Tortoise and cat

[Siggy]

I’ve got a 15 year old tortoise, she’s a good size and when out of hibernation is free range around our garden. Our new neighbours have the most beautiful Bengal cat-who has decided that our tortoise looks very interesting/tasty? Should I be worried? My dogs tend to chase the cat off during the day but I’m worried about leaving the tortoise out at night.
Our tortoise is pretty fearless-she’s not worried at all by our dogs and cats!

 

[Tom]

Yes the cat is a potential threat, but I'd be more worried about your dogs. Next to dehydration, dogs are probably the biggest killers of tortoises, and no one who has had it happen ever thought their loving family pet would do this. They will. They all will.

I think you need to make a dedicated area for your tortoise and fence it off to keep your tortoise safe.

 

[Siggy]

Hi,

thanks for your reply. I’ve been thinking about making a dedicated tortoise area for a while now; I think the neighbours cat will def spur me into action. She won’t be happy though!!

My dogs are never alone with the tortoise and thus far haven’t shown much interest in her but dogs are dogs and I’m under no illusion about the danger from them! A friend had a tortoise who was attacked by the family dog. fortunately the tortoise survived.

 

[Blackdog1714]

Hi,

thanks for your reply. I’ve been thinking about making a dedicated tortoise area for a while now; I think the neighbours cat will def spur me into action. She won’t be happy though!!

My dogs are never alone with the tortoise and thus far haven’t shown much interest in her but dogs are dogs and I’m under no illusion about the danger from them! A friend had a tortoise who was attacked by the family dog. fortunately the tortoise survived.

Don't forget if a tort attacks the dog. That is a strong beak and I would not want my tender bits nibbled at! You could always get a motion activated sprinkler-very few cats enjoy the HOSE!

 

[KBeam]

I’ve got a 15 year old tortoise, she’s a good size and when out of hibernation is free range around our garden. Our new neighbours have the most beautiful Bengal cat-who has decided that our tortoise looks very interesting/tasty? Should I be worried? My dogs tend to chase the cat off during the day but I’m worried about leaving the tortoise out at night.
Our tortoise is pretty fearless-she’s not worried at all by our dogs and cats!

We have a neighbor with 2 bengals. Last summer I put my turtle on our sun porch and those two cats shredded our screens and scratched glass trying to get in to her. It was $1300 in damage (which they paid for). We also had a conversation about keeping their cats indoor. They didn’t listen and both cats were shot while killing chickens on a nearby farm. My point being that cats that are aggressive enough to try and scratch through glass or take on a full grown rooster can kill a tortoise in the blink of an eye.

 

[LasTortugasNinja]

I have a Bengal. She's fixated into getting into the room I have my reptiles. She's not allowed. My cats & dogs don't get to mingle with the reptiles. At all. My reptiles don't even get to mingle at all. Each has it's own area, and it's own "outdoor summer time home". As cute as it would be to pose them together as a family pic, I know for certain I don't trust any of them to play nice together. Even supervised. All it takes is one lunge and toss by the Labrador and tortoise is gone. I've watched too many episodes of "Wild Kingdom". They never end like a Disney cartoon.

Water won't detour many Bengals. Most like water. My cat drinks out of the spray bottle that sends my non-Bengal cat running for the hills. An enclosure that can be enclosed and locked will be your best bet. My Bengal is a criminal mastermind and finds all sorts of ways to get into things she KNOWS she's not allowed access to.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Please understand these keepers are talking about Bengal cats...not your average lazy house cats. While Bengals are somewhat domesticated...they still have wild instincts that Fluffy does not have...

 

[jeremiahquellette]

Usually, turtles are afraid when another animal approaches them. Maybe, when someone else's cat approaches, your turtle will hide its paws and head in its shell. When I brought my cat to visit my friend with a turtle, her turtle never poked its head out of its shell. Even a hawk can't get a turtle out of its shell, so it rises very high and throws the turtle down on the rocks. It is unlikely that your neighbors' cat will guess to do this. My British cat did not try to find a common language with my friend's turtle for long. She quickly lost interest in her. You can visit a website about what cats like to play with, like mine.

 

[CharSparda]

Usually, turtles are afraid when another animal approaches them. Maybe, when someone else's cat approaches, your turtle will hide its paws and head in its shell. When I brought my cat to visit my friend with a turtle, her turtle never poked its head out of its shell. Even a hawk can't get a turtle out of its shell, so it rises very high and throws the turtle down on the rocks. It is unlikely that your neighbors' cat will guess to do this. My British cat did not try to find a common language with my friend's turtle for long. She quickly lost interest in her. You can visit a website about what cats like to play with, like mine.

This is very different from tortoise to tortoise. My tort loves chasing one of my cats and my cat is the one who's usually scared.

I would always recommend to keep the tortoise away from potentially dangerous cats and from every dog.