Basically my girlfriend owns two young sugar gliders from the same litter. They're about a year old. She loves to carry them around in a pouch and let them play on her arms/back.
I've owned cats all my life. When I was a kid my grandmother rescued quite a few of them, and even though it cost her a fortune to keep them all happy and healthy, our house wouldn't be a home without them. I have particularly bad anxiety and having a cat around has always helped a bit.
We were talking recently and she brought up some totally valid concerns about having sugar gliders and a cat in the same house. She told me that cat saliva was actually toxic to sugar gliders, which is a huge concern in addition to the fact that cats are predators. I know that plenty of people will say 'my cat/dog would NEVER hurt a small animal!' And then cry a few weeks later when their gliders get killed by their other pets. I want to be realistic in my expectations and be as safe as possible when having the animals in the same house.
I was thinking of sectioning off the house at night/ when either my girlfriend or I are asleep or aren't home. We could always shut the door to the room the sugar gliders are in, but owning cats I know that they can be particularly crafty if they're curious about something. Would it help to have the cat food/litterboxes/ beds/etc on the opposite end of the house to the sugar gliders? I was also thinking it might be good to make sure the cat gets plenty of enrichment so that they don't take interest in the gliders out of boredom...Like hanging up catwalks and cat toys throughout the house. Ideally I'd also want to make a safe little place for the cat to go outside for them to explore for additional entertainment, like a fenced in area they can't climb out of. I've also had a bit of experience with walking cats with a harness (though when you walk with a cat you don't really do any walking. There's a lot of sitting, smelling, and relaxing).
I'm hoping that as long as I can keep the cat entertained and enriched they won't have more incentive to take interest in the gliders. My girlfriend was also talking about putting a shock mat around the sugar glider cage (like the type you use to keep male cats from spraying in certain areas) temporarily to teach the cat not to go near the cage. I'm not so sure about this particular idea and I'd like to know your thoughts.
TLDR; Cats and sugar gliders: How can I create an environment where both animals are happy, healthy, and safe in the same house?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/m9wqof/my_girlfriend_owns_sugar_gliders_i_own_cats_how/
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