My Cat is a ManKiller...

I love my baby, she is the most important thing that happened to me.

But less than a month, she had killed 4 animals. 2 of them are birds, and one baby rabbit, and one chipmunk (today) I know shes a cat, but I dont like her killing those animals. that chipmunk had been living under my house for years and goes out to eat the food we give him, now he is gone. The baby rabbit was skinned alive, had a bone sticking out of his back, and was in terrible shape, I try to help the rabbit by caring for him, but he died within a hour after i took him in. IT pisses me off when she does that to those poor animals.

I had Minka for about 2 years this summer. Ever since I found her outside and decided to keep her. She had this outdoor personality in her, and I couldnt keep her inside. I had struggled with her trying to keep her inside but she always manage to get out somehow... prety slick.. So for the last few weeks. i had just let her go out, cuz i noticed that when i let her go out, she will cooperate and come back when she wants to, but if she sneaks out and i don't want her to go out, she will play games and mind games with me when i want her to come in. SO i just started letting her out when she wants to, (she is both spayed and had her needles), But ever since she had killed 4 animals!!!!

When she first got a bird, i noticed she lost her collar, (it was one of those safety collar that snaps open if she struggled in a fence or something like that) so I assumed she got caught in the fence and it snapped open, that was her first bird she got with no collar and bell.
THen she started going after this rabbit (she was going after this rabbit for 3 or 4 days, each time catching it but my dad would see her and yell at her to let her go and the rabbit would run off) I decided i immediatly needed to get another collar with bell on it for the safety of other animals. So i did, does it work?? NOOO!!! she has this new collar on with bell on and she still caught the rabbit, and the chipmunk. I would assumed that the rabbit was easier to get cuz she kept getting caught and hurt from minka and probably was weak to run pretty fast. But then she got that chipmunk this morning, i knew she found a way to hunt with her bell on.
I want to keep her inside, but that is impossible with her, so she goes out, I dun want her to kill any animals!!! It makes me upset when she does that.

Sighs.. alrite i am done ranting here..

I want to keep her inside, but that is impossible with her, so she goes out, I dun want her to kill any animals!!! It makes me upset when she does that.

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well, remember (and i hate to sound like this) but you are the owner and she is the cat. If you dont want her out, dont let her out. you need to find out how she is sneeking out. in my house it is when we go outside my cat will run quickly out. Thats an easy solve, just watch your feet when you go out. If there are holes in screens or something patch them. But also, dont be too mad at her, it is her natural instict to kill, and you cant get mad for what human standards are... its normal to them. If you do try to keep your cat in, provide lot and lots of games for it, get feather wands and stuff to play with her to help her divert the want to kill into something that wont hurt anyone.

if she was a former outside cat it might be kinder to allow her to remain an indoor, outdoor cat.

please remember we all have or own ideas and opinions on this- i dont want a lynching!

maybe limit her outdoor time and dont let her out at dawn or dusk (or whatever time she was catching these creatures). you could also secure your garden so she cant escape out to hunt and deter critters from coming in.

Oh, I sympathize with you on that one. Right now I'm about going crazy with listening to three cats plead to get out. Sheba (at least I think it was Sheba) killed two birds on Friday. I know that she killed at least one mouse and one rat within the past month, (that's okay, she can kill all of those she wants) and probably many more. Because some days she doesn't want kibbles for breakfast, lunch or dinner! So I know she's eating something. Anyway, to my knowledge my boy cats have only killed a couple of birds in the past six years. That casualty rate I can live with. But two in one day is just too much.

I sprayed weeds in the yard on Friday, so I'm not letting any of the cats out for several days until the weeds are dried up enough that I know that the cats won't eat any of the sprayed weed grasses. But I think after that I'll let only the two boys out unsupervised. I think I will get a leash for Sheba and only allow her out on it. Plus I'll take her out on the second floor deck, supervised, of course, so she can't climb down the post like Red Cat used to do.

I do agree with Maverick, though. It really is hard on a cat who grew up as an outdoor cat to adjust to becoming an indoor only cat. I know that having experienced freedom for years, I wouldn't suddenly want to be treated as a prisoner in one building the rest of my life. I really think it is just as hard for some cats to adjust, too. Those "born in captivity" won't know the difference, and may actually be afraid to go out. I read a book by one cat behavior specialist who said that more cats in the US seem to have behavior problems than those in the UK. He attributed the difference to the fact that cats in the US are more likely to be indoor-only.

She is just acting upon her nature. We try to make cats into who we want them to be, but she is having a ball out there hunting. I don't think you should try to save any animal that is severely injured by your cat, you are probably increasing its suffering.
It is upsetting to realize our sweet kitty is really quite a predator. But the rabbits and chipmunks have their ways of survival as well. She got two that were slow to try to escape.
One way of chasing off the rabbits and chipmunks is to have a dog running around your yard. They are more likely to chase and not kill. But if you enjoy having rabbits and chipmunks in the yard, I think you will have to come to accept that she will kill them sometimes.
Good luck in forgiving her for exhibiting her nature. I don't think you should try to lock her in the house. You can tell her "bad cat" when she brings you a carcass, so she knows you disagree, but I don't know if it will slow down the hunting any. It may slow down her bringing you the gift of the carcass!

Minka is an indoor/outdoor cat.. But i found her outside, so she probably got that feeling of being outdoor from when she was born..

We, me and my family, have often watched ourselves making sure she doesnt get out, but she is very clever, often she would hide under the table in the kitchen and wait til someone opens the door and she would run out. Or she would wait at the door til someone who is outside (me or bro who goes outside to smoke) then as soon as we open the door she runs out often jumping over our feet or hands that try to shoo her back in. And another way is waiting til my dog opens the door. Elsa (the dog) can open a screen door by jumping up and hitting the latch and it opens. When she does that, Minka runs out with her. Those are the most common things she does to get out. If none of these work she would find a creative way to get outside. She is pretty smart at that. (she is part siamese, which is probably why) and often she would just cry if none of these work, she would cry and cry and cry at the door. Not that it bothers me cuz i can't her her meowing lol.

I have a dog that runs around the backyard, so not alot of animals come in the backyard. But the chipmunk was one that Elsa never seems to notice that there is one. She mostly goes after the squirrels going up the trees and stuff like that.

She doesnt often go very far, I have never seen her go past a neighbour yard away nor cross the street (which i thanks god for) so she is always nearby. And she comes in at dusk, and i don't let her out til the next morning when its light out.

I forgive her of course, I could never stay mad at minka. Of course i would yell at her if she does something bad or mischeivious in the house, but within 15 mins to an hour, i cuddled with her. She is my baby so I could never stay mad at her.. hehe

Since Minka is going outside more and more, The other cats in the house are curious and wanting to go outside as well. Lol, of course we don't let them out, just minka. Cuz both Tigger and Milly have no claws. (another cat, Spooky doesnt care about going outside or not) ITs mostly Milly who are curious about what is out there behind those doors. But she only got out once and she was so easy to catch, just go after her and pick her up. But she is more afraid of the outdoor than curious, so she would only go a few steps away from the door then run back in. Hehe.

One suggestion I read earlier was to put a vacuum cleaner near the door. Leave it unplugged, but turned on. Then when the kitty goes by the door, you (from a distance) plug it in and give kitty a scare. I agree with you not to try to force Minka to stay in, but that might convince the other kitties to stay away from the door!

sorry i missed that she was already part out door cat

Mine all catch things too - the worst is when they bring them in alive but injured. Those creatures will never survive, even shock kills most birds. But I have rescued a vole and a mole and released them unharmed. It is impossible to stop a cat hunting and if you scold it it is likely to think it brought the wrong thing and go out looking for something else you might like! A cat thinks it is clever to hunt and it is a mark of affection if it brings its prey home to you. So you have to live with it. And I have never known a cat to be put off by a bell - they quickly learn to hunt with it.

It always amazes me when people get upset because cats act like cats. They are prey animals, if they don't hunt, they become prey themselves. If they don't eliminate rodents and small birds then larger birds of prey move into the area and could eliminate them. If you don't want your cat to hunt then don't let it outside. Don't let it escape, keep a watch on the door when it is opened, or just confine the cat in another part of the house away from the door. If you put a cat outside, and this cat has been fed well, it will hunt and it will bring you the trophies because you are it's colony and it has to feed you. No cat deserves to get yelled at for being a cat. Secure the latch on your door so your dog can't get out- and keep your cat inside.

I am a big animal lover, so i dont like to see animal dying or anything like that. I know Minka is a cat, and i cant blame her for doing this. I don't yell at her for bringing it home, but i just tell her to drop it, she woulld drop it and run away if i come close (she loves to play games with me her fave is "you cant catch me") so that how i found those two animals. the birds i didnt find til i go outside and see a half body bird laying around.

I've come to the conclusion that once a cat has been an outdoor cat, there is no going back. Angel (the cat I rescued) has been lunging at me clawing and biting me with all his might. He isn't playing either. He's going in for the kill. He needs to hunt live prey. He has absolutely no interest in toys. Living in my apartment and not being able to go outside is literally driving him crazy (I live really close to a 40 mph busy street so I can't let him out). I found someone with a farm who will let him live there. He will be able to roam and hunt and he will finally be happy. (Yes, he is neutered).

The point of my ramblings is that if it were me, I would let her outside and let her be the predator that she is, lest you be the prey. I wish I had a way to let Angel go outside--then I'd be able to keep him.

I am sorry to hear about that consumercity. Yeah i can imagine it would be a pain in the ass with a cat with the heart of outdoor and living in an apartment near a highway or busy street. I worry about that myself, cuz i wont be living with my parent forever, and eventually will move in an apt myself with my cats. Not looking forward to that.. hehe..