I want to rescue a cat but I don’t want it bringing in viditors

[Pichee]

Would love to rescue an elderly cat. But I could not handle them bringing home gifts. Is that just a no go then?

My dog is good with cats (friends with my sister’s). Wouldn’t want to deprive an outdoor cat and not many seem to be indoor.

My four cats are all fairly young (the eldest is 5) but we’ve had all kinds of things brought in through the cat flap, both dead and alive.

Live ones have included a pigeon, a partridge, a mole, about a million field mice and shrews and a DUCK!!!!

My cat tries to hunt, but the bell around her neck gives her away. I once let her out to deal with a mouse though, and she just watched it dance around in front of her. She's all mouth and no trousers.

The only thing she catches (and eats) are spiders and flies.

Could you adopt an older cat that has a health condition that requires it to be kept indoors? FIV for example?

Could you consider a FIV positive cat? They are normal cats, but they have to be an indoor and lone cat so the FIV doesn't spread. This will prevent any "gifts".

Normally the Fiv cats are ones that have been strays and have had tough lives and have a hard time getting adopted

Have the cat wear a bell. Birds, mice etc hear it coming and get away.

Ah gorgeous 😍

Get a Persian, too thick to hunt. 🤣

From my experience, elderly cats are far less likely to bring in anything. My two current ones are now seven and I've noticed that we've had far less deposits to come down to this year.

I have an old dustpan and brush just in case so I don't have to touch with gloves or look at two much.

I have a 13-year old, have had her since she was 7. She's never caught anything. The other day she did try to pursue a juvenile seagull, but the parent seagull came swooping down at her and she raced back inside. The seagulls are still on the lawn outside, but she doesn't dare go anywhere near them now.

Bell on collar

Did you feed your family with it for a week?

Have you considered a FIV cat? They can’t go outside I think but can live perfectly happy healthy lives and there’s no need to feel guilt about keeping them inside.

FIV+ cats are often in rescues for a long time - you could consider one of those, they either have to be kept indoors or have access to a catio to prevent them from mixing with other cats.

All cats are different. My 4 year old female has never brought anything in - she considers herself far too superior for all that. I sometimes find a dead mouse on the garden path because they nest under our shed and she plays with them until they die. I just think she can't be bothered to hunt! My 5 month old kitten is totally different and destroys the house trying to catch flies, so when she is let out I think she will bring a number of delights in. My mum's cat has also brought in lots of things. You can reduce the issue slightly by not allowing them out at night and at least then you won't be woken up by a distressed mouse running around your bedroom...

Oh no 🙈 thank goodness mine stopped.

I have rescue cats who are mostly indoors but have access to a cat proofed garden. It's safer for them, it's safer for birds and other wildlife, and it's more considerate to neighbours.

I will not ever have a cat that roams.

Here you go, OnlyCat, available for pre-order 😁

www.onlycat.com/

Mine are 3 (siblings) and I get at least one present a night, sometimes 4 or 5! I’m hoping they calm down with it a bit as they get older. I spend hours of my life playing a good old game of ‘locate the stench of rotting rodent corpse’. They played a blinder the other day and it literally took me a whole day to eventually find it tucked inside my leisure battery charger. The live pheasant they’d brought in which was flying around my room in the middle of the night got the old heart going, thankfully my bf was here to deal with that one. And I nearly stood on a dead mole they’d left on the stairs the other day.

I will say that you do get used to it, and I don’t ever actually physically touch the dead things, I have a special dead things dustpan and brush and they go straight from there to wheely bin. It’s the ones that they don’t actually kill that are more problematic, I have had 2 giant rats living in my kitchen at separate times thanks to the cats.

The only time mine (siblings, 2y) have ever bought anything in, is when they managed to get the external door open, at dawn, and went out hunting, before I realised what was happening!
They only go out, when I'm around, and I bring them in before dusk.
Just don't let them out when little critters are most active.

Go for a indoor kitty. They will still hunt but it's small prey ( spiders, flies). I have one that will find bees inside corner them and yowl. It's a special sound which is great cause I'm alergic. My youngest got into the basement the other day and wll I guess we have visitors. She beheaded one.

All meant to be food for native predators, but if you let your greyhound take deer or hare you're in the paper as a yob

True enough. Dogs are required to be under control by law.

Short of keeping (in my case all adopted feral) farm cats indoors 24/7, I’m not sure what the answer is. I’m a vegetarian, and on balance am comfortable with my choices.

🤣🤣