Live mice from petstore - seeking experienced opinions

Has anyone here given their indoor cat(s) live mice from a petstore, or perhaps lab quality mice/rats?

If so, do you have your cats dewormed every so often?

I realize it's a sensitive topic for some and this is not a moral discussion, simply from a knowledgeable (from experience) health standpoint. 

I feed my cat frozen raw duck and rabbit (Big Country Raw brand) as treats, which includes bones, kidney and liver. I'm seeking live alternatives.  

cheers,

Marc

I know a lot of reptile owners will not feed pet store mice, unless they've kept the mouse for a month or so and fed it a healthy diet. I think this is more a diet issue than a parasite issue though. If a mouse breeder is keeping things properly clean there shouldn't be a problem with parasites. Labs may be generally cleaner than feeder mouse breeders' facilities.

Hmm, mice breeder good idea.  If I can find a lab breeding facility close by, that's likely the best option too. 

A lab that does pregnancy test for large animals such as horses will have albino, white mice with pink eyes, on site to do the pregnancy test. They really still do this to see if a large animal is pregnant in the very early stages of pregnancy, like weeks pregnant. If not, the horse gets bred again, while still in season. Your right it is a delicate subject.

Pet store mice are meant to be pets, not feeders, and most reputable pet stores like Petco have adoption agreements you sign saying you are getting the animal as a pet.  Some places do have feeder mice for reptiles, or "pinkie" mice which are just tiny nursing babies.  That breaks my heart, of course, and I couldn't be a part of that.  If you are looking at feeding mice to your cats as part of a raw diet, there are companies that sell "ArcticMice" and "Arctic Chicks" and they are FROZEN mice and baby chicks that are meant for food.  They are shipped to you and you keep them in your freezer.  I know this because a friend does use them for her cats' totally raw diet which she makes up.  She has 3 cats, 2 of them Ragdolls, and they are in the most beautiful condition I have ever seen, glorious coats and no dental problems.  If you are interested in finding out where to get them,private message me and I will ask her where she gets them from.  I know they are shipped to her.

Petco assumes most mice will go as feeders. I know because I bought some as pets and they asked, and the clerk said it was nice to sell some as pets because most go as feeders. Plus my friend who has a snake gets his mice there :/. Petsmart does not sell live mice as feeders. Other pet stores may vary in their policies.

There are a lot of companies online that sell frozen mice and chicks. A lot of them say they feed their animals special nutritious diets and guaranteed parasite-free and all that.

Hmm, well here's a breeder for frozen mice/rats.  Claims to be the largest breeder in Canada - not sure about the prices but it's an option. 

http://www.canadianmouseman.com/

Also depends on the cat. One of my cats gently plays with a house mouse. I have to catch the mouse and put it outside near the compost bin where it's a bit warmer and there is something to nibble on while they get their bearings. The other cat traps a mouse by the tail then howls as if she doesn't know what to do next. Again, I take the mouse outside. Haven't seen signs of a house mouse for a year or so. Guess I'm quite the mouser. Many years ago, I had a cat who was a true hunter. He was also a connoisseur - he only ate the heads, leaving the bodies for the humans to find.

Do you really want to take the chance that a mouse colony establishes itself in your house?

cocheezie said:

 
Also depends on the cat. One of my cats gently plays with a house mouse. I have to catch the mouse and put it outside near the compost bin where it's a bit warmer and there is something to nibble on while they get their bearings. The other cat traps a mouse by the tail then howls as if she doesn't know what to do next. Again, I take the mouse outside. Haven't seen signs of a house mouse for a year or so. Guess I'm quite the mouser. Many years ago, I had a cat who was a true hunter. He was also a connoisseur - he only ate the heads, leaving the bodies for the humans to find.

Do you really want to take the chance that a mouse colony establishes itself in your house?

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Hmm, no I wouldn't be doing the breeding.  I'd be buying Mickey Mouse  from a local breeder, either frozen or fresh. 

I bred mice years ago in my folks basement - I had 1 male / 2 females.  That turned out to be 1 female too many.  They bred like rabbits every ~ 28 days   One litter was 14-16 babies. 

This was for my tokay gecko and basilisk lizards that I had as a kid.   It was certainly inexpensive - but the 2ndary freezer was filling up with pinkies at a rate that my mother didn't approve.  

As well as, once some reached the 'jumper' stage, they were quite athletic and managed to escape and make their way up stairs.  That was the end of my mice breeding years.  Lol, ahh fond memories...sort of.  

Mice can have worms but I've bred and fed mice for 4-5 years now bought from several different pet stores and never had an issue from them.  My cat is not the quickest mouser so she gets pre killed but has caught escapees on her own before.  Buying live mice is usually quite a bit more expensive than frozen feeders though. 

I would think the frozen pinkies would be the most economical option. I know that Big Al's and Petsmart has them in stock, and I'm sure there are a few other local stores that have them.

If two mice get away from the cat you may find yourself with a lot more mice around than you want.  Has your cat ever caught, killed and eaten a live mouse?  Cats who've lived their entire lives indoors may not be at all interested in live mice.  

Cheri

My cat may not be interested in live mice, or he may be.  There's only one way to find out.

Also, if I were to buy a mouse, I would buy 1 mouse, not two or more.   Furthermore, I would have the mouse in a relatively confined area. Thanks for your concern.

There's someone on the board who regularly feeds live rodents. She keeps hybrid cats.

l used to live in an old 1800s house and mice used to get into the basement all the time. My old cat Thai was a horribly cruel hunter. l've never seen a cat toy with its prey for so long, ugh. l used to save them and put them out as often as l could. Anyway, even the ones he killed he didn't eat. So if you're looking for the nutrition of these mice it might better be frozen. l got mine here http://dinoreptiles.com/index.asp?name=Food and Feeders&id=4  as l live close enough to pick up. They wouldn't eat them raw so l had to grind them into their homemade cat food.

lf it's the hunting experience you want for them, crickets in the bathtub/bathroom are awesome. Mine will eat the crickets.

Crickets? Haha - now that's a neat idea.