# Tortoises & Cats?



## sherships

I have a tortoise, but a cat will be joining our household soon. I'm worried that the cat might attack her. Do tortoises and cats get along? Any tips on acclimating the two to each other? Thanks!


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## Maggie Cummings

It really depends on the specific animals. I have numerous turtles and tortoises and 2 cats. My older cats have never bothered the small torts. But I just recently got a very active kitten and today he jumped into a box turtle habitat and the box turtle came out of her house like a shot and bit the kitten...I thought it was pretty funny...the kitten didn't


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## Yvonne G

I used to have 8 outdoor cats and 1 indoor cat. My cats have NEVER shown an interest in the turtles and tortoises, however, one day I stepped out the front door and my newest acquisition, a faded calico cat about a year old, was playing with something on the ground. Upon closer inspection, she had a baby box turtle. The turtle must have recently hatched in the box turtle pen and either the cat picked it up and brought it to the front of the house, or a bird got it and dropped it on the cement to break it open. The baby was ok.

If your tortoise is a baby, then a little diligence on your part is in order. Just keep a close watch on the cat, and if it shows an interest in your tortoise, you can squirt it with water, toss a can full of pebbles toward (not AT) the cat or just holler, "NO!!"

Yvonne


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## dmmj

I have seen lots of youtube videos of cats being attacked by torts who get into their territory. so watch out for those kitties. cats are curious sometimes to much but I have 4 indoor cats who nevr bother my hatchilngs.


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## Meg90

someone on here had a baby sulcata, under a year old, be attacked and killed by their roommates pet cat. It tore through top, and bottom of the shell on the little thing. The cat killed it, pretty easily in a fairly short amount of time....I would find you the thread, but its pretty late here in WI (or early lol).....

All I can say is that I do not have any cats, because I have a young tort. I wouldn't risk her on how a predatory animal is feeling one day.

Torts are small, and they move like prey. Cats have high hunting instincts. Just something to consider. Same goes for dogs too.


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## Stephanie Logan

I have four cats and one Chaco tortoise. My cats range in age from 2-16+, and none of them has ever shown more than a passing interest in Taco. My cats are strictly house cats, so they don't share the yard with Taco, but I have had the tortoise in the house on the floor, and the closest encounter they ever had was when Taco walked up to our fuzzy Milo and stared at him till Milo got up and walked away. I agree with Yvonne; just keep a close eye on their interactions till you get an idea of whether they will get along or not. Many dogs get along fine with cats, and some will chase and/or kill cats, so again it just depends on the personality of the specific animals. This link posted by someone on Tortoise Forum shows what one cat-tortoise relationship is like, but I doubt it could be called typical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul0gfCyeiyM


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## terracolson

I have 2 box turtles and one russian. They are all under the 6 inches in size. I also have a older cat and 2 6 month old kittens.
Teh older cat sniffed them out and left them alone. He lays in there pen and they cruz around him. He is so great with them.
Now the kittens are learning. they sniff and have tapped there shell. I of coutrse sprayed them with water and they took off. It seems they only sniff around when the turtles are eating fresh food. They all live together all the time and the kittens over all are good. They get more thumps from climbing my fence than checking out the turtles. 

A new kitten you would be able to train. If its a 6 week old kitten then i wouldnt even worry. You will have more of a owner power over it. If its a older kitten already into 6 months, you arent the main master and will have more training. 

I was first a cat lover then a turtle lover.


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## dmmj

also something to remember while dogs are considered domesticated, cats are still considered wild under the law.


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## spring pace

before galileo and marilyn came to live w/ me (both sulcatas) they were my neighbors, and they also had gotten 2 kittens. the torts lived in an aquarium on straight sand before i got involved. i knew something was wrong w/ them when teh cats started using their sand as a litter box and the torts started to show signs of distress, especially marilyn, her eyes swelled shut and nares were plugged, seemed like she stopped growing too, gali was a little stronger. i got the family to get a screen top for the torts and suggested that they take them to the vet, they didnt, one day i got so mad, i couldnt hold it in any longer and 2 weeks later the torts came to live w/ me. i got marilyns eyes opened, i soaked her and got her nares semi cleared, but she died a week after she came to me. galileo then got sick, really sick. i talked to the previous owners and they agreed to pay the vet bill for a check up, he ended up staying 9 days, now i know they had the wrong substrate, wrong foods, wrong humidity, etc., but im now thinking that the cats played their part in the health of the torts too, so for your hatchling, make sure theres a protective cover to keep the kits out. i had to medicate gali for 6 mos after his hospital stay, he had bacteria and parasites and was severely dehydrated which took a very long time to treat. hes big enough to be outside full time now, in fact hes much to large to come into the house any more. gali is very fortunate to be alive today, lots of torts that get stressed out like that when they are young arent strong enough to make it, like i said hes lucky and im thrilled to have him in my life today


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## Jacqui

We have had both the cats and tortoises for many years now. Sometimes one of the cats (*normally a kitten) will reach out a paw and touch one of those "moving rocks", but no claws are out.

However, if you don't have a cover on the enclsoure, the cats do every so often think the tort pen is a big litter box. Not a good thing to have happen.

Another thing to watch out for, is the lights. I had a cat sleeping next to a basking light, get her tail too close to the bulb and she actually started smoking. Could easily have gotten her hurt, not to mention burning down the house.

As with dogs, children, (and every other animal), I would rather be safe than sorry. Try to keep them apart. Accidents can happen so quickly and have such serious results.


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## sherships

Thanks everyone! This is super helpful. My tortoise is a teenager, so pretty big - about a foot across. Sounds like she'll be ok!


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