Chelsea caught mice.. not mouse!!

shortstuff

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In our house, we always had mice.. one or two throughout the summer.. now that it got warmer and we haven't seen any peekaboo mice, we just thought that the scent of my kitty scared them ffffarrr farrr away.. by behold....

My baby caught a baby mouse this morning after I left for school and then few hours later, when i came home I was told that she caught another one.. the first one she palyed it to death according to the coroner (my dad) .. but the second was "mangled" i didnt belive him and he showed me the body bag.. sad..

i was reading past posts about cat catching mice, but is it healthy for them to actually tear them apart or even eat them? i mean aren't they swarming with fleas and stuff.. i mean .. they are new york mice..

but anyhoo .. she caught 2 in ONE day!!
 

zissou'smom

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The worrisome thing about them is if they have parasites etc but moreso if they are being poisoned. If the mice have ever been poisoned, then your cat is ingesting that and oddly cats are more sensitive to many rodent poisons than the mice are. If you live on a big farm and you know you aren't putting out mice poison then you're probably okay.
 
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shortstuff

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hm.. well i live in new york.. most chances are that they may be.. but not by us.. hopefull they've been feeding on our food and not poison from the new york subways.. yikes..

anyways, it's about time for me to give her her yearly de-worming meds..

my dad said it was gruesome..
 

epona

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I would be concerned if they were eaten in case the neighbours had put down rat poison - some modern types of poison are not that dangerous to cats unless they eat a large quantity of mice, but the older warfarin based poisons can be dangerous. Basically my advice would be that if you find your cat with a mouse, don't let them eat it just in case! Better safe than sorry.

Other than that, mice can carry internal parasites and fleas, so if you have a mouse infestation I would give your cats a vet prescribed flea treatment (not OTC as they can be more toxic and ineffective) and worming treatment, again from the vet, on a regular basis.

I have to ask you something though - do you feel proud of your cats when they do this, or disgusted? Just curious as people have different reactions to it! When Radar caught his first mouse at 4 months old I was so proud I held a little 'coming of age' ceremony for him (involving a treat of tuna and me telling him he was now a big brave hunter and had to help provide for his family - yes I am a bit bonkers)
 

kittiesx2

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We live in the country and occasionally a mouse gets into the house
Diesel catches them every time....I'm such a proud Mama that I almost hate to take them away...I mean, it is HIS kill right
 
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shortstuff

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no no no non ...

Im very proud of her.. i mean.. a lil bit disgusted from what i saw.. but still proud.. it was her first day and 2 in one day.. pretty good for a kitten 8 months who's got one bad eye..

im jsut a lil icked out from the parasite thing

I found a vet finally who will presscribe me somthing effective and not toxic to her. and at an affordable price so im able to give her her 1/2 yr to yearly doses.

all in all pretty good day for Chelsea.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Epona

I have to ask you something though - do you feel proud of your cats when they do this, or disgusted? Just curious as people have different reactions to it! When Radar caught his first mouse at 4 months old I was so proud I held a little 'coming of age' ceremony for him (involving a treat of tuna and me telling him he was now a big brave hunter and had to help provide for his family - yes I am a bit bonkers)
Oh I'm bonkers too.
Except in my house, there's no need for a treat...as my "silent killer" Momma has already had her treat.
I'll spare the details, but she doesn't leave much.
 

cococat

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My cat eats bugs, but she never caught the mouse in our house, we had to set out traps.
 

zissou'smom

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I encourage Zissou to kill anything because, well, there's no need to suppress an animals natural instinct and since her real mom would praise her why shouldn't I? Then I quietly stifle puking...

But. Yes, if you suspect the mice may have been poisoned then please try to keep the cat from eating them. I didn't realize you meant New York City.
 

jellybella

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I think the pride is common, we love our little hunters so much. Years ago, my DH showed me a gruesome set of pictures of his family pet eating a baby rabbit on the deck. All that was left was her "lucky" little rabbit feet.

He was beaming like a proud papa
I'm sure that if one of ours comes trotting in with a rodent, he'll take on the same attitude (after the initial panic that is)...
 
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shortstuff

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Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I encourage Zissou to kill anything because, well, there's no need to suppress an animals natural instinct and since her real mom would praise her why shouldn't I? Then I quietly stifle puking...

But. Yes, if you suspect the mice may have been poisoned then please try to keep the cat from eating them. I didn't realize you meant New York City.
well yeah.. nyc .

my mother was screming on top of herlungs when she saw the second baby.. it was left in the corner for ppl to find.. i guess she got tired of it when it didnt run away anymore. i try not to kiss her anymore.. feel like im tasting mouse flesh.. :shivers:
 

alice_curiouser

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Fenwick caught a couple mice over the winter... normally I would worry about poison (I had a friend lose a cat once when it ate a poisoned mouse), but luckily Miss Picky was content to slay them; she'd never actually eat such a thing! She won't eat steak or shrimp or fresh chicken, either, so I'm not surprised. *sigh*

And in answer to the other question above, I don't praise her or yell at her, I always just feel sorry for the poor little mouse.
 

emmylou

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Our cats in New York used to catch mice all the time. The fact that the cat caught them doesn't necessarily indicate that they're poisoned.
 
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shortstuff

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Originally Posted by alice_curiouser

Fenwick caught a couple mice over the winter... normally I would worry about poison (I had a friend lose a cat once when it ate a poisoned mouse), but luckily Miss Picky was content to slay them; she'd never actually eat such a thing! She won't eat steak or shrimp or fresh chicken, either, so I'm not surprised. *sigh*

And in answer to the other question above, I don't praise her or yell at her, I always just feel sorry for the poor little mouse.
i didnt praise her or punish her either, i just let it be like somthing she would play with.

I filled a mini beenie baby with catnip and it looks like the same thing as the mouse.. so to her im sure it's just another play thing.. though i do feel a bit bad..I use to raise hamsters.
 
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shortstuff

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Originally Posted by emmylou

Our cats in New York used to catch mice all the time. The fact that the cat caught them doesn't necessarily indicate that they're poisoned.
why i would be worried about the poison in ny is that there is a subway track close to my backyard where they have been treated with a pesticide,

that's my main concern.. but so far.. the prey haven't been intact but all the pieces are all there
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by emmylou

Our cats in New York used to catch mice all the time. The fact that the cat caught them doesn't necessarily indicate that they're poisoned.
Well, yes....a poisoned mouse can go zipping through the house probably as well as a non poisoned one. The concern is if the cat eats the bad mouse, then the cat could die. Rodent poison is nasty stuff.

It would be a concern here, as Momma doesn't just play with them. Last time she got one I was sitting 15 feet from where I found the remnants of the mouse, and I didn't have any idea that anything was going on. She was fast...and the mouse was GONE. :gulp:
 
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shortstuff

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well .. looky looky..

i come home and this time I get to be surprised by my baby..

behold.. she caught another one in our house. either we're infested or she's really getting good. i was SHOCKED.. i had to litterally pull her away from the mouse .. i dunno if i should be happy or nervous that i have an infestation problem.

if anything..3 mice in 2 days.. not bad.
 

zissou'smom

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You may have a problem. I have never seen a mouse except tiny ones in my grandparents' basement and they pretty much lived on a farm.

I don't know whats normal in NYC but maybe you should consider setting humane traps for the mice (I recommend this mainly because anything else could harm your cat ie poison, mousetraps, etc) to get rid of them.
 
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Mainly bugs for our youngest cat (we're not complaining , no moths or spiders around
) But our oldest cat has killed birds, shrews, mice and once found a rat, with an occassional alive mouse. Was kinda impressed by the rat considering how big they are but the bird we werent happy about since had a metal ring on what was left of its feet saying 'British museum' , my mum actually called them she was so embarassed.
With living in a village we dont really need to worrry about posioning but I think the biggest concern is just worms so cat shoud be fine
 

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My cat is to clumsy to catch mice. We live close to a farm and there are alot of fields around us, plenty of mice in the coal shed. Non in the house. She has given up catching them for herself and waits till the cat next door catches them. Then she snatches them. Cheeky lol.
 
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