How can we stop her from hunting?

[itchypoopark]

My brother had two beautiful farm cats on his farm; a male and a female (both neutered/spayed). They loved to hunt, despite being fed twice a day.

Like many farms, he has had a problem with rats this year. It is probably something to do with the mild winter. The rats had started to get into the house (gnawed under the wooden front door).

My brother put poison down. He insists it was only inside the house. However, a few days ago, the male cat went missing, and we found his body yesterday. He had no signs of injury, and was previously a healthy five year old, so we can only assume he has somehow ingested a poisoned rat.

We asked my brother if he was sure that he had not put poison outside, and he (rather sheepishly) said no. He thinks a poisoned rat must have run from the house and the cat must have caught and eaten it.

Our problem is that the female cat still wants to hunt. We have been coming to the farm and giving her lots of food, to discourage her from eating prey, if she does hunt. However, I am not sure this will keep her safe.

She is semi-feral and lives outside in the barns and outbuildings, so it is difficult to confine her. We can also not ensure that rats cannot enter the buildings.

Would you say that, as long as we keep her well fed, she is unlikely to eat the rats?

My well fed former outdoor only cat still hunts. I have just had a good 4 week mouse free period but come in to find a massive dead bird under my chair. We have tried lots of different things with no success. Keeping her in seems to be the only thing that worked for us. We have double collar bells but she's still a prolific hunter in mild weather!

My cat is very well fed but she still loves to hunt and eat them. It's in their nature. Not sure how to stop it but would be interested if anyone does know! Poor cat

Snap! If you find the secret please let me know! I am still annoyed about the bird but also slightly apprehensive that if she's hunting again she might well have deposited another live mouse somewhere in my house last night 🤦🏼‍♀️

Collar with a bell? Gives the prey a chance to run at least!

Your brother will kill his other cat too if he leaves the poison down.

We had a pest control guy out to our small holding because of a rat problem and he refused to use poison because it was likely that one of our cats or dogs would eat a poisoned rat. (Plus it's a horrible death)

There's nothing you can do short of locking her up.
The poison needs to go. It's only a matter of time before she is also poisoned otherwise.

I read to feed them more protein

That poor cat, he needs to get the poison all up and keep her inside.

A collar with multiple bells is the only thing that will help.

Cats don't hunt because they're hungry. It's a natural instinct whether they're well fed or not.

You can't stop them hunting - it's instinct. It's like trying to train a collie not to herd - it's impossible.

A collar with a bell COULD help but you need to make sure it's a quick-release collar otherwise she could strangle herself on it. I've also heard of cats who just learn to move so that the bells don't jingle, lol.

Your brother needs to lift all the poison and find a different way of dealing with the rat problem.

Thank you. I have asked him to remove the poison. He insists it is only inside the house, but I am not too sure. I am going down tomorrow to see if he has got rid of the poison.

our cat is very well fed and still hunts and eats his prey.

Get rid of the poison and get a few more cats, they will get rid of the rats. Win win.

Once the poison is removed, you need to approach this problem from the opposite angle.

You have a rat problem + a semi feral cat that loves to hunt. Problem solved! You just need more outdoor cats that love hunting.

My cat gets fed 4x a day and still hunts

If anyone has the secret to stopping them then I'm all ears.

Yes, I would love to see more cats down at the farm. I just need to make sure the poison has gone.

The clues in the name FARM CAT
What on Earth was he putting poison down for when the cats are doing a perfectly good ( and instinctive) job at pest control?
Youre not going to be able to keep remaining cat safe and it sounds like he’s no intention of removing it all.
Vile and imbecile behaviour
Poison is a horrible death for the vermin and the cat, both!

Please be aware that he may’ve used antifreeze which is toxic to cats - as he seems to think chemicals are the answer to everything.

Good luck trying to keep a farm cat inside. You’d better fully trust him to remove all poison , and give it time for any poisoning vermin to also have died off.

This will also have a devastating impact on any owls etc , who again, would keep the vermin under control and that’s literally what they do

Poison reactions : drooling , yodelling, circle walking , vomiting, flat demeanour, twitching and seizure have. Please take to the nearest vets if suspected poisoning , as can maybe help! But do not delay! Google your nearest out of hours clinic.

FFS I despair of the human race….

Don’t get any more cats if he doesn’t trust them to do their job and get him to at least call a Jack Russell in to deal with any issues….

Hope your other cat remains safe.

Using rat poison is inhumane and should be banned. It is a terrible, painful death for any creature that ingests it. Birds of prey and other wildlife suffer the consequences as well as pets. Please use snap traps.

@TheRemotePart

I agree with everything you said above.

Can you get the world to stop turning too?

Have you tried clipping the cat's claws? I do this with mine, and just taking the tips off is enough to stop him being able to snag the prey and then catching it properly. You do have to repeat this every couple of weeks, as they will keep growing back and the cat will sharpen them. You can buy special clippers, where there's a hole through the blades you put over the claw - saves accidentally cutting anything except the nail. I bought these, best £9 I've spent on the cat, bless him