I have three cats and I thought you would not get mice if you have cats but I have got mice and don't know what to do. Will the cats catch the mice? They are all indoor cats, I can't put poison down.
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Julie,
Cats are natural predators and should catch the mice if they still have their claws. Stop feeding them or cut back their feed to encourage them to find their own. You might also try placing glueboards (buy them in most hardware stores) behind appliances, corners of pantry, etc. CAUTION: glueboards will not kill mice, merely catch them...you have to be willing to pick up a glueboard with a live mouse caught on it and dispose of it accordingly. Pour vegetable oil on glue to get unstuck.
Hunting instinct is not related to hunger instinct. Withholding food discourages hunting - hunting uses energy. A well fed cat preys on mice more.
Stop feeding her animals? Horrible advice. First of all, it's inhumane. Second, we don't know if the cats can catch them.
Use mechanical traps to either catch the mice alive or dead, depending on their design. Your cats sound too well fed if they are not catching the mice but they should still catch and play with them until dead - just not eat them. Make sure the cats have access to the areas you have seen the mouse droppings, e.g. cupboards.
Regards
Jo
Don't withhold food to encourage a cat to catch mice. They will do it anyway.
Julie, call an exterminator, there is a place where they are coming into your home and they will seal it and you will have no further problems.
I had the same problem a couple of years ago and the company found where they were digging near the foundation and they would end up in either my basement or under my Jenn air. They sealed the space.
Do NOT cut back on the feeding of the cats, that is inhumane. I don't know how anyone would suggest that. How sad.
Jennifer
Do you have an old plastic container, a Rubbermaid storage container, that you could turn into a poison control center? Make a hole in the bottom corner of the container at ground level just big enough for the mice to get in but not big enough for the cats to get in. Take off the lid, place a low container (maybe a tin plate or a lid from a peanut butter jar) in the middle of the box and fill it with mice/rat poison, replace the lid.
Put your "mice control center" on the floor close to where the mice are coming into your home. (Ours is in the garage, since the garage doors do not seal the mice love it in there, out of the rain and in MY stuff). After eating the poison the mice will go back to their nest and quietly die there. I have yet to see a dead mouse die in his tracks (IF you are concerned about the cats getting/eating the dead mice). Cats and dogs actually like eating the poison so the container works wonderfully and is much cheaper than an exterminator. Mice love to crawl into holes and this one is just for them. Actually my container has a hole on the left side and one on the right side (you never know if you have left-handed or right-handed mice :) ).
Then find the holes and fill/fix them to keep the mice out. Do you only have a little hole? Use steel wool and stuff the hole, they do NOT knaw on steel wool.
Whatever you do -- DO NOT stop feeding your cats or reducing their food. I have 3 well-fed cats and all are excellent mousers. Catching mice is a natural thing for most cats; they consider it a game. Catch the mouse, play with it, kill it, and then (maybe) eat it. But first you have to find out where the mice are coming from. Any hole 1/4 inch or more is an entrance for mice.
I do not recommend using poison. If your cat (or another animal) happens to eat one of poisoned mice, they will die also.
Just a response to the above post - don't have the glueboards out with a cat around!
Not only is it inhumane to stop feeding/cut back on the amount of food to a point where it would "encourage them to find their own", it is illegal and ill advised. I have 3 well fed cats that still catch mice. Also, a cat that has been provided for may not know how to provide for themselves. They might catch it, but may not eat it.
I have the opposite problem from Julie. My cat will not stop catching mice. We leave dry cat food in a dish where only he can reach it in the house. He is an indoor/outdoor cat and uses the doggy door at his convenience. Aproximatley 2-3 times per week for the last 6 months my cat has brought in a mouse or a bird that he has caught and leaves it outside the bedroom door.
I have a well fed cat who loves to catch mice! He is an indoor/outdoor cat. He likes to play with them after he catches them. As previous stated it is a natural instinct for cats to catch, play and/or eat. Be patient.
my cat only catches mouse on rainy days or night and more when it is colder out side than on the hot days probably cats love there mouse food refrigerate i guess lol
Not all cats are mousers.
Put humane traps out for the mice-- AND-- plug up all the mouse holes.
Peppermint oil inside (before you plug em up) and around the mouse holes also is a deterrent-- don't get any on the cats.
hey i have the same problem these darn mice are so cocky and my fat cat lays in her chair while i have to jump out of my skin, when i come in the kitchen the mice choose to come running out, i think that there taunting me saying ha ha your cat is lazy and we run the house. its a horror story come true!! i stop feeding her and she caught a mouse then when i went to throw the mouse out i seen another 1 race cross the floor im gonna take the advise and find where there coming from but why arent the mice afraid of the cats anymore? are these a super race of mice now cause i didnt have this problem before.
NOT ALL CATS CATCH MICE! Mine does not. She will corner them and chase them, but will not cause them any harm by her mouth OR claws. Weird, I know.
What I do is have my wife throw a fake mouse at me. When it hits me i drop to the ground and shake and scream like im under attack. My cat observes this behavior then goes out on a killing spree. She has brought down 1232 mice, 83 moles, 18 rabbits and a small hedgehog this year.
My kitten caught his first mouse tonight, after playing with it for about ten minutes he finally killed it and presented it on the coffee table. yummy
My cat has only just started catching mice last 4 months anyone know what I can do to stop her? Please help. Had 3 in 2 days and she plays with them then looses them at this rate, I'll have a house full.
After living with an indoor cat for 12 years that gets taken for walks in the park at night (used to be on a leash), don't be surprised if your mice live to a ripe old age. Not once has she ever shown any interest in live prey; be it birds, mice, butterflies, etc. One occasion a bird had flown into the grill in front of a passing vehicle. I rescued the dead bird from the road and gave it to puss. All she did was roll on it several times, get up and walk away. Never eaten anything fresh; the best beef, pork, fish, chicken, etc. no good.
Yes. kittens and cats always like to catch mice. It is almost like their destiny. Its what they do for us humans. My kitten just found and caught a mouse last night. It just found it and my kitten caught it. once they spot it, they wont give up til the mouse dies and it did die after a while. I was really excited, but yes, kittens and cats love catching mice, and they will only catch it if they see it.
You can't just tell your kitten/cat "find and kill a mouse". If they see one (like my kitten did) they will capture it, they wont kill it right away, they play with it so it gets confused, then they throw it in the air with their teeth, and slowly it will die. Good Luck!
I just purchased a 1 year old cat. She is fixed and is well fed. She took to stalking and killing mice from day 1....and I do have places in which mice can enter.....But she is always on sentry duty and ...no more mice showng themselves.
Our 10 yr old Persian caught his first mouse this morning! He is so proud! It's never too late for an old cat to learn new tricks.
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