Do you let your cat eat what it catches?
Discussion
Bob's caught (another) mouse and is currently crunching his way through it. Should I let him get on with it, or remove and reward with a treat etc?
I'm a bit concerned about him being able to chew the bones thoroughly enough, as he had a few molars out before I got him.
This doesn't appear to be hampering him in any way as he's just eaten the whole thing, except the stomach and intestines, which are completely intact. The Jack The Ripper of cats!
I'm a bit concerned about him being able to chew the bones thoroughly enough, as he had a few molars out before I got him.
This doesn't appear to be hampering him in any way as he's just eaten the whole thing, except the stomach and intestines, which are completely intact. The Jack The Ripper of cats!
bexVN said:
If it's dead I let them eat it.I currently have 3 cats, the two females bring them in alive and 'play' so I get the poor critters off them assess and release if poss. My male cat will kill and eat...very quickly, I leave him to it.
Out of interest what do you do if the prey isnt in a good way and cant be released? Do you dispatch them yourself or give it back to the cat? (hopefully not if it is just going to torture it).Our cats are both well past hunting age and I wasnt with the o/h when they were a lot younger and bringing mice and voles back to the house so dont have any experience of this.
Davey S2 said:
Out of interest what do you do if the prey isnt in a good way and cant be released? Do you dispatch them yourself or give it back to the cat? (hopefully not if it is just going to torture it).
Our cats are both well past hunting age and I wasnt with the o/h when they were a lot younger and bringing mice and voles back to the house so dont have any experience of this.
I have this sometimes, an injured bird will be quickly and carefully put in a carrier bag and hit against a wall very hard to kill it in one smack. I open the bag to check its dead then pop into the bin. Our cats are both well past hunting age and I wasnt with the o/h when they were a lot younger and bringing mice and voles back to the house so dont have any experience of this.
Sounds easy, but I don't enjoy it but feel the poor little sod has suffered enough so needs to be PTS. I don't tell the cats off, nor do I reward them for their actions.
m0ssy said:
Davey S2 said:
Out of interest what do you do if the prey isnt in a good way and cant be released? Do you dispatch them yourself or give it back to the cat? (hopefully not if it is just going to torture it).
Our cats are both well past hunting age and I wasnt with the o/h when they were a lot younger and bringing mice and voles back to the house so dont have any experience of this.
I have this sometimes, an injured bird will be quickly and carefully put in a carrier bag and hit against a wall very hard to kill it in one smack. I open the bag to check its dead then pop into the bin. Our cats are both well past hunting age and I wasnt with the o/h when they were a lot younger and bringing mice and voles back to the house so dont have any experience of this.
Sounds easy, but I don't enjoy it but feel the poor little sod has suffered enough so needs to be PTS. I don't tell the cats off, nor do I reward them for their actions.
One almost dead mouse limped under the stairs with a broken leg, and I'm afraid I let Bob in there to finish the job (even though he was torturing it) rather than boff it on the head.
Try catching hte little blighters when they are alive & let loose in the house! Far easier to let the cat have them.
I currently have one in the porch - it has eaten vanilla scented candles & tried to open a bottle of fizz!! And one in the cupboard under the kitchen sink - where it has eaten a sponge!
I currently have one in the porch - it has eaten vanilla scented candles & tried to open a bottle of fizz!! And one in the cupboard under the kitchen sink - where it has eaten a sponge!
I thought I was hearing things, look around at the cat biscuit bowl but mine were curled up elsewhere. This went on for a week or so then I noticed some material around the washing machine that didn't look right. Gave it a tug and it came loose, along with cat biscuits. Looked under the machine and lots of biscuits. Pulled the machine out and disturbed Mr Mouse who had been living there for a while. It had made a nest in the washing machine insulation. The noise I could hear that sounded like cat biscuits getting disturbed was mousy getting a takeaway. Managed to catch it and let it loose but it was certainly a fat mouse.
Edit, The rat was fun as well, hiding behind a unit in the living room.
And one in a shoe. I think he does it on purpose.
Edit, The rat was fun as well, hiding behind a unit in the living room.
And one in a shoe. I think he does it on purpose.
Edited by jmorgan on Wednesday 4th April 19:06
If too bad I'll pop 5 mins down the road to the vet and they'll put it down. Tbh I can nearly always re re release them after they've had chance to recover, however my male cat does not play with them and he dispatches quickly, by the time I see him with one it is usually best to leave him to it.
Luckily it doesn't happen too frequently!
My male cat is 17 this year, he was still catching mice last summer and evidence suggests he had one a few weeks ago. Not bad for a cat that was seriously ill early last yr and has bad arthritis in his back legs!
Luckily it doesn't happen too frequently!
My male cat is 17 this year, he was still catching mice last summer and evidence suggests he had one a few weeks ago. Not bad for a cat that was seriously ill early last yr and has bad arthritis in his back legs!
Edited by bexVN on Wednesday 4th April 19:44
bexVN said:
Not all cats eat what they kill.
Sorry yes I've just realised how my post reads, and it is wrong. I meant let them eat it if they killed it!! One of our cats caught lots and didn't eat them (which annoyed us no end) but now we've switched to a half raw food diet she's at least started eating her kills (well, except for the guts which she helpfully leaves on the patio)...
Jasandjules said:
bexVN said:
Not all cats eat what they kill.
Sorry yes I've just realised how my post reads, and it is wrong. I meant let them eat it if they killed it!! One of our cats caught lots and didn't eat them (which annoyed us no end) but now we've switched to a half raw food diet she's at least started eating her kills (well, except for the guts which she helpfully leaves on the patio)...
I dont have a cat but my little terrier does a good job of getting rid of any rats that come into our back yard, we have alotments behind us so theres a few rats about, disturbed a rat when emptying our bins and the little critter bolted into a outside loo we just store stuff in, opened the door let deefur in and for a couple minutes it sounded like a tasmanian devil was in there with brooms and buckets banging, opened the door and out trots deefur with a rat in mouth tail wagging, he doesnt try to eat them though, we usually just find them dead in the back yard, his eyesight is waining now as hes 15 so he doesnt catch many these days.
jackthelad1984 said:
I dont have a cat but my little terrier does a good job of getting rid of any rats that come into our back yard, we have alotments behind us so theres a few rats about, disturbed a rat when emptying our bins and the little critter bolted into a outside loo we just store stuff in, opened the door let deefur in and for a couple minutes it sounded like a tasmanian devil was in there with brooms and buckets banging, opened the door and out trots deefur with a rat in mouth tail wagging, he doesnt try to eat them though, we usually just find them dead in the back yard, his eyesight is waining now as hes 15 so he doesnt catch many these days.
Likewise. few weeks ago ,we came upon a cat with a field mouse. Cat ran under car and left mouse on road. Mouse saw chance and made a bolt for it. My little lad saw mouse, and it got a few feet before he had it in his jaws. On command ,he dropped it, but I'd suggest that that mouse was deceased from his attack . It never moved once he'd dropped it. It's was an insight to his breeding, in that he was a domesticated dog, originally bred for the dispatch of mice/rats ,yet on seeing a mouse his instincts kicked in . He's seen rats on daily walks and they've always had the river to escape to . But again , the instinct is always there . Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff