To try and catch a shrew, not kill it, then get a cat.

[Likeindie]

We live at the bottom of a nature reserve,last night we discovered a shrew has got into the kitchen, tried quite a few times to catch it but unsuccessful. The cats in the area usually sort it as I can sometimes see the nights hunt on paving stones out the back. I think we are a few cats down at the moment( couple of cats died and 1 moved away)
Husband wants to buy poison/trap and get rid that way , I want to try and catch it take it to top of the large hill and release. It's a tiny little thing about 3-4 inches.
Last seen making its way behind the t.v in living room, according to teenage DS.
No sighting this morning but haven't looked really ( drinking coffee, mooching about on mumsnet)
Then AIBU to want to get a cat.

I currently have 2 cats have had 3, only one has caught mice to get rid of them the other 2 caught live mice and brought them to me to catch in the house

I wouldn't have a cat if I lived near a nature reserve

Mousetraps with peanut butter work fabulously for shrews

My childhood cat used to bring them into the house and then sit back and enjoy the entertainment as we tried to catch the little buggers! My last cat did once drop a shrew accidentally in the house, but I was able (don't remember how) to catch it. My current cats have never brought anything in. So getting a cat means you might still be trying to catch the shrews yourself.

Shrews have very delicate natures, it'll die if you so much as look at it funny!

Pound shop fishing net on a long stick. You can grab it from a distance so it doesn't spook angel leg off again. When it's in the net it doesn't hurt it. You may need two to try and guide it with one into other.

Catch it and release it. It probably doesn't want to be there anymore than you want it there!

I love shrews, with their tiny pointy faces.

There won't be just one.

YABU. You should tame it.

Sorry. I'll get my coat.

Be warned as well, not all cats are hunters. It sounds made up but my boss popped home unexpectedly one day to find his 2 cats eating out one bowl and 2 mice eating out the other. Neither cats nor mice were remotely embarrassed by the situation.

I have 3 cats, 1 will hunt anything and can catch a blue bottle in the air (amazing). The other two happily let spiders and moths land on them.

So you may get a cat and have no less pests.

You can get humane traps, which are set off by the weight of the vermin rodent and then tip up to trap it safely. You can then release them in the safe place of your choice. We use these.

However - are you sure it's a shrew? 3- 4 inches sounds more vole/mouse sized. Unless you mean centimetres (that would be a shrew). Unfortunately, I don't know if it would be heavy enough to trigger the trap if it is a shrew.

We caught an escaped hamster once by using a tea towel soaked in apple juice as a ladder into a bucket in which we placed bits of apple and other delights. It climbed up, jumped off into the bucket and was there in the morning, fat and furious (as usual - it was a bitey little git).

Shrews are insectivores aren't they? Earwig juice, perhaps?

And actually, a terrier is a more reliable slaughter of small creatures than a cat. Of our five cats, three would bring live animals into the house and then release them where they could run under the heaviest piece of furniture in the room. Our present two are killers, though.

Our terriers would murder just about anything, though surprisingly would co-exist quite happily in the garden with our pet rabbits, but kill any they could on walks. (Have to admit we could never trust them with our squeaky, dirty little guinea pigs though).

*darty, not dirty guinea pigs

They took great pride in their appearance and were always shiny and spotless.

Reallybadidea

Why so upset about shrews that cat is solution?
Just catch it & release. No biggie.

@SchadenfreudePersonified

Please, please, please tell me they are called Vlad and Vanka!

Cats don't eat shrews, they taste bad, but kill them, certainly.

Don't get cat. We are over run with small rodents frequently thanks to ours bringing them home live and letting them go. And rabbits, bats, stoats, lizards. Rarely is anything dead. Usually very much alive and doing laps of my house....

Why live near a nature reserve then?
How incredibly irresponsible to get a cat when you already say you can see examples of nature that other cats have killed around the reserve.
The whole point of a reserve is to reserve and encourage the natural plants, insects and animals if the area, do not effect that by introducing a pet which will kill some. If you feel like that you should move. Yes YABU

agree with getting a terrier.
shrews are indeed lovely, and unusual

It sounds made up but my boss popped home unexpectedly one day to find his 2 cats eating out one bowl and 2 mice eating out the other. Neither cats nor mice were remotely embarrassed by the situation.

i know op, you Could tame the shrew

We have 4 cats and a previously mouse infested house. They wouldn't know how to hunt if they tried but their presence is enough of a deterrent.

Shrews aren't unusual - google them and you'll see they're very common rodents in the UK. They're secretive so not often seen though.

They have an incredibly high metabolic rate and must eat almost constantly to stay alive. If your shrew has been in your house for more than 3 hours youre looking for a shrew corpse.

I have two cats. I remove at least 4 rodents a day from my house. Usually dead, occasionally alive, sometimes half dead in which case I humanely despatch them with a brick. If you don't want rodents in your house, I wouldn't get a cat.

i believe you can buy a live trap and release him, unless his family are in hiding in your house too