They grow-up so fast!

I know, right? I remember when my hamster ball fit in the palm of my hand. Now he's all grown up and working full-time at Hamster Taxi Inc. It's truly bitter sweet.

Poor Lemmewinks...

Welcome to cats I guess.

WHY IS THIS COMMENT SO PERFECT

But.. but... you actually shouldn't give kittens a yarn ball, same as you shouldn't give them milk...

You actually shouldn't feed them after midnight either.

Don't get them wet either.

Lol lmao. That was a funny comment thanks for the laugh.

... the most dangerous game was a human hunting a human... so it would have to be a kitten hunting a kitten for it to be the most dangerous game.

62- You clearly have no concept of humor.

Neither did Rainsford...

"Victory is ours."

Best reference ever!

so true ;(

Ahh good one...first lmao of the morning thank you an have a great day

Or how did the cats get in his cage.

I didn't think of it that way...

I'll always wonder... Where in the world does that p come from in the word hamster? I've never heard it pronounced with any p sound.

The name "hamster" is a loanword from the German, which itself derives from earlier Old High German hamustro. It is possibly related to Old Russian choměstrǔ, which is either a blend of the root of Russian khomiak "hamster" and a Baltic word (cf. Lithuanian staras "hamster")[7] or of Persian origin (cf. Av hamaēstar "oppressor").

@ 24 I always say it with a p sound, but i have an accent, so that might be it

30 - Thank you for the very informative etymology lesson~ 31 - That makes sense.

@24 - the way I've heard it pronounced (and sometimes pronounce it myself) is similar to the word "Hampton".

It could be that the kittens got into it. Cats can open tanks and cages if they are not properly sealed shut. That's why people who have cats and fish (for example) often put heavy things on top of the tank. I'm sorry to say, but having lived with animals all my life I can only see this as having been OP's fault. The kittens won't have lived long enough in the family to know that the hamster is part of the litter. Even then, it's likely the cats would still try and kill the hamster. OP should have ensured that there was no way the kittens could have possibly come in contact with the hamster.

Also, I don't pronounce a p in hamster. But it's probably due to how letters are formed in your mouth. M and S are both labial letters (formed using the lips). Notice that it is impossible to say the letter m without closing your mouth at the end, and the letter s starts with the mouth closed (as does the letter p, which is an explosive labial). The direct contact between m and s with no letters between to break the sound is probably what causes the p sound. An intrusive letter like that btw, is called Epenthesis. And is found in many other words.

I have lived with animals my whole life as well and used to breed cats, only the cats i had were main coons that were polydactyl they have thumbs just like we do. I know they are smart enough to get things open but I figured that op would have put claps or something on the cage and I pronounce it with a p cause of my accent I wasn't typing I was talking into my phone and it was typing for me.

Show me how you say the letter 'S' with your lips and not your tongue, that's a bunch of hogwash.

where did the s come from??

@72. Comet_Candy was asking why there is a p sound in hamster. That's what I was speaking about with the letters m p and s It is because of epenthesis. Which, as I explained is an obtrusive letter. Epenthesis occurs because groups of consonants or vowels are hard to say, so we add a sound to make them easier. The P sound is added because changing from an m to an s to a t when saying hamster is difficult in conversational English. Hence why most dialects and accents (but not all, I don't put a p into hamster) add the extra sound. @70: Yes whilst you do use your tongue to make the letter s, I was actually referring to the specific location in your mouth where the sound is made. Which in the case of the letter s it is at your lips (same for me and p). If you want examples of other letters... For the letters d and t it is your teeth. For g it is your alveolar ridge (which is just behind your teeth). I study languages... this is the kind of thing I know.

People need to stop down-voting the free language lessons! There are plenty of people that could use them, and others that find them interesting.

Really ? Hamp.ster. Say it out loud ! Now say HAM-ster aloud. You see the the difference ?

Yea, now I'm hoping OP doesn't have any fish.

I don't know why, but your comment made me think of the song Something in the Way by Nirvana. "It's ok to eat fish, cuz they don't have any feelings"

My aunt wanted to bring her hamster with her when she was house sitting for us. I told her no matter how careful you are he will be dead in the 2 weeks he'd be there. Cats have a natural instinct to kill them, why play with fire. I would never want to discourage that instinct anyway I always say "sure I might have had mice but they are dead, are yours?"

Well, I have a cat and two hamsters, and they can play together. Most of the time she just ignores them though. Not all cats and kittens are hunting machines. I know kittens love to practice hunting by playing, but they don't always kill a hamster if its there.

Cats are also clever animals. My friend's cat is somehow able to open the bedroom door. A round door knob waist high. We still don't know how the cat manages to do it...

Gah I meant to thumb up... Sorry. My cats where killing machines and I can sleep so much better knowing no mouse will live in my house... At least for very long.

Yea... You should probably go back to your box...

^much like the hamster

#10, OP should set those killer kittens on you next.