Cat bringing live mice

[chuckeyegg]

I'm wondering what others do. I've never had a cat that did this before. I'm thinking about a collar and bell, which doesn't really appeal or keeping her in at night.

Thanks

[Auntimatter]

I catch them and put them back outside.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

They either kill them or we catch them and put them in the field.

[chuckeyegg]

Thank you for your reply. I have done that but it's not always easy. Some of them are pretty quick. I've got a humane trap but not all of them seem to use it.

[Auntimatter]

If I can't catch them, I wait for the cat to recapture them, then take cat by scruff of neck and make it drop the mouse into a tub I'm holding in my other hand. Then take the mouse outside.

[Auntimatter]

Sorry not to be more helpful. The other alternative is waiting for them to die and start smelling. Have done this when they disappear totally but it's not that pleasant.

[superbagpuss]

collar and bell

I have a girl who is a great catcher (large bird in the house anyone) and this seems to have stopped the presents

[LastingLight]

We have one who does this too, and she can get out of any collar. No advice, sorry, we just catch and release outside or follow the smell...

[cozietoesie]

Not a lot you can do about the mice, I think, but I would (in any case) recommend keeping her in at night. Nighttime is the most dangerous time for cats what with cars and predators so bringing her in at dusk and curfewing her until morning is a good idea. (They're fine about it in my experience. Even for a cat who goes outside, they learn that they are going to get out around breakfast time and adjust quickly to their new routine.)

(Who knows but that that might also decrease the numbers of prey brought in, even though that wouldn't be the main reason for doing it.)

[HelloBoys]

cats can easily get off collar and bell.

if you keep in at night (I did) this can decrease the amount of animals caught BUT i found as soon as I let cats out in morning BAM more mice were caught!

[Lovethesea]

He's bringing them for you to practice hunting ... Thinks you are clearly needing help.

I go to grab the prey, the cat grabs it first, I shove cat and prey in mouth out the cat flap cheerfully yelling, it's lovely darling, eat it in the garden.

Or if there's a chance of rescue an empty cereal carton laid on the edge of the room along the skirting is perfect as they run to hide and you can easily lift the box up and take them out. Often leaving the cat searching the sofa for an hour .... Which is amusing when you have spent 20 minutes taking your sofa apart and planting the cereal box and chasing a shrew into it.

My Huntercat is prolific and catches a wide range of prey for us. The only sound he usually makes is an excited mewing while dragging something alive through the flap. Kind of makes the heart sink when heard in the early hours but he also brings us things in the mornings, afternoons, evenings etc so I think he is just good.

He is microchipped so I don't use a collar as I think it's uncomfortable and has a risk of strangling them. I wouldn't use a bell as I think it would be like giving tinnitus to a cat and I've had that sometimes and it is torturous.

[chuckeyegg]

Thank you all for your posts. I have read them all. Superbagpuss was the large bird alive?

I really like the idea of the cereal boxes we have saved a couple that have run into things by the skirting board and we've managed to get them out.

My cat is microchipped and when she first came to us from a cat charity she was quite thin and I could feel the chip so I think it could irritate her.

Thanks again to all for taking the time to reply. xx

[Foxsticks]

I don't think bells work with mice as cats hunt them in a different way from birds. With birds they stalk, bum wiggle and pounce. The bell alerts the bird and hopefully they get away. With mice and vowels they quite often chase them and can out run them so it doesn't really matter how jingly they are if a mouse doesn't have the speed to get away.

We had the same problem as you and invested in a humane trap which we put behind sofa. We always managed to get them before the cat did again. He has only caught one since last year so we hope he has grown out of mousing.

[superbagpuss]

yes the large bird was alive - don't know how she got it through the cat flap but it managed to escape once we had opened the patio doors

it was over a year ago and DC still talk about the day we had a bird in the house

[cozietoesie]

...He has only caught one since last year so we hope he has grown out of mousing.......

And that would be the one that you know about.

[HelloBoys]

super - my old cat Snowy (male) used to drag in wood pigeons (dead and alive) through the cat flap...

I was often at how he'd managed that. then again the pigeons were a bit daft, fat and slow or very daring for flying on ground or near my swing-seat as the cats found it easy to catch them then.

[cozietoesie]

I think that most animals and birds go quiescent when they're 'in the mouth'. That's probably how they get them through.

[HelloBoys]

cozie - I agree.

You have to be careful with mice though once I picked up a field mouse to help save it bloody thing bit me and I had to go to doctors for tetanus jab!

[TemperamentalAroundCorvids]

DCat was born on a farm, and we had an allotment near us loaded with prey. I learned:

if you don't have a cat flap, listen to the miow outside - it was different when she had live prey in her gob.

For mice loose in the house: shut mouse in a room, shut cat out, strew room with wellies on their sides (we had loads as kept DS's for DD when she grew into them). Frighten mouse into welly.

As we had no cat flap, the next stage was, open door, avoiding incoming cat, go out with welly, shut door, dispose of mouse at far end of garden.

[Auntimatter]

Frighten mouse into welly