Cat bringing in mice!

[Splishsplashsplooshsplosh]

Me again - posted earlier looking for names for our new kitten but also having an issue with resident cat
She is a 3.5 year old girl. She's started bringing in live mice 😬. How do we stop it? I've managed to save most of them but obviously the poor little buggers must be terrified and honestly I just don't want bloody mice in my house! Surely not having mice is supposed to be one of the benefits of Cat ownership? Clearly nobody told mine!!
I've ordered a collar with a bell on it which I suspect she'll remove immediately because she's always managed in the past. Does anyone have any other ideas? Thank you

The only way to stop it is to stop your cat having free access in and out.

Another option is to have a stern word with said cat about the behaviour and bringing back of undesirables to one’s place of residence.

Ahahaha. Obviously joking. If you have any success do let me know. DCat2 brought a friend home for early am snack this morning. DH had to get up at 4.30 to close all the internal doors and we are hoping that cat took friend outside for a nice meal. But we may still find pieces of the meal later in the house. He prefers DS room for this

You are lucky, my old cat brings in rats then gives them the run of the house. there is a farm behind my house. It took me three days to catch the last one and take it two miles away.

Mine brought in a rabbit once!

My girl is an extensive hunter, the only thing we can do is moderate her access. Our Ring camera alerts us when she's in the garden, we let her in if her mouth is empty! Otherwise she has to stay out. She seemed to grasp this and stopped bringing things back for weeks, but just today caught a bird. I feel awful because I couldn't keep her inside (we tried for a whole year!) but do hate her hunting the wildlife too.

Mine brings them proudly into my bedroom😊.

no idea how to stop it - only happens in the summer though

We thought we had cracked it by confining DCat2 to barracks after a certain time. Cat flap inwards only. But no, she hops out a first floor window, catches a mouse and brings it into our bedroom at midnight then drops it and yells at us to wake up to see the present. Short of locking her out all night we’re feeling a bit stuck.

Mine have been known to climb the roof, mousie in mouth, looking for an open upstairs window if the cat flap is locked.

The children are now so used to spotting them they get everything shut quick.

This is what the cat does to earn its keep. It is an ancient ritual where the cat says "look at me I am an excellent cat, I have done in some vermin. Fuss me".

It's only recently people have decided they don't like it. For a long time it was why we got on at all with cats.

You have to learn to recognise that special “ I am speaking with my mouth full” sound they make to announce that you need to close your eyes and hold out your hands because they have a present for you! I used to move at the speed of light to chase out old cat when she made her special noise, the secret is not scaring them into dropping the present before they go back outside.

We don’t have a cat flap primarily for this reason. DCat will bring gifts in through open windows if he can though so at night we keep him in (downstairs) so we can have our windows open. He doesn’t tend to catch so much during the day but sometimes we have to be quick and close the door if we see him outside with a creature in his mouth.

To be honest we try keep him in overnight anyway to avoid him getting into fights or accidents etc anyway.

this summer so far he hasn’t brought anything in to the house - although yesterday there was a glis-glis and a small bird on the garden path…

Can I just state for the record that my 13yo son has developed the ability to impersonate the sound of cat plus dead/alive creature in mouth so accurately that he has us all fooled...

No!!!! Ahaha that’s amazing but terrifying! My son would absolutely love to have that super power!

And speaking of mice - the one which the cat had brought in 36hrs ago - managed to get itself stuck in the metal empty bathroom rubbish bin at 4am!
Result! Except for the fact it was roaming the house for 24hrs 🤢

Yes mine did this once, I woke up to find it beside me on the bed 😱

My lovely girl is 14 and no longer hunts, but the next time I have young cat(s), the cat flap will be firmly locked at night

I am often to be found on hands and knees under my bed at 3.00 in the morning, that's where my "gifts" are randomly dropped off, last night it was a small dead frog.

I think your cat is training the new kitten.
Keep them in overnight helps a bit, high protein diet & lots of play.

We don't have a cat flap for this reason. Trained cat that it goes out in the morning, comes home at 6pm for dinner, then locked in.

Current cat does bring us presents but doesn't play with his food - once he's caught you, you're dead, however finding decomposing mice under the bed isn't fun either.

Honestly once they've brought you the mouse, you had best kill it. The cat has probably injured it and mice basically die once they are out of their home territory so releasing it just means a slow death anyway.

DH used to keep a long cardboard tube for whacking any live presents, turns out mice are very easy to kill.

You were lucky it was dead. Have you ever heard a frog scream?

Kittens + new action of bringing in live prey by a female cat.

All you will be able to do is stop her bringing them if you keep allowing her out to hunt.

@BreadandButters I was gifted a dead glis glis this morning! First time I’ve ever been pleased with DCat’s hunting abilities. Though I did step on it at first because I didn’t see it 🤢