We got our first mouse today...

[ChatterMonkey]

Not sure which one caught it but went in to the kitchen to find Peanut batting a little (what i thought was dead) mouse around, with Tasha closely watching...!

Went to get DP and when we got back we discovered the mouse trying to run away!! Locked the cats out of the kitchen while dp took the mouse outside, and have locked the cat flap for a while to keep the little hunters in.

Wasnt expecting this so soon, they are only 6 months old! Im expecting it to happen a bit more often now, whats the best way of dealing with little stowaways being brought through the flap...??

I can't have a cat flap as we have had so many mice, dead and alive. Found one under the sofa once that had been there a few days! 6 months is early though, my girl started with dead worms for me!

Thank God that I have Persian's who couldn't catch a cold!

This morning they seem a lot more 'playful' than normal, but have so far stayed inside to play with their toys.

Think the mouse has unlocked a realisation within that they are built to hunt....!

Might look into upgrading the cat flap to one that stops the cat from getting in when its carrying something 😳

So they are two for two, with another mouse being brought in tonight...

Mine are 12 and still doing this. Not only mice but birds, squirrels, slow worms and frogs.
The only advice I can give you is never trust a mouse. They are very good at playing dead.

We always have a few boxes ready around the house. If DCat brings a mouse in one person grabs a box, the other grabs the cat and we hold him over the box until he drops the mouse into it. Empty cat food boxes can be good for this.

DCat has a very specific, recognisable ‘I’ve brought in a present’ yowl so as soon as we hear that we spring into action. If he lets them go then sometimes the only way to find/catch them is to wait for him to recapture them then try the box thing.

Not convinced those catflaps actually stop them! I will believe it when I see footage of one actually stopping a cat bringing a gift in. And I’m also not sure I want dead things piled on the doorstep instead.

Our cat had two bells which made a good racket!

And a third mouse this morning....!

Im hoping that its been the same mouse, as the first two times it was alive, and this morning it was dead. So hopefuly it'll quieten down on the mouse front for a little while...!

Where are you putting them outside? We try to release them a way from the house in the hope they don’t get caught again

I had four mice four days in a row last week. Luckily, he left them in the garden. Dh managed to get out on time to bring the cat in and the last mouse ran away.
He usually wears a collar with a double bell. He had lost his collar but has a new one again. Hopefully mice and birds will hear him coming!

My car brings them in alive then dumps them and loses interest! I am rubbish at catching them and recently we had a mouse house guest for a week 🙄 couldn't get the silly thing! Put down humane traps but it must of found another way out as it's gone now!

Seems there are a lot of mice hunters out there!

She seemed more interested in playing with it, and lost interest when it died.

I wonder when they get the instinct to eat it, as i suppose just now it just looks like one of their many toys, so just think its something else to play with?

I have a friend who tapes kitchen roll inner tubes to her kitchen kickboards.
Often comes down to find the cat staring at one ... Bit of cardboard each end, remove to suitable exterior location, tip, wave!

Gosh 😁

I’m thinking of a new bell for our cat because he’s bringing in so many mice at the moment. Possibly a supersized cow bell so the damn cat can’t actually move!

Hey ThreeLeggedCat! We have put this bell on our guy. It is like a little cow bell!
From Amazon.

The truth is OP you can't really stop them. Its part of having indoor-outdoor cats. (Well, normal cats. One of mine is too dumb to do normal cat things but the other was deadly when she was younger). Bells don't stop them killing. It might reduce their success rate a bit. Or it might not. Some cats just get stealthier.

I feel for you! Mine brings in mice in the middle of the night and has a very loud yowl to announce it. I’m currently trying to learn if there is a different yowl for live and dead mice- it’s 50/50 so far. Dead mice he just drops at the bottom of the stairs and waits for me to come down and dispose of them whilst looking very proud of himself and doing his happy feet dance. Live mice he does the same but let’s them go as soon as he sees me then watches me run round trying to catch them. He wears a collar with a bell and I have a microchip cat flap but he can force his way out of it when locked. Short of a cow bell I’m not sure what I can do 😂

also agree with @Sluj to never trust a mouse that is playing dead !

DCat brought either a mouse or vole in last night, I could tell by the way he was scrabbling around on the hallway floor. Went to look and Dcat had a great interest in my son's trainers, I picked the first one up and shook it outside the front door......nothing. Shook the other and out fell furry creature. Obviously i didn't mention this to my son when he was putting on said trainers earlier today to go to work!

This is genius.
Some cats hunt. It's a natural impulse for them. I have reduced it a bit in my prolific hunter by changing diet to a higher protein one. She still kills and eats maybe one a week. But it's a huge improvement on a daily mouse.
My younger cats aren't interested in rodents but do occasionally catch a bird. Thankfully only a couple of times a year.
Keeping them in overnight also reduces the opportunity to hunt.

Hilarious 😅

One of mine brought in a mouse in a trap last night!

Eek! Very dedicated:)