Do chins and cats get along??

[polites82]

So I have wanted to get a chin for years, but the last 2 times i stopped at petsmart for cat supplies the chins they had caught my eye. So i started talking to my wife about getting a chin. Her main concern is that the chin and our cats (we have 3 females).

I tried to find some info and even hit up the youtubes. Couldn't find any good articles but there were a lot of videos on youtube of cats and chins playing together. So does anyone here have cats and chins and if so how was the process of getting them acquainted. As far as our cats temperament, even when they see an insect they usually paw at it once or twice then just sit and watch it crawl around until they get bored then just leave it run away.

Oh and a quick question on breeders, does anyone know of any breeders or rescues in south western (near Pittsburgh) PA??

 

[EMSChins]

Chins and cats do not mix! Cats are predators and chinchillas are prey animals. All it takes is one swipe of the paw and you have a dead chin on your hands. There are multiple threads on this forum about such mishaps. Of course you will also find an occasional pet owner that swears their cat and chin are best friends. You will find the majority opinion is to not mix the two.

Chins can also get diseases from cats.

 

[Andrea]

Chinchillas are prey, cats are predators. It is a terrible idea to let them "play" not to mention how terrified the poor chinchillas would be. Keep the chinchillas caged or separated from the cats when you have them out to play. Not to mention, cats use their paws to wipe their waste in their litterbox and they can pass diseases onto chinchillas that can kill them.

As far as breeders go, I know of one but I am unsure if she is still actively breeding:
http://sites.google.com/site/chinvetsite/

 

[FutureDVM]

As mentioned above, cats and chins definitely don't mix. I have 5 cats, but my chins are in my bedroom, which is off-limits to the cats. I keep my bedroom door shut and the cats are NEVER allowed to interact with the chinchillas.

 

[tcraighenry]

Not only are they prey, they're rodents! Or something cats were domesticated to eat! They even look like "hoppy mice" according to my friend's two year old

 

[Spirit Chaser]

I own both cats and chinchillas, but I never permit them to interact and as soon as the chins were brought into the house I started training them to leave the cages alone, I had more trouble with my sisters dog, then with any of our cats. A lot of people hold to this stringent belief that a cat can't be trained, but they learn by association, and mine know they will get reprimanded and a face full or water, ( from a squirt bottle, and carefully aimed so as not to hit the cage) if they bother anything living in a cage. Recently if I need to punish the brats I just pick up the bottle and can just squirt the floor without aiming it anywhere near anything and it's still traumatic to the cats when they find some form of trouble to get into.
Of course, my personal cats are both afraid of the cage critters for the most part, thanks to my rats who think that cats are something to jump off my shoulders or out of the cage to chase, and my cats apparently don't know the difference between the two species. Even so, I would never trust them with the prey animals. They are what they are and even the best trained one is dangerous.

 

[jess32247]

Never let cats, dogs, ect around chins. They are prey animals, it only takes a few seconds for the chin to get seriously hurt or killed. Plus, they can get all sorts of diseases from cats alone.

 

[polites82]

Thanks for all the quick responses. I was kinda hoping they would get along but also aware they might not. We do have a spare room so im sure i could just make that a no cat room.

Seems like a lot of you keep ur chins in ur bedroom, im pretty sure my wife would vote that down as our oldest cat sleeps either at the foot of our bed or under the covers with us nightly.

 

[Dreamlite]

I am a small breeder by harrisburg. Do not ever letcats and chins play together! I have a cat and I never allow her in my chin room. There is too much risk of injury to the chins.

 

[Pookinaround]

Hi I am in the Pittsburgh area and although I am just starting out as a breeder I know that it is highly unlikely that I will be offering any babies for quite some time however if you want to pm me I can help you get in touch with some really great breeders as I often travel around on my various "animal adventures" and I myself have been getting my chins from some of the really great breeders within a reasonable driving distance.

I have chins, a cat, dog, and ferrets. If you organize yourself properly you CAN have chins safely in your home. Ferrets, cats, dogs and chins are a definite no no but there are just certain "common sense" measures you can take. My chins are kept seperate, I never allow mixed playtime etc. Never a problem. As long as you have a room where you can keep the door closed and everyone in your home is on the same page about keeping the chins seperate from your cats I don't see a problem.

By the way I noticed your name and since you are from my general area by any chance would you be related to the teacher who passed away not that long ago? Anyway I know that part is definitely off topic but I couldn't resisit asking. She was my 5th grade teacher and my absolute favorite of all time!

 

[onyx79]

chins do get along with cats... in a cats stomach

 

[Spoof]

It depends entirely on the owner and how far you want to take it.

Having the spare bedroom is great, it will allow you to let him/her out for play time. Just remember to block off underneath the door. )

Do cats and chins get along? Some do, and some don't. It's up to you to know your cats and your chinchilla. It is more likely that a chinchilla will attack or mount the cat than the other way around. My cats and chins got along great. I did have problems with a few roommate's cats, easily solved by shutting the door. I've had a lot more problems with dogs.

Disease Transfer - Yea, cats and dogs and humans can give ringworm, bordetella (kennel cough) and pinkeye to chins. You can't blame a cat for that seeing humans and dogs have just as many outbreaks of each of those and I know several ranchers and current owners that not only have dogs in the house around the cages but use them in the barns to ferret out loose chins.

I've had cats and chins for years. You don't see many people comment on it because cat attacks are very uncommon and for the most part they live in the same house just fine. I see dog attacks yearly but only a couple cat attacks in the last decade, usually from a cat hooking the chin under a door. Unless I've missed one on the forum I've never heard of a cat killing an adult chin. Chins are nasty when offended and can bite clean through bone, spray and bark. Most cats actually get leery and run away when turned lose with a chin that approaches them.

 

[kerri101]

I agree if you ever have a chin and a cat what spoof said "block off underneath the door" not only can a chin sneak under a crack but a cats paw can swipe too....I have a serious block off I do when chin comes in my room for play
I have chin and cats but I have to take very special precautions chins and cats are never allowed to mix and I even keep my chin cage covered in wire all around the entire cage....I dont want my cats licking my chin or swiping ...I would never ever trust my cats even near my chin even if I was holding it super super tight...cats are natural hunters ...I personally have lived with my chin and cats but they live very separate lives ...

 

[Bundalo]

We have both a cat and 7 chinchillas, and, oddly enough, our cat prefers to ignore or actively avoid the chins where she can. At most, she's given one a swat (she's de-clawed) when it got too close for her liking. So it depends upon the cat, but _I_ certainly wouldn't otherwise risk it without knowing the cat really well. (We'd had ours for 8 years before getting our first chin, so we knew her temperament.) It's gotten so that all but our newest two rescues are comfortable enough with her in the room that they'll even springboard off her...which she hates and usually results in her leaving the room altogether. But by and large a couple of ours will share the sofa with her, and she with them.

But, again, not recommended.

 

[melbur10]

My cat is afraid of my chins because they run quickly up to her face, she backs up as fast as posible then when they turn around she will stock behind them. I would never recommend any one allow chin-cat contact it only takes one swipe of the paw to loose an eye, be badly wounded, pick up a lot of nasty bacteria etc.
While my cat has accidentally interacted with my chins she is kept out of the chin room.

 

[poetrue]

My chins are currently kept in my basement where I can keep the door shut and stop unsupervised visits from my cats. In the past though when I lived in an apartment I had my chins in my living room and my cats were allowed free roam of the house. I never once had any problems between my chins and my cats. I've also never once tried to have my cats play with my chins or vice versa. My cats are now 11 years old and have no concern about the chins and are more afraid of the chins than the chins are of the cats!

Cheryl