Ways to stop cats Hunting so much?

[RMarieClaire]

Can anyone recommend any effective ways to stop cats hunting? Bells on collars aren't cutting it!

We recently started letting our cats out at night as we just had a baby. They tend to be out most of the night, so they clearly like it and I'd rather not have to start locking them in but their hunting is getting out of hand. We get 'presents' pretty much daily! I can cope with the occasional vole, but they've started bringing in rats, which I'm struggling with. They even managed to catch a squirrel! And this morning there was a frog just casually hopping around our kitchen

That's nasty! Could you lock them out till morning?

The best advice is to lock them in overnight. Cat's hunt most late evening and early morning letting them out at dusk and dawn times is just asking for it. Yes they will love it but your local wildlife won't. We also found we had bigger vet bills this way to. Our first cat would get into fight with other cat's, he even ended up with a split ear.

There is no way I could lock my cat in at night, he'd go crazy! But then, if he brought me live rats and frogs, I might think differently.

@MajorMajor I worry if I locked them out they'd find somewhere else to sleep - someone's shed etc. Combined with the baby, they might never come back  I did wonder whether we could convert one of our sheds into a cosy cat kennel. Might need to see how creative we're feelingZ

@MigGril I think you're probably right. We keep them downstairs so they can't howl outside our bedroom doors but it's a relatively big space. I hate the idea of dealing with their crying, let alone their litter tray, but it's got to be better than all these animals 😭

I think the only answer is for them to be in overnight with a litter tray. Their hunting is instinctive, and you can't train them out of it.

Keep them in overnight. We don’t allow ours out once it’s dark. Dawn and dusk are favourite hunting times. Cats should be in overnight for their safety anyway.

I know I'm old fashioned here but we don't have a cat flap so if any of ours are out at night they stay out. (Unless of course they wake us up by miaowing ).
Our front step is regularly a mouse graveyard in the morning but we don't get too many inside.

They need to be in overnight, it’s much safer for them too.

Don't let them out at night. This will
Stop hunting and also protect the cats from harm.

multiple bells is supposed to be good, they can stop one jingle but not a whole cluster.

Mine mostly hunt at dawn & dusk.

Sometimes you just can't stop them.

Our cat has multiple bells and is locked in at night. We even have the blunted plastic spikes on the top of the garden fences designed to deter cats (they don't).
It doesn't stop him killing squirrels frequently. He's given up on birds/mice as the squirrels are too easy and he likes to eat the heads.
I've concluded squirrels are too idiotic to live (the cat is staring at you in the tree for a reason!).

We keep ours in at night, because they hunt mainly at dawn.

Ime, young cats may be prolific hunters but as they older, they lose interest. However the toll on wildlife in their first few years can be considerable, if they are not kept in at night!

Cats cannot be trained out of their natural instinct to hunt - afaik, cats can only be trained to do what they are willing to do anyway! We have spent 3 years training ours not to go on the table at mealtimes - one has got it, but the other just takes no notice!

Keeping them in at night won't stop them hunting. Mine bring me pigeons during the day. 🙄

Some cats are too stupid to catch birds though - two of mine (male cats) favoured the run across the lawn and taking a flying leap at the bird approach! As one was a ginger and the other a tuxedo, they stood out a mile on green grass....They were amazed when the bird flew away!

Where abouts are you in the UK? Apparently the wet weather has forced lots of rats above ground. We've had 3 dead ones as gifts this week (which is why we have karndean flooring,best decision ever!) I've found no way to get the darlings to stop hunting & they're 8 now. just hope old age disinterest kicks in soon!

We have recently grounded our cats after one too many live mice incidents. We now change the cat flap to let them in not out at our bedtime (so they can still get in if they are out but can't get out again). It has significantly reduced the number of things brought in. They still hunt in the day, but they don't bring daytime things into the house in the same way, possibly because we've always chased them out if we see them.

I put a Falconary Bell on his collar. Got it from Amazon. He doesn't mind at all and it has worked - no more dead birds and mice. He also used to bring live mice into the house and just leave them nd I am terrified of mice.