Chasing mice

[lucylittlekitty]

In the house I'm renting there is a trash compactor where there are constantly baby mice in it. The landlord won't do anything about it and I really don't mind all that much, I'm not that freaked out by them. I am, however concerened about my cats. The will sit by the compactor for hours waiting for the mouse and when they get it they bring it to my room to play with, recently they brought one in my room and let it get away and his under my dresser. And like I said, they don't bother me that much, but I don't really want one in my room.

So my real concern is that, can the mice harm my cats? They pick them up with their mouths and I worry about illness or parasites. I know they eat them in the wild, but they also get sick in the wild. I also worry about shrews and wether their venom is enough to harm the cats (we have shrews as well)

Is there any way to discourage this behavior? If it doesn't harm them, then I really don't mind them playing and chasing them, as long as the have fun and are safe, but it seems like it might not be safe.

Is it possible to discourage such and instinctual behavior even?

 

[ritz]

I don't believe the mice will hurt the cat, although it is possible the shrew will.  (I didn't know what one was until I googled it.)  Some shrews have a venonmous bite.

If your landlord is setting out poisen to kill the mice/shrews, I would be worried if your cat ate that mice/shrew.

I don't think you an discourage such instinctual behavior; it's like asking a zebra to get rid of its stripes.  The only idea I can come up with is to limit the time your cats are outside, and perhaps when the dumpster is least fill (i.e., least full of food so not as many mice/shrews).

 

[lucylittlekitty]

The compactor is inside in the kitchen. The mice come in the house. I have not asked the land lord to do anything about it for fear of poison or snap traps that could hurt my guys.

 

[di and bob]

My cat eats at least two or three mice a day that he brings in from the fields. He's 5 now, and the vet is not concerned. He does eat rabbit though too, and this means tapeworm I found out, so you may want to ask your vet if they need to get de-wormed. I commend you for not having poison in your house. I would think that after a while the mice would learn NOT to come in your house with the cats around. When my cats catch mice in the garage pretty soon there are no more mice at all. I know every once in a while a rabbit has it's babies near our house, they get killed,

 and the rabbits move on. (thank goodness!)

 

[franksmom]

Actually mice are supposed to be the best diet for a cat and good cat food tries to mimic the nutrient profile of a mouse. Some people even buy feeder mice to give their cats.

The only thing I would be worried about is if these mice have diseases or gave eaten something bad because they are wild.

 

[lucylittlekitty]

They should be protected from deseise if they are vaccinated right?