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I'm wondering about keeping a boa and a kitten in the same house. I am gonna keep them separated and keep the cat in a pet carrier when I'm not home. Boa is gonna be in closed room in locked cage. Going to keep them apart to avoid death or injury to both. What I'm wondering about is if the boa is constantly gonna be in a feeding mode from the smell of the furry little animal (if it can smell it if it isn't in the same room). Anyone keep the two in the same house or have any horror stories?

Tim

I have kept multiple cats in the same house with snakes for 15 years with only a few problems that were all entirely my mis-management. The last 3 yrs I'm had 6' boas with cats of varying ages, including 2-3 day old kittens.

First with what you are saying you are going to do: keep the unattended kitten in a carrier and lock the boa cage in a closed door room you basically would have no chance of injury to either.

If I read you correctly you are asking if a boa possibly a threat to a kitten, or vice versa. Yes, both ways.

A kitten will grow beyound the size of a meal before the boa is large enough to eat it. Eventually, the boa (depending on species) will be large enough to eat a cat. Now, will that actually happen? Probably not. I think a snake if in it's right mind only kills to provide a meal for itself. Could a 7 foot long boa constrict to the point of killing an adult cat? Absolutely. But, is it likely to happen? Not if you don't ever allow the situation to occur that would precipatate that event.

I've had my cats kill baby corns and trantulas. Entirely my fault on both occasions due to MY choice of suitable enclosures.

Cats will sit on top of the enclosure at times so make sure it isn't screen-it will break.

Use safe, common sense practices and you shouldn't have any trouble.

Please don't keep a kitten in a carrier for "the time you are away". dogs are denning creatures, but cats are not.

I keep my dog and snake in the same room and they dont seem to mind at all. The dog sleeps in a kennel at night and my snake functions as normal as possible.

My sister always kept her cat in one of them carriers overnight because it would claw and jump on the beds and wake you up. She said it liked it but maybe that is why it ran away. Thanks for help.

Tim

I keep my snakes in a room that locks. The cat and dog do not go in there, since the only time it is open is when I am in there.
I agree with sunshine that one should not pen up a cat; you can keep your bedroom door closed if you are worried that it will bother you at night, but other than a period of a few months where kittens get pretty crazy, it is my experience that they outgrow that and calm down. The kitty I have sleeps with my teenager, and he has not said that she bothers or wakes him while he is asleep.

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Boa constrictor

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Almost all of my snakes are kept in my living room, with a few in plastic tubs that are relegated to a bathroom. My cats are not allowed in that one bathroom, at least, not unsupervised...they MUST attend you in there. lol One of my cats could care less that the snakes are in the house, the cages are simply nifty cat perches. The other will often be seen in the same position as in Herman's picture...calmly sitting in front of the cage watching the snake. I've not had any problems with the snakes acting as if they are in feed mode constantly, nor any aggressive behaviour from the cats...not that I let the two socialize. The only negative behaviour displayed at all is from one of my aggressive boas...he HATES to be watched and will strike at anyone or anything hanging out in front of his cage for too long. The problem is solved by simply placing him in one of the higher cages where Patches can't stare at him.

In regards to containing a cat in a carrier, the others are correct in that cats do not like to be contained in small spaces. It's simple enough to simply close off the room the snakes are in (as I understood you planned to do) and let the cat roam free. If you don't want it to have free roam of the house, then confine it to a single room - such as a bathroom or bedroom - while you aren't there.

Raven

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Our house is 2 bedrooms, 1200 square feet. The mice/rats and ferret, and all the snakes are kept in the back bedroom. I have no problem with my snakes staying in feedmode at all. The three dogs and cats free roam everywhere BUT the back bedroom. I don't think it will be a problem at all. Only thing you have to be careful of is making SURE the snakes don't get out. I'm a dead man if my 8 footer kills one of my wifes cats...
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I have an adult male persion that pretty much has run of my whole house!Abeagle puppy,an 2 persion kittens,an I put a child saftey gate up an the cats I reckin are just smart enough to say hey we dont need to be in their an they dont jump the gate!An the adult cat he will watch them crawl around an move their tails but he shows interest from a distance an thats in the same room when I have them out,Especially my 7 ft 20lbs female she moves her tail back an forth when I am sitting on the couch watching tv an he just watches her tail with a look like I want to catch it but he knows better,he aint dumb!An knock on wood I have never been bit because of them being in the same room,I guess my boas are just used to their smell!Now I had an albino burm an that was a whole different story,lolNeedless to say I still have my cats an the albino burm got sold!Thanks[HYPOBOA]

The only reason I was gonna lock the kitten up is in case the boa got loose. The only boa that could get through the holes on it would be a tiny one, they are only like 1/4" or so wide. I didn't want either of them to get hurt or killed. I guess im just being an overly cautios parent though.

tim

If the boa could get out of a 1/4" hole, it could easily get IN to a cat carrier. It is a ggod thing to be cautious with animals, it shows love and responsibility, but if the snakes are in a separate room I think you've got it covered.

No the cat carrier holes are 1/4" the boa screen is the usual, really small holes.

` I keep my cats outside, but several years ago my adult Tomcat, and an adolescent ( Water ) Boa got together on the lawn before I could stop them. When no problems occurred, I watched them. They both went to sleep !
` Since then, I let them be social once in a while, with obsessive supervision. Usually, just for pix.
` The Boa has had a VERY mild feeding response, and general behavior since birth. Anybody can handle him, and he loves to "surf" crowds of children, at shows. In these pix, he's 10 feet, almost 30 pounds.
` The Tomcat is almost 18, and a pet since birth. He's interested in all my snakes. He was bitten in the back by a baby Anaconda ( different one ), when he jumped into my lap while I was holding the baby snake, but it didn't penetrate his fur, and he didn't react at all.
` I am NOT recommending this practice. With almost any other snake, and cat, you would have severe injury and probably death, on your hands. When this first happened, the snake was too small to injure the cat. Now, it is just an unusual phenomenon.

`

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Those are some nice pics of the cat and snake together. What are you feeding it in the 3rd pic? Is that a ferret? Or maybe it just looks like one to me.

` Lots of folks have asked that same question. It's just a very large rat. I used to keep ferrets, I could never harm one. I love the little maniacs! lol

` In this pic, you can see that it's a rat.

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I thought it looked kind of long to be a rat, but maybe it's just me. Probably be a little costly, last time I saw them they ran about $100 a piece

this 17 year old cat has seen it all...well now he has. he's a bit jelouse of the boas tail.

B.B.G.