Sorry to hear about the loss of the pets.

If you really think they'll notice, get another pair of Gerbils and let them know that the other two had died, just not the way they died. It might bother them some, but the replacement pets will help them get past the loss of those.

Worst experience I ever had with a pet, had a female Gerbil that didn't like to be held, and one time when I had taken her out of her cage, she squirmed out of my hand and fell in a coffee can of gasoline that was used by my father as paint thinner. I got her out really quickly, but I'm sure she swallowed, inhaled the gas.

She died a day or so later, even after I had tried to clean her up. Was my fault because I wasn't more careful with her, was her fault because she wouldn't remain calm, and effected me quite a bit at the time.

On a lighter note, the cat coming into the house reminds me of a video I saw on TV. The guy set up a camera to watch the dog door and this raccoon kept coming in and stealing the dog's food. This was a small dog, like a Yorkie or a Chihuahua and at one point it caught the raccoon. I was afraid there was going to be some kind of bad confrontation, but the dog, which was about half the size of the raccoon, chased off the raccoon.

It looked like it scared the bejesus out of the raccoon too!

But anyway, I'd certainly do something to change the cat's behavior, something humane, like a board to cover the cat flap when you can't watch over the Gerbils, or a better protected cage.

Skunk

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My cats couldn't care less who comes in. They're so laid back its silly. Kids were fine about the gerbils, tho I've told them that they're not having any more.

Mr Blackhammer

Over the years, the kids had gerbils, gineau pigs (sp?), rabbits, fish, turles, lizards, birds, ferrets, cats and dogs, and often at the same time. Pets can be good things for kids to learn responsiblity for as well as learning to cope with death and dying issues. By the time our oldest wanted to have a pet, I was already working in an Army chapel, and when the parakeet died, we burried it on the chapel grounds. We have pets burried on chapel grounds now in Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey and in Germany. Now that the kids are grown and gone, they have both settled to just a dog or two.