Discouraging cats from bringing in prey!

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

Owner of two 11-month-old cats here.

Just recently they have started bringing creatures they've caught into the house...the female cat is quite little so keeps bringing stag beetles which we scoop up and take back outside.

The male cat is much bigger and we had assumed not so much of a hunter as he's endearingly dopey! However, in the past couple of days he's brought in live pigeons which then flap around the house dropping feathers everywhere and making such a mess!

Both times we've managed to prise our cat off the bird and let them go, but I really want to discourage him bringing them in. What can I do?

I think part of the reason is because the weather has been warm so had the back door open...I don't think they would get through the cat flap. But I want to discourage smaller creatures too!

Mines brought pigeons through the Cathal. A friends brought an entire seagull. There is a company working on a catch that detects prey and locks but it’s super expensive and only the classic catflap size. We have an extra large cat flap as one of ours is huge but maybe worth looking into. Collars with bells can help prey escape but they’re not really seen as safe for cats now.

Surely not leaving doors open is the easiest and best solution OP..? Common sense really. You have to remember that they’re animals and bringing prey home is simply natural instinct. We have a cat flap hence I’ve dealt with many mice and birds brought home over the years - it’s just part and parcel of having free roaming cats

An old cat of mine used to bring in sausages, half eaten, from bbqs in the area! One time he brought the leftovers of a joint of roast beef 😂
Current boy cats come in regularly with mice .... sometimes alive and sometimes not ... no idea how to stop it

Onlycat catflap

https://www.onlycat.com/

Wait until they bring home mice!x

ive had many cats over the years and many types of cat flaps. I now don’t have a cat flap at all for this reason. They have to indicate if they want letting in or out and I check they’ve not got anything in their mouths before letting them in. We do have a sheltered area in the garden they can sit in if it rains, and litter trays in the utility room they can use if needed.
If we didn’t do this we would have a house full of dead and dying mice and worse.

We've had a rabbit through the cat flap, and several headless pigeons

I cope nowadays by setting the flap to out only, they have to ring the cat flap and wait to be let in...

Or worse, live ones hiding under the fridge or behind the sofa or fuck knows where because the dumb cat has just dropped it unharmed in the middle of the kitchen and buggered off out again

I have also set the cat flap to out only. Cat can lift it from the outside to get in but hasn't mastered how to do it whilst holding the prey too. Have found a few bodies in the garden so he is still hunting.

Sorry to disappoint you but a closed door is no deterrent for the evil cat genius... think of carrying prey via two flat roofs and into a top window left ajar... not a nice surprise for the person whose bedroom it is or the rodent!
When our cat did this when I was a child, I screamed the place down and jumped on a chair like in Tom & Jerry which acted as a deterrent on the basis this was a 'gift'. Alas female cat in her evil geniusness sees the entrapment followed by escape as part of the fun!

Also keeping doors closed can't be an option in the summer. We have bi-folds all the way along the back wall of our kitchen and so are opened up for most of the day. They bring in all sorts especially in the summer, haven't found a solution yet

One of mine deposited a dead mouse in partners slipper :)

https://www.battersea.org.uk/pet-advice/cat-advice/can-i-stop-my-cat-hunting

We have a hunter although she is getting older and too lazy to hunt anymore, but we got her from Battersea and they said to read through this advice.

Ah they are trying to teach you how to hunt…bless them

I tell mine “no thank you, not needed, I already hunt at Asda”

Some nice big bells on the collar will help

Mine bought a live pigeon in through the catflap. While I was on a Zoom work meeting. She’s only tiny as well. We’ve had all sorts of other things, one morning I sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee for about 45 minutes then when I got up, I noticed that there was a blackbird just sitting quietly on the curtain rail! I managed to get both of the birds to freedom. I have no idea what you do about it, I hate it too. The older cat is now too slow to catch anything or can’t be bothered so at least they do grow out of it I guess.

*Brought. She didn’t buy it as far as I know, but who knows what they do when they’re far away from home! I have considered putting a camera on her, but then decided I would rather just not know what she’s doing!

Make sure cats are in at dusk and dawn. They will catch less then. We don’t have a cat flap for this reason. We have to open a door.

Yup

Thanks all. Yep, probably does make sense to shut the door but it's nice having it open in summer. And actually, my husband reckons this morning's treat was brought through an open window not the door...not practical to keep all doors and windows shut during the summer.

Sounds like this may be something I need to get use to then as we can't really have the cat flat on 'out only' either as I'm not in all day every day. Something I'm conscious of is that we're going away in the summer and I've arranged for my neighbour to pop in each day to feed and play with them for a bit. I'm now a bit concerned that she'll have dead/live creatures that they've brought in to deal with as well!

And they don't wear collars so big bells not really an option either.

I was once injured and working from home in bed. That day I was the on call for advice/ emergency support for colleagues.

Damn cat brought in a (happily dead mouse), jumped up by my feet and proceeded to eat it from tail to neck, leaving a disembodied head on the duvet.

Twice. Oh God, the crunching.

Another recommendation for the OnlyCat flap! It doesn’t stop them hunting but does stop them bringing the prey inside so you don’t have to deal with things in the house. A few MNers have them installed after participating in the initial crowdfunding round but they’re just available to buy now.

This was one of the user photos that they posted today and it cracked me up!

One of my cats has clearly watched the Godfather. Squirrel’s head on pillow, anyone?

Haribo brought a young rat into the house late morning and I don't know if it was alive or dead. When I told him to get out of the house he did and was last seen, still clutching his prize, disappearing over the fence into a neighbours garden.