Kibble vs mice

So, a little backstory. When my boyfriends family got the cats, it was because they thought we had mice. They wanted to just let them free in the backyard and leave them alone. Of course, I love cats so I try my best to take care of them within their many restrictions. Recently, they're telling me I need to stop feeding them/feed them less kibble because they're not eating the mice. They're still killing them, we find dead mice everywhere, but now the complaint is they aren't eating them. When this was said to me, the bowl was only a third full. What can I say to them? I've shut them down on a couple other subjects before, so they do listen to reason on occasion. Please help. 

It is well known among farmers that that a well-fed barn cat kills more mice. I don't think I've ever heard them complain that the cats don't EAT the mice though! :tongue2: They just want them dead, don't care if they get eaten.

Kibble is not very good for cats. Especially if it's free-fed, a cat can get overweight very easily. A mouse is nature's perfect cat food. Maybe you could feed them on scheduled meal times instead of always leaving food out. That might make them eat more mice or at least help the family feel better about it.

The most important thing you could do for them would be to have them spayed/neutered, basic vaccinations, treat for fleas, and de-worm regularly.

Just wondering, is it safe to let the cat eat the mice? Don't mice transfer diseases?

Just tell them to discard of the dead mice themselves. This way, the cat can stay in good health to chase and kill the mice.

Being that cats have eaten mice for as long as cats and mice have existed, I'm guessing it's safe enough . The main danger, of course, is if the mice have eaten poison somewhere else. Also, parasites---you would want to de-worm a mousing cat regularly.

But, yeah, their complaint does sound pretty funny. Just toss the dead mice under a bush and be glad the cats are good hunters.

While it is fairly safe for cats to eat mice you do have to be careful of your cat getting Tapeworms which are spread through eating mice/birds and other rodents.  Usually you should deworm a cat that is eating mice regularly like every 3-4 months with worm medicine from the vet.

Im with willowy and cheetah. The poison and tapeworms. The stray who was pg had tapeworms. One reason i hate that people leave cats outdoors.