Whole prey items that cats can eat

What whole prey items can cats eat? Or.. if this is easier to answer.... What prey items can cats NOT eat?

More specifically, can cats/will cats eat gerbils? Also, how nutritious are gerbils compared to mice? And what about rats?

Also, how do you go about feeding rabbits? Are they cut up? Would several cats share one rabbit? Or would one cat eat a whole rabbit?

From observing farm cats and outdoor cats. . .anything they can manage . I've seen cats with full-grown squirrels and rabbits, but I'm pretty sure they got them off the road instead of making the kill themselves. They usually stash them under a tree or shed and eat them over several days (if you were to feed them to a house cat I suppose you'd cut them up in meal-size portions and remove the largest bones). But everything smaller---ground squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, baby rabbits/squirrels, smaller rats (I think most cats are reluctant to take on a large rat because they fight back), they're all fair game.

I know cats will eat gerbils, because my aunt had some gerbils she didn't want anymore so she fed them to the farm cats , but I don't know how they compare to mice nutritionally speaking.

As far as what cats can't have. . .nothing. If it's meat they can eat it. You just want to remove bones that are too large for them to eat safely.

Is it better for cats to eat a variety rather than just mice?

Yes, it is. Although in the wild, rats, rabbits or mice (depending on location) may make up to 80% or so of a cat's diet, they're never 100%. And as the whole prey we feed are not wild, but raised on "feed," the nutritional profile would not be the same as wild prey. So to ensure there are no nutritional deficiencies, more than one type of prey/protein is always best.

Wouldn't my mice be more nutritional than wild mice? I feed them a homemade corn free diet that includes straights, animal protein, insects, and seeds.

My gerbils basically get the same diet but different ratios since they need less protein than mice.

Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know a thing about mice and what they would eat in the wild.

Rodent Pro has a link to nutritional composition of mice, guinea pigs, etc.
Maybe this will help.

I don't know anything about the mice. But I just wanted to say that a cat breeder friend of mine always gives each of her cats a one day old chick with their evening meal. They love it ! She has been doing this since the late 70's. She gets the chicks from a company that supplies them to people who keep birds of pray. They come frozen in boxes of 200 and they cost about £8 a box

Thanks for the link. That is quite useful... the only thing they're missing is gerbils.

I'm going to start asking around for chicks and rabbits. My freezer is too small to fit a massive order from rodent pro.
I'm hopefully going to get a special freezer for prey, since I'm also planning on another snake soon.

oh sorry I saw guinea pigs and thought gerbils

Willowy said:

I've seen cats with full-grown squirrels and rabbits, but I'm pretty sure they got them off the road instead of making the kill themselves.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, a cat can take down a fully grown rabbit or squirrel! Sammy used to do it all the time when he was a stray who lived part time on my patio.

In fact, we heard a loud noise on the patio one night when the windows were open and my long suffering husband was sent out to see what was going on. Sammy had a huge rabbit who was not quite dead yet. I freaked out and said 'get it from him' (which I now realize was the totally wrong thing to do). Long story short, DH carried the now dead rabbit to the dumpster on a shovel and Sammy followed him the whole way, hissing his little face off! He was sooo angry that we took his kill away. And I don't blame him.

We had pet rabbits when I was a kid, so I think that is why I freaked out. When we were inside later, I realized we wasted all that food and Sammy was just doing what was natural and I felt really bad. I am surprised he came back to visit us!

Over the next few months, before we finally scooped Sammy up and brought him inside permanently, I cleaned several rabbit and squirrel carcasses off the patio. We could see him stalking them in the common area of the apartment complex. I would always compliment him on his hunting prowess when he came back. He would eat all the meat by himself over the course of 24 hours. He brought home rabbits or squirrels about once every two weeks, but he also ate food I put out for him and mice in between his big kills.

Somewhat off topic but recently a deer jumped a fence leading into the cheeta's place at the National Zoo. The cheetas killed and ate the deer. The zoo keeper said, they were just doing what comes naturally.