cats but always wonder if they would actualy climb the bookshelves and known over the enclosures.

i am glad you brought this up. Ive been wondering the same thing.

even though we love kittens, we will most likely adopt a senior cat at a refuge. Fits more with our energy level. And senior cats definitely need a home.

So what i ended up doing was moving my entire collection to the top of the farthest dressers in the corner of the back room. I also covered the front of the outmost enclosures with paper to block the view.

There is no place to get a foot hold as the enclosures all together take up 99% of the surface area. It's also a few feet away from any point that can be reached by jumping. Even if a jump was attempted the lack of a foothold wouldn't permit actually being able to actually stay.

Also some aluminum foil on the edges can't hurt.

It's something anyway.

 

[TheraMygale]

So what i ended up doing was moving my entire collection to the top of the farthest dressers in the corner of the back room. I also covered the front of the outmost enclosures with paper to block the view.

There is no place to get a foot hold as the enclosures all together take up 99% of the surface area. It's also a few feet away from any point that can be reached by jumping. Even if a jump was attempted the lack of a foothold wouldn't permit actually being able to actually stay.

Also some aluminum foil on the edges can't hurt.

It's something anyway.

sounds very cat proof at first glance. You will see what happens once its put to the test. I really want it to work out

 

[darkness975]

I find it disheartening that some people react with contempt when I try to explain why it is not good for cats to be outside, both for them and for their victims.

I understand that some cats were born outside or are used to it and won't adapt to an indoor only life. I am not judging that because I understand.

What I do judge is when people have the ability to make a kitten or cat okay with being indoor only and they are too lazy or combative to bother.

As it is there is a super friendly purebred Bombay female that has been wandering almost 2 miles from her supposed home and the owners could care less that she is exposed to cars, other cats, bears, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, eagles, ticks, mosquitoes , skunks, opposums , pesticides, and whatever else. The list is endless. Plus I can't enjoy my bird feeder with her around because she kills the birds for the fun of it.

As of last week I am a proud parent of a beautiful kitty. He is indoor only which he wanted to be from the start. He was abused and abandoned but has always tried to get inside when he was hanging around in the yard of the woman that rescued him. She couldn't keep him because she has too many cats as it is.

Anyway , back on topic, so far the setup with the tarantulas being mostly out of the way has been working. Time will tell but I am optimistic.

 

[TheraMygale]

I find it disheartening that some people react with contempt when I try to explain why it is not good for cats to be outside, both for them and for their victims.

I understand that some cats were born outside or are used to it and won't adapt to an indoor only life. I am not judging that because I understand.

What I do judge is when people have the ability to make a kitten or cat okay with being indoor only and they are too lazy or combative to bother.

As it is there is a super friendly purebred Bombay female that has been wandering almost 2 miles from her supposed home and the owners could care less that she is exposed to cars, other cats, bears, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, eagles, ticks, mosquitoes , skunks, opposums , pesticides, and whatever else. The list is endless. Plus I can't enjoy my bird feeder with her around because she kills the birds for the fun of it.

As of last week I am a proud parent of a beautiful kitty. He is indoor only which he wanted to be from the start. He was abused and abandoned but has always tried to get inside when he was hanging around in the yard of the woman that rescued him. She couldn't keep him because she has too many cats as it is.

Anyway , back on topic, so far the setup with the tarantulas being mostly out of the way has been working. Time will tell but I am optimistic.

outdoor cats are in top three reasons for migratory bird decline. There is no good reason for a cat to be outdoors. I am all for team INDOOR CATS. I am done with peoples cats defecating in my garden. I throw those turds back into their yards.

hose them down with water. Anything to make them leave my property.

cats can get hit by cars, get disease and parasites, poop in peoples gardens, get stolen. Spread fleas and ticks…

Its important to consider all these things when putting cats outdoors.

 

[darkness975]

@TheraMygalo

You get it