We kept both guinea pigs and hamsters years (decades) ago when we lived where we couldn't have "free roaming" pets. Abyssinians & Peruvians (GPs). We only had females to avoid fights & reproduction.

When we bought our first money pit, we got a cat for a time (until my childhood allergy re-emerged), who would sit on top of their cage and glare at them upside-down. No worries - peace and security were maintained.

We've since moved up to bow-wows - no litter to deal with daily.

We had the world's most developed (as in body-building) hamster, but that's another story....