My sister and her family went on vacation last week and she asked if we would be willing to keep their daughter hamster while they were gone.   Even though we do have a cat, I figured since the hamster was in a cage it would be perfectly safe and I was right.  The cat was definitely fascinated with it, but I never got the impression that he wanted to do anything but play with it given the opportunity.    When my sister returned home, she picked up the hamster and my daughter started talking about how much she missed it and would like to have one of her own.    I knew that I could get great prices for food and other items for the hamster online, but I wasn’t sure that my daughter would really take care of the little critter the way she was promising.   It’s definitely something we’re going to have to think about before committing to getting another animal, but I know that it would be great to help teach Rachel about being responsible with pets.  She does great with the cat, but it’s a family pet so it’s also a family effort.   I’m still unsure, so I’ll have to give it some more thought.