Cat cries at night & brings in mice/birds - any ideas??

[peasizedbladder]

Hi, our 4 yr old moggie comes in at night and then cries are very high pitched meoww, very loudly. Her and her brother also often bring in mice and birds which they leave running/flapping around the house.

Her and her brother always have lots of food, water, beds and can come in/out the house as they wish.

The crying has possibly got worse since our 4mo arrived (insecure / lack of attention??).

With a new baby, a 2 yo and the cats we get little sleep then have to get up to catch animals!! I'm worried re hygiene with the kids. I even found a dead mouse in my lovely new long leather boots . We have to do something!!

The female has a bell on her collar (her brother won't tollerate one). I've tried feliway spray at night to calm her down which has reduced the crying - but the refills for the diffuser are £18 a month!!

Any (humane!!) ideas gratefully received...

When you say "comes in at night" do you mean during the night or that you let the cats in before you go to bed? You say they can come in and go out of the house as they wish so I'm assuming you mean they're coming in while you're in bed.

Maybe you could try keeping them in at night? There's far more wildlife running around at night for them to catch so keeping them in would at the very least reduce the amount of mice they catch.

I always try to get my cats in at night. I quite often find some poor mouse on the doorstep if I haven't managed to get one of them in. Also, I read once that most cats killed on the road are killed at night so I like to know they're safely curled up somewhere in the house before I go to bed.

Not sure what to suggest about the loud mewing. As cats like to snooze after a meal could you leave their last meal until just before you go to bed and give them access to a cat tray? If they've been out most of the day and then are fed a good meal they might be happy to sleep inside all night. Plus, the colder nights are on your side now as they won't want to be out when it's wet and cold so a good time to get them into a new night time routine.

Many thanks Amanderr, in my sleep deprived haze i hadn't thought of keeping them in at night!! I will give it a go and see if we are in luck. Yes, our cat flap is always open for them and it is when she lets herself in in the night that she cries. I will also try to get them out more in the day (I only need let them see our 2 yo and they want to be out!) and then give them a good feed before bed. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

It is probably when they have caught something that they are crying. Cats like to bring their owners gifts like this, some claim it's because they think you are incapable of looking after yourself and are trying to provide for you. Not sure if this is true, but might fit with there being a new baby in the house.
Def trying shutting in at night