{"id":4471,"date":"2025-10-26T15:48:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/?p=4471"},"modified":"2025-10-27T21:36:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T02:36:48","slug":"pet-rats-sharing-a-home-with-other-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/pet-rats-sharing-a-home-with-other-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"Pet Rats Sharing A Home With Other Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rats have amazing personalities and quirks that make them fantastic pets. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For years, I used to help Any Rat Rescue<\/a> with monthly tabling events at a popular bookstore in my city. The goal during a tabling event is to educate, promote rats as pets, dispel negative misconceptions, and to bring awareness about ARR and their foster rats looking for forever homes. Most of the people that came over to ask questions had a genuine interest or curiosity about rats, making these events a pleasant experience.<\/p>\n

I also discovered just how little the general population understands about these animals. So, I spent a great deal of the time trying to politely undo strange misconceptions people had that were specific to pet rats. The one that really surprised me was the notion that you can\u2019t have rats and other animals living under the same roof. I lost count of how many times I heard, \u201cI can\u2019t have rats because I have cats\u201d or \u201c\u2026I have dogs,\u201d or whatever other type of animal the person may have had. I was honestly surprised by this assumption. In turn, people were surprised to learn that I\u2019ve had cats, dogs, mice, fish, ferrets, and even a human child in the same house as my rats.<\/p>\n

Is Cohabitation Possible?<\/h3>\n
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Cohabitation of rats with other pets depends on many factors and requires great caution. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having rats does not mean that other pets are off limits. It just requires thoughtful consideration and extra effort to ensure everyone lives safely and happily under the same roof.<\/p>\n

The food chain is a very real thing, so it\u2019s reasonable to fear that other types of pets could pose a threat to your rats\u2019 physical and mental well-being. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to understand that cohabitation does not specifically mean that your rats should be interacting with other species in your home. In truth, pet rats should be separated from other animals. If there\u2019s adequate training and close supervision, some interaction may be possible, but don\u2019t expect or force a friendship.<\/p>\n

Also, know that no matter how calm or easygoing your dog or cat might be around your rats, even if they act like besties, NEVER EVER allow them together unsupervised. It only takes a split second for an animal to act unpredictably, and it could cost your rat their life.<\/p>\n

What To Consider Before Cohabitation<\/h3>\n
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If you can provide a separate space for your rats that other pets can’t access, it expands the pet species that can share your home. The dutch door we had allowed me to keep the top open during the day so I could talk to the rats, while also keeping our dog out. We then closed it at night to keep our cat from sneaking in. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone\u2019s living situation, finances, and circumstances are different, all of which factor into the type of habitat and environment your rats will have. This makes it impossible for me to generalize which pets are or aren\u2019t suitable for rat owners. Instead, ask yourself these important questions to help you determine if your living situation can provide both physical safety and emotional well-being for your rats if other animals become involved.<\/p>\n

Are you able to provide a room specifically for your rats that will be off limits to other animals? Or will they be in a room where other animals frequent? If they are, will the rats be caged when the other pets are present? Can the cage be reached or looked into by the other pets? Will there be continuous supervision of the other animals when they are near the cage? Where do you plan on letting your rats play daily, outside of the cage? Will other animals have access to that area while the rats are out? Will they have been trained to be around rats if they do? How much supervision can be provided during such an interaction?<\/p>\n

Some rats are terrified of animals like cats and dogs lurking around their cage, even if their life is not being threatened. Some rats may even get agitated, becoming territorial and protective over their space. Of course, there are also those completely unbothered rats that are actually curious about other animals.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to predict how a rat might react, even one you think you know well. You need to be prepared to make adjustments that will suit your rats\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

Example: You bring home a new cat thinking your rats will be chill about it, only to discover they\u2019ve become fearful and skittish anytime they smell the new family member. While having an entire room dedicated to your rats would be amazing, it\u2019s not a luxury everyone can have. Do you at least have the ability to move the rats to an adequate area<\/a> that the cat will not be permitted in? Or can you prevent the cat from invading the space your rats have already claimed?<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s your job to work some of these details out BEFORE mixing different types of animals together.<\/p>\n

Provide A Stress-Free Zone<\/h3>\n
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Whether or not your rat can interact with other species depends on always being supervised by you and the personalities of both pets. Our 80-pound shepherd mix wouldn’t allow our other dog, Jude, anywhere near her food dish, but she would let Delphiniums Blue and the other rats steal as much as they wanted from it. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for dogs or cats to obsessively hover, whimper, or salivate around a rat cage. They might even try knocking smaller cages over. Cats are also prone to batting at the bars.<\/p>\n

My rat Leeloo, who was an escape artist<\/a>, loved getting out of her cage to visit my mom\u2019s cats when we were living with her. The cats didn\u2019t know what to make of Leeloo and just watched her with curiosity. But most rats \u2014 especially if they\u2019ve experienced any kind of trauma \u2014 are likely to be apprehensive or downright frightened of other pets.<\/p>\n

If your rats do not show signs of distress from unwanted attention, a separate living space may not be necessary. But this requires your other pet being trained to leave the rat cage alone. Consult with your veterinarian, a dog or cat trainer, a local animal shelter, or other expert resources to get tips on how to safely train your other pet this important behavior.<\/p>\n

If the other pet persists in pestering your rats, or your rats are showing signs of fear and depression, then they need to be permanently separated. Either move your rats to a room where they won\u2019t be bothered or keep the other pet in another part of your home. Your rats deserve to live in a stress-free environment.<\/p>\n

Personality And Training Make A Difference<\/h3>\n
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Due to my dog Romy’s small size, I often wondered if she thought the rats were just tinier dogs. She was always so calm around them and often tried getting them to play with her. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you are planning on mixing rats with dogs and\/or cats, their breed could have an impact on how easily the integration goes.<\/p>\n

Some dog breeds have a much higher prey drive than others, making them far more dangerous around rats. An example would be hunting dogs or dogs categorized as \u201cratters,\u201d which were originally bred to hunt and kill rats. Certain cat breeds are more predatory than others as well. However, I know of at least four that are known for having a lower prey drive: Ragdoll, Persian, Scottish Fold, and Himalayan.<\/p>\n

Of course, the breed alone does not determine how a dog or cat might react to seeing a rat. Much of it is based on their individual personalities, their size, and how easily trained they are.<\/p>\n

Let me share some personal experiences to give you an idea of what I mean.<\/p>\n

The majority of my dogs during my adulthood have been shepherd or retriever mixes, along with one chihuahua mix, all of which are known for their hunting instincts. These breeds are extremely trainable, however.<\/p>\n

I started by getting each dog to stop harassing the rats inside their cage. Then, because of their good-natured personalities, it took only two months to train each dog to safely interact with the rats outside their cage (only while supervised, of course!). I wish I had time to share some fun stories of dogs being bossed around by tiny rats!<\/p>\n

Juno’s Story<\/h3>\n
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With training, Juno, my pit bull terrier mix, learned to leave our rats alone. But supervision is always required, because training isn’t perfect. Here, I caught her sleeping on the couch, which is a forbidden zone. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not all dogs make it that easy, however. I always avoided adopting any terrier or dachshund mix (despite my love for wiener dogs), due to personal experiences concerning small pets that I\u2019ve had with these \u201cratter\u201d breeds. But, in 2021, for some ungodly reason, I went against my own rule. We ended up adopting what we thought was a laid-back, pit bull terrier. Based on her demeanor at the rescue, I thought I\u2019d be able to train her as easily as I had my other dogs. It turns out, the shelter we got her from had been giving her a heavy dose of antianxiety medication, which they never informed us about. What we adopted was a neurotic mess.<\/p>\n

Please know that Juno has turned out to be a very sweet, loving dog, who is extremely intelligent and obsessed with her humans. Other animals, even other dogs for that matter, well, that\u2019s a whole different story!<\/p>\n

The first time Juno saw me holding a rat she tried to knock me to the floor to kill it. I\u2019ve never had a dog do that before. Thankfully, I had a designated rat room, which she had zero access to; it was the ONLY reason I broke my terrier rule in the first place.<\/p>\n

It took months of work and tremendous amounts of patience before I could hold a rat in Juno\u2019s presence without a reaction. Then, after a solid year of continual training, Juno was actually capable of being in the living room while the rats free-ranged on the couch! She cocked her head quizzically at them, but she obeyed and came nowhere near the couch while the rats were on it. She also got to where she could walk past their cage without the slightest reaction, even when new rats joined the family. I never taught her to interact with a rat like the other dogs, though, it just wasn\u2019t worth the risk.<\/p>\n

I often felt like I was in over my head with Juno. In the end, she proved herself capable of coexisting with rats. Not all dogs can.<\/p>\n

If you decide to mix rats and dogs, please prepare yourself for one like Juno, just in case. If needed, consult a professional dog trainer.<\/p>\n

Rat Troublemakers<\/h3>\n

Rats, too, have the potential to be aggressive or dangerous to other animals. They can cause serious harm when they feel threatened or territorial. I\u2019ve helped rehome rats that have injured or killed snakes that tried to make a meal out of them.<\/p>\n

Rats can be dangerous to other types of rodents as well and have been known to kill them. So don\u2019t expect them to be friends with your hamster.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t allow them access to birds either. Wild rats are known to prey on them and their nests.<\/p>\n

You can still have these pets, just keep them separated from your rats.<\/p>\n

Find Your Harmony<\/h3>\n

Sometimes cohabitation comes easily and falls into a perfect rhythm. Other times you wonder why you decided to add that high-maintenance dog to your serene house of rats. But if you prepare yourself for the unpredictability that comes with pet ownership and are willing to take on possible challenges, the unknowns become easier to tackle.<\/p>\n

For me, I personally find a multi-pet household to be quite rewarding. Each type of animal has its own unique way of providing love when I need it the most, and I wouldn\u2019t want it any other way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have pet rats and are considering adding another species of pet, these tips steer toward cohabitation that provides for the physical safety and mental well-being of all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rat","category-rat-housing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4471"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4491,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4471\/revisions\/4491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}