How To Catch A Hamster

The best way to teach children lessons in responsibility is to give them a pet to take care of – having a pet is a great task that will make your child feel grown up and not always dependent on you. We all know that a child’s first pet is usually a hamster – that small furry creature that keeps running on a wheel to relieve its boredom. But lessons in responsibility can also be learnt the hard way, by having to face a problem of a runaway hamster! Make no doubt about it; Harry Houdini must have taken inspiration from hamsters when he went on to become an escape artist. They are the best when it comes to running amuck and forcing you into turning the house upside down just to look for them. The worst would be if the hamster found a way to get out of the premises of your house – in that case, you and your child can easily bid goodbye to your hamster as they are excellent at burrowing and hiding. That would be one lesson in responsibility that your child will never forget! Nevertheless, here are some things you can do to find a hamster, when it runs amuck. 

 

Here is what you should do when catching a hamster that has run amuck in the house. 

Doors Wide Shut!
The first thing to do is to make sure all doors and windows are tightly shut. As long as the hamster is inside the house, it will be easy to look for it; the moment he goes outside, he can easily burrow in and then you can forget about it. Get rid of all the people and other pets that you might have in the house. Now you can begin to look for it in all the rooms. 

Food, Glorious Food!
Leave little bits of food that you normally feed your hamster around your house, in one corner of each room. If the food in any of the rooms is eaten, you will know that the hamster has been here. Also, if you put an ear to the ground and listen closely, you will be able to make out if it is chewing or gnawing at something. 

Too Cozy For Comfort
The hamster may be feeling cold and may have gone looking for a cozy corner of the house. Search in all corners that may offer warmth, like between the cushions of the sofa, beddings, warm corners of your closets, under a pile of clothes and so on. 

Calling Out
By now, you may have established a bond with your hamster and it may know that you often call out its name when you have to feed it. Call out its name as you go looking for it. It will recognize your voice and may come out after you call out once or twice, thinking you are calling out to feed. 

Cage Wide Open
Keep your hamster’s cage wide open so that he may run into it, if at all anywhere. Many a times, hamsters grow bored of sitting at one place all day and venture out to other places, just to get rid of boredom, so that the moment you offer it an opportunity to, it will move into its cage. Make sure you put a fresh bowl of pet food inside the cage to entice it back. 

Cat’s The Catch
As we all know and acknowledge, cats are natural hunters and predators. You could use your cat to look for your lost hamster, if all other methods fail. But, you must also keep in mind that a hamster is food for your cat, though it may be a pet for you. So remember to intercept right before the cat turns predator and your beloved hamster is turned into cat breakfast!