claudiusx":21fkeqgr said:Hi there,
When I was younger there were tons of cats in the house, and I never had an incident. I think a lot of people have cats and dragons/other small pets and there isn't an issue.
The problem is when there is one. It's usually pretty bad and it's pretty "loud" in the sense of it makes a lot of waves through the community. What isn't "loud" is all the thousands of dragon owners who also have cats.
I don't have cats anymore ( they never really were mine to begin with ) and to me, the pets that come first are my dragons. That being said, if I decided I wanted a cat, having dragons wouldn't deter me from it. I'd just be more cautious.
There are numerous ways to catproof and enclosure. You definitely can have both as long as you realize there is a possibility of an issue if you aren't careful.
Is having a cat more risky than not having a cat? Yes. Of course. But how much of a risk, is largely up to personal opinion.
-Brandon
DorgEndo":3kzb5e40 said:People keep all types of animals where one could harm or stress the other. Everyone has their idea on what would be best or the worst thing. There are rational precautions you can take to keep your dragon safe and reduce stress from other housemates.
There are sturdy and secure enclosures you can get for your dragon. You can add locks to the doors. You can install a camera, something simple like a Wyze to verify that your dragon isn't being bothered by any other house inhabitants human or otherwise. You could go so far as to keep the dragon or cat separated by a door when you aren't home or awake to supervise. People also don't put doors between their critters. Making sure there isn't a way for a cat or any animal to climb on the enclosure or perch nearby and stare inside, as that could stress out a bearded dragon.
Personally I'd recommend a sturdy enclosure, door locks, and a camera.
kingofnobbys":2uj73zh7 said:Doesn't matter how old the cat is, it's still a cat and hardwired as such .
So bringing a lizard into the house is EXTREMELY RISKY (for the lizard) and there is a very high probability the cat will attack and either very seriously injure the lizard or torture it to death given the first opportunity.
The cat must never be allowed near the dragon or it's tank or even in the same room EVER .
Cats are perfectly capable of getting through wire mesh ( as commonly found in USA style lizard tank lids ) with their claws and fangs , and only need a hole big enough to get a front claw through to hook the terrified lizard and drag it out of the tank. This happened to the kid next door's colony of Jacky Dragons , sister's cat snuck into the room , tore a hole in the wire mesh lid , and took 4 of the 5 jacky's out and tortured 3 to death and left one with a broken neck and back (who was boring because it was no longer moving).
And it only takes one scratch or bite from a cat to inflict a festering life threatening very hard to treat systemic infection that invariably ends up killing the injured lizard.
The cat and dragon will NEVER be pals , don't let cat-people tell you otherwise (they are deluding themselves).
Unless you can be 100% sure the rest of your family will be obsessive about keeping the cat out of the room the dragon will be living in (cats are very sneeky and often slip through doors that are being closed without people knowing this has happened), my advise is wait til the cat is no longer in the picture.
Long and the short of it - IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK.
Grezgu":28051ezz said:Hi! This is my first post on this forum, and i have a really old cat, and an almost year long obsession with beardies. I finally have almost enough money to give one a very spoiled life, but theres a looming issue. I have a very old cat. (She probably only has a year or two left in her :c) but dont yell yet, i know the harm, and i wont be getting a beardie if I deem that dangerous. My cat is irreplaceable, but more importantly is slow, very old, has never attacked any of my previous small birds or my snake. And generally is very indifferent. Another factor is that she lives pretty much exclusively upstairs of my house because she claimed my guest bedroom, And id be keeping my beardie downstairs. What do you think? (Sorry if this is the wrong section )
Grezgu":csbawvv5 said:kingofnobbys":csbawvv5 said:Doesn't matter how old the cat is, it's still a cat and hardwired as such .
So bringing a lizard into the house is EXTREMELY RISKY (for the lizard) and there is a very high probability the cat will attack and either very seriously injure the lizard or torture it to death given the first opportunity.
The cat must never be allowed near the dragon or it's tank or even in the same room EVER .
Cats are perfectly capable of getting through wire mesh ( as commonly found in USA style lizard tank lids ) with their claws and fangs , and only need a hole big enough to get a front claw through to hook the terrified lizard and drag it out of the tank. This happened to the kid next door's colony of Jacky Dragons , sister's cat snuck into the room , tore a hole in the wire mesh lid , and took 4 of the 5 jacky's out and tortured 3 to death and left one with a broken neck and back (who was boring because it was no longer moving).
And it only takes one scratch or bite from a cat to inflict a festering life threatening very hard to treat systemic infection that invariably ends up killing the injured lizard.
The cat and dragon will NEVER be pals , don't let cat-people tell you otherwise (they are deluding themselves).
Unless you can be 100% sure the rest of your family will be obsessive about keeping the cat out of the room the dragon will be living in (cats are very sneeky and often slip through doors that are being closed without people knowing this has happened), my advise is wait til the cat is no longer in the picture.
Long and the short of it - IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK.
I understand your concern fully, but I feel like you didnt fully read my post and just reposted this from somewhere... I have small birds and a snake in my house. Shes never attacked either of them, and they are both prey.
Personally, I disagree. Like the OP said they wouldn't let the cat near it or it's tank. And it's not like they're just going to mindlessly wave their dragon around their cat. Plus it depends on the cat as well, Not all are vicious monsters. You just need to be smart and cautious when having cats.kingofnobbys":s351i5el said:Doesn't matter how old the cat is, it's still a cat and hardwired as such .
So bringing a lizard into the house is EXTREMELY RISKY (for the lizard) and there is a very high probability the cat will attack and either very seriously injure the lizard or torture it to death given the first opportunity.
The cat must never be allowed near the dragon or it's tank or even in the same room EVER .
Cats are perfectly capable of getting through wire mesh ( as commonly found in USA style lizard tank lids ) with their claws and fangs , and only need a hole big enough to get a front claw through to hook the terrified lizard and drag it out of the tank. This happened to the kid next door's colony of Jacky Dragons , sister's cat snuck into the room , tore a hole in the wire mesh lid , and took 4 of the 5 jacky's out and tortured 3 to death and left one with a broken neck and back (who was boring because it was no longer moving).
And it only takes one scratch or bite from a cat to inflict a festering life threatening very hard to treat systemic infection that invariably ends up killing the injured lizard.
The cat and dragon will NEVER be pals , don't let cat-people tell you otherwise (they are deluding themselves).
Unless you can be 100% sure the rest of your family will be obsessive about keeping the cat out of the room the dragon will be living in (cats are very sneeky and often slip through doors that are being closed without people knowing this has happened), my advise is wait til the cat is no longer in the picture.
Long and the short of it - IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK.
HippieLizards":2qrwtc13 said:Personally, I disagree. Like the OP said they wouldn't let the cat near it or it's tank. And it's not like they're just going to mindlessly wave their dragon around their cat. Plus it depends on the cat as well, Not all are vicious monsters. You just need to be smart and cautious when having cats.kingofnobbys":2qrwtc13 said:Doesn't matter how old the cat is, it's still a cat and hardwired as such .
So bringing a lizard into the house is EXTREMELY RISKY (for the lizard) and there is a very high probability the cat will attack and either very seriously injure the lizard or torture it to death given the first opportunity.
The cat must never be allowed near the dragon or it's tank or even in the same room EVER .
Cats are perfectly capable of getting through wire mesh ( as commonly found in USA style lizard tank lids ) with their claws and fangs , and only need a hole big enough to get a front claw through to hook the terrified lizard and drag it out of the tank. This happened to the kid next door's colony of Jacky Dragons , sister's cat snuck into the room , tore a hole in the wire mesh lid , and took 4 of the 5 jacky's out and tortured 3 to death and left one with a broken neck and back (who was boring because it was no longer moving).
And it only takes one scratch or bite from a cat to inflict a festering life threatening very hard to treat systemic infection that invariably ends up killing the injured lizard.
The cat and dragon will NEVER be pals , don't let cat-people tell you otherwise (they are deluding themselves).
Unless you can be 100% sure the rest of your family will be obsessive about keeping the cat out of the room the dragon will be living in (cats are very sneeky and often slip through doors that are being closed without people knowing this has happened), my advise is wait til the cat is no longer in the picture.
Long and the short of it - IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK.
They could simply cat-proof their enclosure, which you've made graphics and illustrations on how to do that.
Honestly I'd say it'd be fine to get a Beardie. As long as you take the right precautions and not let the cat near the dragon you should be fine. I have a cat, a huge Maine coon mix, she's indoor/outdoor. She isn't allowed near the dragons, but she is occasionally allowed in my room when I have a close eye on her. Whenever she's in my room she never took any interest in my reptiles. And if She did, she'd be too lazy to take any action.
My laundry basket and carpet however, that was a different story, as she immediately and viciously slept in it like the ferocious tiger she is.
So no, you do not have to wait for your cat to pass on to get a Beardie (which I'm sorry to hear that your cat is on its last years, my grandparents cat is 17 and slowing down unfortunately too ).
You just need to be smart about it and be careful, and you shouldn't have a problem. But just don't let your Beardie roam around near your cat. Otherwise you should be fine.
Aww! How cute, I was keeping a small black kitten for a week a few months ago, and she stayed in my room and all the dragons were really fascinated by her. All she'd do was run laps around my room and not care for the beardies but the beardies would just calmly watch her all day looking all curious. It was cute.DragonPete":fv8x6po3 said:As a last note, my kitten is an orange tabby stripe and Petey likes to watch him. No BB, no hissing or aggression, just watch. Follows him around the tank. ?
Sorry about the lengthy post.
-Dee