Time for the guinea pigs to come in, and keep the cats out - but how?

[cathy66]

We put our two guinea pigs outside for the warm weather, but it will soon be time to bring them back in. This means putting them back in a cage in my daughter's room, which is fine (apart from noise sometimes at night).

The problem is my cat will pester the poor things when we are not around. We could shut the door to that room when we are out, but to stop it getting a little smelly in there from the cage, we prefer to keep the door open.

How then to keep the cat away and give the pigs some peace?

Or maybe it won't be the issue I think it might...?

[hazelrunpack]

What does your cat do to pester the guinea pigs?

If you can find a screen door that fits, you could replace the solid door with it. Of course your daughter wouldn't have as much privacy...

Another option might be a to get a large wire dog kennel that the piggie cage will fit into with enough space around it that the cat can't reach.

[Longblades]

For other reasons we have put screen doors up but left the regular door too. Would that be possible? They have to swing opposite ways so can't be done in some situations.

[Barkingdog]

Don't the guinea pigs get ticks and fleas being outside all summer ?

I think putting their cage in a bigger one is the best idea . But you need to made sure there is no way your cat can sneeze it head into the door and if your cat wear a collar made sure it can't get hung onto the cage. If your cat really want to go after the pigs it might try to break into the cage . I had a cat and he tried to knock my daughter hamster cage off a table by getting behind it and pushing it off the table .

[cathy66]

Thanks for all the tips.

I never heard about a flea risk for the pigs outside, just that it was recommended for the warm months. So long as the cage is cleaned every 10-14 days, I think its ok.

Screen doors and a second cage are interesting ideas, I can't visualize how the screen doors would work though, are they full height door replacements? The privacy ting is a good point, my daughters a teenager so they need their space and privacy lol.

[Longblades]

My husband made our screen doors. Full height doors. They do not replace the regular door, it's still there.