To askIf every cat brings mice in?

[CommuterMummy]

Following up from another post from today, I just wanted to ask this to a wider audience.
I have a real mice phobia and am scared that getting a cat will mean having them bringing them home dead or, even worse, alive. I am reading of a lot of people saying their cats bring home all sorts of animals but I wonder how rurally these MNetters live? We’d be in a house in Surrey, not very rural, close to town centre and with a small garden.
DH had cats most of his life when growing up and says his ones never did it. They only went in the garden for a bit during the day and at night they’d be kept in the house and they never brought prays in.
I am panicking a bit reading comments from other posters with their cats brining mice in continously but DH is adamant that it doesn’t happen with all cats and depends on where you live, how free they are to go out etc.
Anyone here who has a similar experience to DH and what do you do to avoid unwanted “guests”?

I have 2 brothers. One is a ferocious hunter, and the other once bought me a cable tie.
The hunter regularly brings in rats, dead and alive, birds, and sometimes frogs. He also brings in a selection of cooked and uncooked meats.
This week I have had 3 rats, a slice of pizza, half a sausage and 2 quarter portions of raw chicken.
We have an old peoples home nearby and I think he raids it
.

Haha we have 2 atm and one he loves to bring in birds,mice,pheasant,rabbits,rats etc and sorry to say half the time not dead he just proudly shows us his prize and then we release the animal back out much to our cats dismay lol. Our female cat doesn't bring them in but she does kill and leave them on the doorstep either half eaten or whole lol

Mine did.

And a rabbits head 😬

I think if your phobia is really serious, your best bet would be an indoor cat - don’t think you could guarantee that a cat would never catch a mouse.
My small, chubby, elderly moggy still has killing sprees occasionally, despite rarely leaving our garden and spending 20 hours per day asleep 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also have a phobia and it's the reason we don't have a cat. When I looked into it the only solution was a housecat, and I didn't want to go down that route. Might work for you though?

It depends on the cat. Mine likes birds but has learned not to bring them in the house.

If she keeps them in the garden I leave her to it, if she tries to bring one it she get screeched at.

You could have an indoor cat OP.

My female adult cat - yes
Juvenile boy cats - no, but 1 brings me feathers 🥰🐾

I can't cope with the gifts either - we deal with it by not having a cat flap. It means we are constantly at Their Majesties' beck and call to open the door/window for them to come in and out, but we can check they are empty-mouthed each time they come in.

My female cat would bring mice into the conservatory and leave them. Sometimes she would drop them in the kitchen and on occasion would play with them and bring them into the lounge and play. Our current cat is only one and after a previous cat went missing we decided to keep him in as a house cat. He plays with toy mice an awful lot so I don't doubt if he was to go out he would catch live mice.

Mine suddenly started bringing live rats 2 weeks ago... this week, we had a dead pidgeon. It was horrific. Feathers everywhere. Im still finding feathers now

My cat doesn’t bring mice in. She goes outdoors during the day but we keep her in after dusk. I think you’re less likely to have mice in the house if you have a cat too! We used to get the occasional mouse in our old house when we didn’t have a cat-I used to release them.

I've only had male cats who never brought in mice or birds, I live 3 miles from the city centre. My current male cat, sod that he is, does catch birds. Has brought in an alive one once but mostly eats them in the garden. He runs off with it if I try to approach him.

It's possible to teach cats not to bring their 'gifts' into the house. When mine do (they're almost always dead, and always brought to me and plonked down near me) I pick it up, make sure the cat is following me, and take it out to the garden where I put it down and tell the cat how clever it is (telling it off is pointless as they have no idea why I'm cross). The cat then works out this is where I want the 'gifts', and tend to continue to take them to this spot for several months, until they forget, and we have to go through this again

But yes, I've have some cats that hunt and some that didn't/don't. I had one with a fetish for clothes and brought me an endless selection of fresh laundry from neighbours, as well as the occasional toad that made him froth at the mouth. I've also had one that brought in snakes (both alive and dead), aside from the usual variety of rodents (mostly dead) and birds (mostly alive, so could be released outside).

My house cat doesn’t but every other cat has. Mice and rats are everywhere.

I have my cat flap on out only for this reason. Cat shelter in the garden but he has mastered opening cat flap with his foot! But I don't think he would manage that with something in his mouth.

Like I said on other thread look up 'only cat' Cat flap.

If I make mine a housecat, does it mean I can never let him/her out in the garden ever? DH wants them to use a catflap during the day as he doesn’t want the litter in the house, only at night.

I had a cat once bring in a half dead pigeon. Took ages to catch the thing and was finding feathers around the house for months after. Managed to get it out. Cat brought it back a week later....minus the head.

Same cat brought in a nest of baby chicks and put them in the dirty laundry pile. Some I didn't find until after they'd been through the wash. 🤢

I've had frogs and spiders brought in, as well as mice. Found a crusty mouse in a slipper once too. With my bare foot. 🤮

We've two girl cats and they catch things. Also have the cat flap set to out only so they can't get in without us letting them in. So anything they catch stays outside.
They seem to be worst in the late summer evenings for some reason so we have prime killing season approaching.

Previous cats yes all the time alive and dead. These 2 not mice, but we have had frogs! Also mouthfuls of worms when it rains a lot and butterflies and moths.

We have 2 cats. One left the arse end of a bunny on the doorstep a couple of weeks ago while the other proudly turned up with a leaf. We don't have a cat flap so we don't get any surprises😁

No. My current cat brings in about one mouse a month.
My previous cat brought in NO mice ever.
I had a brother and sister cat many years ago. She hunted, he didn't.
My parents have two cats who have never caught a mouse.
Many cats stop hunting after a certain age. Others keep going.

Mine has never caught a mouse. He once presented me with a dead moth and that was the extent of his hunting life.

Male neutered cat, live rurally. He doesn't hunt at all. Far too lazy and he's only 5. He sits and watches rabbits and pheasants but that's as far as his wildlife activity gos.

Mine brings stuff in, had a live mouse a few weeks ago. She kindly.let it go under the bed.

I sent the dog under to catch it, and she growled and wouldn't let him have her catch.

It then popped out the floorboards into another room.

Rural and she was a rescue cat. I think the ones who come from feral mothers are better hunters.

Make cats are ot as prolific hunters. Females are much better hunters and not as lazy. Rather like other species 😜