10 cats and a guinea pig-okay idea or am I nuts???

[Les]

Hello all!

I have not been on here for a LONG time....I hope that all are doing well taking care of our little friends! Our 10 cats are doing fine-causing problems like peeing in inappropriate places, throwing up wherever, being naughty, etc. all the usual crazy cat stuff but none are sick or injured right now. It's been a few years since we took them in to make 10, and sometimes it does get on our nerves (mine more that the better half) but like she said "we rescued them and saved lives; they wouldn't have survived outside" which is true-just wish we had a bigger house then a Cape Cod so we'd all have more space but I guess there are worse things in life!

Here is my question; I had a guinea pig when I was small MANY years ago and if it wasn't for the first stray we ever took in showing up 6 weeks after we put our dog down in 1995 my wife was going to buy me one for my birthday. Anyways, about 3 weeks ago we were shopping for cat food as usual this time at Petco and I said "I want to look at the guinea pigs" and really got attached to an albino one they had-he just looked so playful and is older then the rest-in fact he is now 20 % off because of that and the girl said "people probably don't want him because he is albino" He just looks White to me with red eyes! I even named him "Jerry", and have been kicking around ways to take him and house him safely in a house with 10 cats; we don't really have any rooms that we can put him in and close him off-the only room is the spare room but it has the litter boxes in. The ONLY thing I could come up with is put him in our living room next to the piano in a standing rabbit hutch, but I wonder will he be scared all the time? The hutches I see stand off the ground which is good, we could build a little "house" area inside it so he can go into and be isolated, but we know the cats will jump on the roof and I'm also hoping that they don't jump up and cling to the front of the cage with the metal meshing. Like the wife says we don't want him to live his life in fear as the cats surely will be "intrigued" by him, but as long as he is off the ground and secure would he be alright?

Like she also said "our problem is that we think with our hearts too much" which is what got us in here in the first place! That is the ONLY place that we could keep him that we see-the basement gets too cold or damp plus dark and that is not good; upstairs is WAY too hot so the only place is where I said and it would work-just do you think he and the cats can "co exist"????

Thanks so much-stay well!

[Jean]

I love guinea pigs too.
Could you buy a large dog cage and put the rabbit's cage inside to give him a little more protection? You don't want the kitties reaching through to pet the little piggy.

[Les]

I love guinea pigs too.
Could you buy a large dog cage and put the rabbit's cage inside to give him a little more protection? You don't want the kitties reaching through to pet the little piggy.

That's a really good idea and we already have a large dog crate that we would keep the "new" kitties in down the basement for a few days before we introduced them upstairs! We have been discussing if the constant or near-constant cat presence would be too much for him to handle, and also the added work and expense to maintain him. So the idea had been on hold, but your great idea makes me rethink it now lol!!!

Thank you-I'll let you know what we decide!

[Jean]

Glad I could be of help. My first piggy was named Herbert he was black with a little white on his chest. I loved that boy. Enjoy finding a piggy that will fit into your home. I wonder if 2 babies of the same sex might be better suited for your kitty house.

[critters]

We had a bun who thought she was a cat. Admittedly, she was a pretty biggish bun, but she wasn't bothered in the least, and they just thought she was a funny-looking cat. She went everywhere they did, and even chose to eat cat food once in awhile.

[BendyMom]

my cats (20+ of them) completely ignored a guinea pig I brought home.
they play with the rabbit, but they ignored the pig. wierd. they like to eat hay, so they would fish hay out of the cage, as they do to the rabbits. now, he never came out of his cage to wander around, i felt like that would be tempting fate.
they are fun little guys

i like the cage inside a crate idea to start, best to start safe.

your cats sound like they aer being good cats

[Les]

your cats sound like they aer being good cats

Actually some of them are peeing in inappropriate places so some are not being good!

After quite awhile I decided against getting the little guy; we talked it out and the added expense and work would be just too much to handle right now. But boy would I take him in a minute if either of those two things were alleviated....I didn't realize how much it would cost especially for the bedding that has to be changed several times a week. Oh well...

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it!

[BendyMom]

if you are buying your supplies at a pet store yes it is expensive. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with farm supply stores (around here we have Southern States and Tractor Supply) you can get bedding MUCH cheaper, and often the food too.