Cats and Mantids

So, it seems that our zoo of a house keeps growing. We got a cat a week ago. This is our first animal that is permitted to roam freely. Now we have:

1. Our new cat, Douglas.
   
2. Three guinea pigs.
   
3. A 2.5g Aquarium with nerite snails, some crystal red shrimp and amano shrimp.
   
4. A 7g aquarium with nerite snails, blue velvet shrimp, and crystal red shrimp.
   
5. A 5g aquarium we are using to house ~100 baby mystery snails.
   
6. A dwarf white isopod colony
   
7. A giant canyon isopod colony
   
8. A dubia colony
   
9. A banana roach colony
   
10. Three ghosts, each in their own enclosure
    
11. An adult male h. majuscula
    
12. An adult male peacock mantis.
    

All of these live together well since they are all contained with no ability to escape or interact, except the cat.

We have already added a lid to the guinea pig enclosure so that the cat cannot get at them. The aquariums have lids and are likely too heavy for the cat to knock over accidentally. The other cultures are kept out of reach.

Our main concern is our mantises. The cat is attracted to the flies we use for feeding, and is also attracted to the movement of our h. majuscula. I am worried that the cat will become curious and hit the enclosure off of the shelf. Our enclosures have set-on lids, not snap on lids. So if it gets knocked over, the mantis will be on the loose and the cat will likely be hunting it down. Our current solution is to move the larger mantises to my office (the one off-limits area for the cat), and leave the ghost mantises out since they don't seem to trigger his prey drive. Their leaf camouflage really works.

How do you guys deal with having cats and mantises in the same home?

I usually don't let my cats anywhere near my mantids, as they tend to attack bugs with gusto. We are lucky that our cats aren't troublemakers that get into stuff or knock things down from their homes. 

I recently started letting my cats stay in the room with me occasionally while I feed and care for the mantises and they have been doing well. Specifically, my cats are purebred Ragdolls and have a mild temperament. They really just like being near me and a part of what I'm doing. That being said, they also seem less able to notice the Ghosts, or at least less interested in them. They are most interested in the flies I feed, and have only shown interest in a cup that contained a fly with a mantis. 

I only keep Ghosts and Orchids currently, so idk how my cats would react to different species, like H Majuscula. Usually, I keep cats locked away when a mantis is out, for safety. My general rule is if a mantis is out of an enclosure the cat is locked out of the room. Also, my enclosures are sitting inside aquariums which prevent the cats from tampering when I'm not accessing the enclosures. The shelves where the aquariums live aren't tall or wide enough for the cats to jump up there, as the aquariums take up most of the spare room leaving no way my cats can cause trouble in Mantis land. 

My advice would be

1) keep the mantids separate from the cat, to be safe

AND/OR

2) block the ability to access or move the enclosures (weighted down, out of reach, barrier to prevent knocking enclosures off of the shelf, etc) 

Sounds like you are doing this stuff already

Congrats on the kitty addition! Cats are and always have been my main animal obsession. My mantids run a close second

Once upon a time we had four cats.

Three died of old age, one moved with our stepdaughter. No more kitties, which is sad but also happyness because ... mantis.

I dont know how I would deal with a cat as my mantis shelf is out in the open. 

Graceface said:

Sounds like you are doing this stuff already

Congrats on the kitty addition! Cats are and always have been my main animal obsession. My mantids run a close second

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Thanks for the insight. Our cat is pretty nice, a 1.5yr male tabby. Within 10 minutes of getting him home from the shelter he was on his back asking for belly rubs. Very friendly and loving.

Its a little complicated keeping the predator and the prey in the same house, but I think we will manage.

That is quite the collection there! 

I can't have a cat, or any animal with fur or feathers, even the 'hypoallergenic' ones, because my dad is allergic.

- MantisGirl13

MantisGirl13 said:

I can't have a cat, or any animal with fur or feathers, even the 'hypoallergenic' ones, because my dad is allergic.

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Caleb is allergic to cats too. Mildly allergic, but it exacerbates his eczema (mild as well).

i have no cats. but I have a dog. and that isn't save for a mantis either. Scooby wants to play with them. (if he gets a chance,) Gladly he can't climb to the mantids homes.Sometimes Scooby finds an escaped grasshopper and plays with it till it is dead.

Moving them into a cat free area is definitely the go to. Alternatively, cages that fit snugly into a shelf with snap tight lids (just in case) could likely work. Or get a display shelf that has glass doors/sides so the cats can't get in.

I'm lucky, both of my cats (Muddle and Sterling) have little to no interest in insects unless they fly and are loose in the house. I actually TRIED to teach them to go after loose crickets with no luck whatsoever. They made terrible bug bouncers.... The worst my cats have ever done was sneak into the bug/reptile room to watch the cricket bin with fascination for hours while trying not to dose off from a massive incoming warm coma.

If it flies however, look out. Sterling used to get mad at me if I did not give him a moth or crane fly whenever I left the light on to collect them for the mantises. I have definitely always worried about one of the male mantises getting out and flying past a cat but so far being careful has stopped that from happening.

P.S. Congratz on your expanding zoo! Its the only way to live  (from the owner of far far too many everythings)

Teamonger said:

Moving them into a cat free area is definitely the go to. Alternatively, cages that fit snugly into a shelf with snap tight lids (just in case) could likely work. Or get a display shelf that has glass doors/sides so the cats can't get in.

I'm lucky, both of my cats (Muddle and Sterling) have little to no interest in insects unless they fly and are loose in the house. I actually TRIED to teach them to go after loose crickets with no luck whatsoever. They made terrible bug bouncers.... The worst my cats have ever done was sneak into the bug/reptile room to watch the cricket bin with fascination for hours while trying not to dose off from a massive incoming warm coma.

If it flies however, look out. Sterling used to get mad at me if I did not give him a moth or crane fly whenever I left the light on to collect them for the mantises. I have definitely always worried about one of the male mantises getting out and flying past a cat but so far being careful has stopped that from happening.

P.S. Congratz on your expanding zoo! Its the only way to live  (from the owner of far far too many everythings)

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Well, we had our first incident this morning. Went to take a shower and when I got back to the living room, the cockroach enclosures were laying upside down on the kitchen floor. He must have heard them moving and pulled the bins out. Luckily they are airtight bins, so no casualties and no escapes. Just a little dirt that snuck through the vents. But it confirmed that the cat is likely to get curious. I don't think that the ghosts will trigger him, but the flies we feed them definitely do. Looks like we will be moving all of the critters to my office except the aquariums. I'm just glad it was the cockroaches and not the mantises.

Uh oh! I am glad the roaches did not escape!

- MantisGirl13

MantisGirl13 said:

Uh oh! I am glad the roaches did not escape!

- MantisGirl13

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Me too. They have good latches.

We spent a good amount of time yesterday moving all of the little guys into my office, which is always closed to the cat.

The shrimp and fish are still out, but at low risk since they are in heavy tanks with lids.

The cat has been introduced to the guinea pigs in their new enclosed cage and seems curious, but without the prey drive engaged.

All is happy again in our home and all of the animals are doing great.

ohaple said:

the cockroach enclosures were laying upside down on the kitchen floor.

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In my mind I saw everyhere in the kitchen roaches crawling when I read that. Glady no roach escaped.

ohaple said:

The cat has been introduced to the guinea pigs in their new enclosed cage and seems curious, but without the prey drive engaged.

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I have had cats who went after hamsters and Guinea pigs, attacking enclosures in a similar fashion to your roach incident. I lost two animals to that cat in a glass aquarium disaster while I was at school (all happened a looong time ago) 

I'm certain you will, but keep an eye on the kitty and the Guinea pigs

Yeah, its locked down very tight. We have a custom CNC cage to give them more room (about 6"x2.5" I think). The lid is steel shelving, so far heavier than the cat could lift, and it can't be pushed out of the way unless 8 tie-downs are undone. The guinea pigs are my wife's closest pets and the center of her business making pet supplies, so we have been extra careful to lock them down. The cat also isnt allowed in the room unless we are around. The only animals the cat has free access to are the shrimp and snails in our tanks.