Bringing in prey

[Whatabanana]

We have two cats. All of a sudden they learned how to hunt, so far we have had three bird corpses, a dead frog and a handful of mice brought inside. My stress levels are through the roof- is it insane to be considering buying a cat house for them to sleep in outside overnight so I can lock the cat flap?? I'd keep them inside if I could but we just have no workable spots for litter trays...

To be perfectly honest OP I don't know why you would get cats if you weren't prepared for this. I think it's cruel to lock them outside overnight - they're just being cats.

I know others will likely disagree, but I have collars on my cats. The bells help to alert the prey. Both cats have brought in one thing each in the year they've been allowed out to roam. One was a mouse which was still alive and one was a dead bird. Both were caught when our cats had lost their collars outside (which doesn't happen very often).

We've had cats before and it never happened, so I wasn't prepared for this! Of course I don't want to be cruel but the stress is making me feel unwell.

The collars are quick release ones and reflect the light at night.

Thanks for the collar suggestion- that was the only other thing I could think of. We had tried an old collar we had on the main hunter but she had scratched at it and made herself bleed. Do you know the make?

I wouldn’t use a collar, too dangerous for the cat.

I kept mine locked in the kitchen overnight and he was a Bengal.

The brand is Rogz. You adjust the quick release by the weight of the cat (there's a little slide button you move). I prefer to keep ours inside overnight most of the year too.

Thank you, I'll look into that.

Are collars really that dangerous?? What are the statistics. Surely better to have a name tag and help curb the killings.

www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/kittens-cats/cat-collars

My Bengal was a big lad but got his front leg caught in a quick release one, front canine caught in the material & came in the catflap on three legs. A smaller weaker cat wouldn’t have been able to break the snap if he couldn’t.

Our cats have always been hunters, but lately one of them has taken to bringing half a rabbit in if the doors open! We don't have a cat flap, so just let them in and out. He then appeared at the back door with a rat the other night, meowing to bring it in! I understand that they see it as a gift for us, but I just shut him out for the night if I need to. They still love me! Cats are pretty tough and can find shelter if needed. I wouldn't worry about keeping them out at night.

Oh, and my cats always lose their collars so don't bother anymore.

And if they're in at night, they'll wake me up to be let out if needed.

Just let them out last thing for the toilet and get them in again and they should be able to last through the night. That's what we do although to be fair a lot of the time they end up staying out in this weather as they choose not to come in when called.

They are cats, cats hunt. You must accept it.

We've had several cats

Stray - hunted
Moggy - never hunted ever, food came out of a tin
Pedigree - hunted like a savage, all cats at breeders were indoor
Moggy - left mum too early, could catch but not kill
Moggy - hunted

Just depends on the cat

@newtb definitely. Mine was stray for 4 years and runs away from spiders. Honestly if he ever caught anything I would be taking him to the vet

My two were raised as ferally kittens so I expected them to be hunters .
So far we've had worms brought in ( live and dumped on the carpet)
Dragonflies
A bird (malecat) managed to remove it when he dropped it on the floor
Butterflies which they both catch and eat .

Our old cat was far more predatory , lost count of the number of mice and bird corpses .

They're just cats being , well, cats

No collars here , I only ever put a collar on the previous cat when she went to the vet to give us something to hold .

I think it's part and parcel of having cats. I couldn't bring myself to lock them out at night, they get bullied by other cats on our street and need a safe haven to escape to. Cats are also more likely to be hit or get into fights at night. They do bring in a constant assortment of birds, rats and other creepy crawlies. I absolutely hate it but I just couldn't lock them out.