Humans and cats have a long history of enjoying each other’s company. Cats are not truly domesticated animals, not like dogs. Cats are the same as they were thousands of years ago when they chose to make our acquaintance. They have moved in and taken over our lives and the internet. Not everyone is in the feline fan club, however. Small animals like sugar gliders cannot live in households with cats. Let’s dive into why.
Why Can’t Cats and Sugar Gliders Can’t Be Housemates?
Sugar gliders are adorable giant, huge-eyed, fuzzy little creatures. Many people have them for their cuteness and hyperactivity. After all, sugar gliders love sugar! Sugar gliders require special housing, food, and environments. This can become complicated if you have other pets. The best way to have a sugar glider and cat is to have a room for the sugar glider that excludes the cat. But why is that necessary?
Cats are toxic to the small marsupials. Their saliva and other bodily fluids and excrement contain carnivore bacteria that help your cat break down their food. Sugar gliders are very sensitive to it and should never come in contact with it. This means hyper-viligence after cleaning litter boxes, accidents outside of the litter box, and petting your cat. Saliva, urine, feces, and vomit, should they come in contact with your sugar gliders, can be fatal to them. Here’s what to look out for in your cat.
Why is a Cat’s Saliva, Urine, and Feces Deadly to Small Pets?
Our small house tigers are the most lethal predators in the world. They kill more frogs, lizards, mice, rats, and birds than anything else and do it for fun. Their carnivorous saliva is packed with bacteria to help their bodies to break down their kill. The harmful bacteria is Pasteurella, which is deadly, even if their prey escapes death. An animal may be released from a cat’s deadly grip but will die a painful, slow death over the next few days. This is because the cat’s saliva is now on the animal they caught and had in their mouths. Later, the prey animal will groom itself, ingest the bacteria in the cat’s saliva, and die. We are also susceptible to Pasteurella, though, with humans, it typically presents as cellulitis.
This also goes for your sugar glider or any other small prey-type pet you own. If your cat and sugar glider get along, they might play together, and at some point, the sugar glider might come in contact with the cat’s litter box, litter hidden on your floor that fell off your cat’s feet after a bathroom trip, or be groomed by your cat. Cats are constantly grooming themselves and each other. The Pasteurella bacteria is located anywhere bodily fluids have come in contact with, meaning that you might have good intentions and believe your cat and sugar glider can coexist, but the truth is they can’t. It is too much of a gamble and not worth the risk.
A Small Animal’s Side Effects from Contact with Feline Bodily Fluids and Waste
When a cat catches a mouse or bird and carries it in its mouth, the animal will unlikely survive even if it is not wounded. The saliva dries, but the Pasteurella is still on the small animal’s fur or feathers. Once that bacteria is groomed off the animal, it will die. Before it dies, these are some of the side effects you may see: vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue, neurological issues, tremors, respiratory issues, and finally, death. Once the bacteria is inside the small animal, there isn’t much a vet can do to save them.
If you have a small animal, it’s possible to cross-contaminate it by touching it after petting a cat. This can also be true for your clothing, furniture, or anything the cat or dog has come into contact with. As you can now see, having such a small, delicate animal in a home with cats and dogs is terrifying. You can be hyper-vigilant and still fail. It is just too challenging to keep the harmful bacteria away from a small pet like a hamster, rat, bird, sugar glider, or other non-carnivorous small pets. Carnivores, like hedgehogs and ferrets, can be kept with cats because they have the same bacteria in their saliva.
If you find a live gift in your cat’s mouth, immediately get it to a rehabber. They may be able to wash the bacteria off, but that is best left to trained professionals since further stressing an animal, especially a wild one in shock, can kill it. Dogs also have the same bacteria in their mouths; the consequences are the same for any victim.
Can Carnivores and Herbivores Live Together Ever?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to control an environment with cats and dogs. Some animals are not negatively affected by Pasteurella but are instead seen as carriers without symptoms. Many other animals can also have it and become sick or die. The outdoors is filled with wildlife and roaming cats. Because of this, Pasteurella can be picked up in the soil or other areas where an infected animal has urinated, defecated, or vomited. If a bird was caught by a cat and carried around before it was dropped, and a hawk picked up the carcass and ate it, it would. Then, it will likely transmit Pasteurella.
The best and safest way to enjoy predatory and prey animals is to do so separately. It’s also best to be mindful of the pets in pet stores, friends, and family. Always wash your hands before and after coming in contact with any animal. You don’t want to get them sick and do not want to be ill because of them or get any other animals sick. Being a pet parent can be complicated at times. If you are curious if a specific animal can have or carry Pasteurella and give it to your pet, ask your vet.
