Cat catching a mouse?

mamakat

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Well, Fall is officially here. How do I know? Not only by the hundreds of Asian Ladybug things that have invaded my house, but also by the new batch of mice who are planning to live here this winter.
Yes, they have found my house! This year though, not only am I armed with fresh packs of Decon, but I have 3 cats for them to fear!


This morning we got up much earlier than usual and my house was very dark. I came down quickly and turned on my kitchen light to see Jayce trying to get something under my fridge. There is about a 1/2 inch gap at most so I thought maybe a toy got under there or something.

Left for work like usual. Came home abruptly after a meeting tonight and had to hurry like crazy to get Morgan and Abby to the vet. Didnt really pay attention to anything else at all.

Came home, my mom had picked up my daughter and only Jayce was home (I was still at the vet with A&M). Laura says to my mom: "Grandma, come look at the mouse Jaycie has!" And my mom goes to see, and thinks wow thats a really cool realistic toy mouse!

It was a real, but now dead, mouse! The thing is, he looked pretty much unharmed, other than an obvious wet spot by his neck, so I assumed whichever cat got him broke its neck. So I checked out the living room when I got home and noticed little mouse turds all over my carpet and also some in the dining room.

Makes me wonder how long my cat(s?) "tortured" it and let it roam all the while getting ready to kill it. Wow. Is that pretty common? I have never actually seen a cat do anything to a mouse so I dont know how it goes or why it would have roamed my house enough to poop ALL OVER. I found at least 20 little turds


Is it likely all 3 of my cats were messing with the mouse? It was at least Jayce, since he was the last one with it and batting it around (dead). Lastly, do I have to worry about them getting disease from any stray mice that come in?
 

hissy

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Kat- I would recommend you not use Decon to get rid of the rodent population. The newer poisons out there can be toxic to the cats, even if they eat a dead mouse that died from Decon poisoning. Let your cats take care of the population alone, trust me, they will do a better job, and all you have to worry about is to keep the cats de-wormed with drontal while they do, because they can get tapeworms from rodents.
 
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mamakat

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Ack! Ok, thank you very much for the info. I will definitely do that. I'll remove the decon and ask my vet about the med stuff on Saturday with Jayce.

The one thing I worry about is our house layout. The basement is off limits to the cats, its just not pleasant or safe for them. However, I think that is where a number of them are. Should I just wait to see if the mice come upstairs for the cats to get them? I dont want my basement infested so Ive kept decon down there. So how will I keep the pest control down in the basement if they dont come upstairs?
Make sense?
Any suggestions?
 

vettechstudent

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LOL.This reminded me of this past Sunday morning.I woke up to this horrible growling sound.I just knew that a couple of my cats were about to fight for some reason(although they have never fought bfore other than the slight hissing,slapping a little).I walked into my living room and Pepper(my black kitty)had a mouse in his mouse and all the cats were gathered around him.He wanted them to leave him alone so he could "play" with it,but they stayed right with him.He was also trying to hiss at them WITH the mouse still in his mouth.Now THAT was funny!He finally got them to leave him alone for a few minutes and he took it into the kitchen to play with it and finish killing it.After he killed it he layed it down and just layed beside it,but made no efforts to eat it.I then picked it up by the tail and tossed it into the field.Kitties then got treats.


I won't use rat poison either because of my cats.
I did one time buy the glue traps(although I really don't like the way those work)and put one up under a broke spot under my cabinets that I didn't even think my cats could get to.It stayed under there for quite a while.I checked it at first,but never caught anything.I completely forgot about it until one day I heard one of my cats running through the house accompanied by a strange sound.One of them had somehow gotten under there and had the glue trap stuck smack dab on the bottom of his back foot.It was making a flopping noise when he was on the hardwood floor in the kitches/dining room.I finally caught him and got the trap off his foot.Needless to say,I haven't used those anymore either.

Good luck.
 

purrfectcatlove

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vettech your last story is to funny , I love agood healthy laugh and that was one . Thank you for sharin with us .

MamaKat , btw it is very normal for cats to play for a while with their pray .So you got some good kitties
 

yayi

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Of my 3 cats, only the oldest is very good at hunting. The other two let her do the work and then want to take credit for it. They bug her endlessly until she either drops it or she gives it to me as a gift (Yuck!).
Anyway, I agree that cats are the best natural rat/mice control there is.
 

hissy

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I would invest in a mulit trap. They look like a big cat carrier with small holes. The mice are lured inside and they can't get back out. You have to check the trap daily though- but it is the safest way to catch mice without hurting your cats. Or you could get a boa constrictor and let it loose in the basement- (kidding!)
 

sammie5

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I got Sam as a mouse deterrent. He killed and ate two in the first week he was here. Then he played with one until it died. It took half an hour - he batted it around, waited for it to move, chased it, and when it finally stopped moving, he walked away.

That was the last mouse I ever saw, and we had a huge problem before. The smell of the cat is a deterrent, they don't even have to see each other.

I quit putting out mouse poison a year before I got Sam, as soon as I started planning to get a cat.
 

momofmany

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Agree - don't use mouse poison bait - it can seriously harm your cat! Call me old fashioned, but I've just use simply mouse traps loaded with a dab of peanut butter. Put them in areas that your cats can't get too like behind the fridge, furnace, water heaters, etc. One day I'll try one of those new-fangled mouse trap houses. To avoid getting mice in your kitchen cabinets, put all food away in plastic containers (I'm the rubbermaid queen).

My cats that were never taught to hunt by their mom will play with the mouse rather than catch/kill and eat it - they eventually bludgeon it to death. They like to tuck them into obscure places when done, such as my briefcase and under my bed pillow (yes, these have both happened to me).

I am always amazed when mice make it into my house - they have to run the feral gauntlet outside, get inside, only to find 16 eager cats ready to make a game of them.

Good luck Mamakat!!
 

purrfectcatlove

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M.A.Or you could get a boa constrictor and let it loose in the basement- (kidding!) LMAO
to funny .

Momofmany I can see a mouse going in a shock when entering your house seeing all the kitties
 
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mamakat

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Ok, well the BOA is an automatic no
Ewwwww! Im trying to get rid of the pest problem gals


Jayce had his vet appt today and we talked about the mouse thing. He gave them a pill (dont know the name offhand) that will get rid of any worms they might currently have. He said I should bring them back again in 4 or 5 months to pill them for it again. Morgan and Abby go in for a few minutes on Monday to get their pills since we didnt talk about it at their last appt.

So thanks for the tip
Hopefully it will help with whatever problem they might get. Im also taking away all my decon too, and I guess I'll work on my options for the basement
 
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mamakat

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Morgan found the place the mice come upstairs, I think.

Theres a small, 1 inch gap between floor boards from one room to another (I need one of those cover things). The problem is though, that hes just stalking the crack in the floor. Hes been sitting there, moving around only a little to sniff it out and then move back. How long would he just sit there stalking? He moved about 6 ft away for a few minutes and then snuck back.
 

momofmany

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One of my outdoor cats (Rocky) used to find a good mouse trail and sit there motionless waiting for them to wander by. We clocked him for an hour and a half one time - virtually motionless except for the occassional flicker of an ear. He probably would have sat there longer but an unlucky mouse wandered by (he caught it).

So....I guess the answer is that they can sit there for a LONG time.
 
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mamakat

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Holy smokes! 1.5 hours is a long time. Such patience


Well, Morgan did finally wander away, but he keeps coming back and hunching over this crack really funny. He knows theres something down there but little mousie is still hiding.

Theyre just so funny to watch!
 

purrfectcatlove

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MamaKat you got a good mouser cat and need to be proud of it
Be sure if there is a mouse Morgan will catch it sooner or later
I am sure it is funny to watch
 
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