WILL OUR CAT KILL OUR HAMSTER?

Yes you have to assume it might, though occasionally cats don¹t. "I know of several cats which don¹t touch the hamster because they know it is part of the family. They distinguish between it and the mice outside," says Pamela Milward of the Southern Hamster Club. "In particular I know of two cats who, when the hamster escaped, would come and tell the owner about it but they would not touch it." She adds: "I hear of more cases where the hamster has bitten the cat, than cases where the cat has eaten the hamster. What usually happens is that the cat puts its nose through the cage bars and the hamster bites it." That said, there are cats who have eaten the family hamster without compunction, so readers would be wise not to trust their cat¹s sense of family values.