Taking in kittens to eat my mice?

[Twoply 0]

I've moved out to a little more of a rural area. I have mice around and I was considering getting a couple kittens to keep the mice levels down.

How do you go about raising a few kittens to be outdoor pest control technicians?

[Scratch 0]

Ensure the cats are female. The girls are better mousers. Let nature take it's course

[RhondaLea 3]

In 1991, I gave my daughter a two-month old black kitten that I was subsequently forced (after frequent marital arguments about the furniture) to have declawed. The cat lived inside four mouse-free walls until 2001, when she went to live at my grandmother's house, which was mouse-infested.

I'm not sure exactly how many mice she caught and killed--probably a hundred or more--but the house was completely mouse-free by the time my grandmother died and the house was sold.

Remember, she had no front claws and she was 10 years old. It's just what cats do. (Strangely enough, she never bothered the pet rats or the parrot or any of the birds I rehabbed, even though she had plenty of opportunities to nail them all.)

With that said, mice carry parasites that you do not want your kittens to catch, so make sure they have all their shots and top-of-the-line flea prevention.

IMO, cats belong indoors, and if you keep them in, they will certainly prevent the mice from invading your house. OTOH, if you do decide to keep them outside, train them early to avoid raccoons and possums and, most especially, the road. There's really nothing worse than waking up one morning and finding your kitty squished on the centerline, except, perhaps, watching it happen right before your eyes.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[MikeJD 0]

Do you actually mean outdoor? I'm all for keeping your house mouse-free, but deliberately taking the fight outside seems a little harsh.
I actually 'rescued' a frog over the weekend that was being tormented by a neighbour's cat in my garden. The frog was making a high pitched noise, almost like a trapped bird. Never heard anything like it.

[quade 3]

It's not like you have to teach them a whole lot. The instinct to hunt is very strong to begin with and it's the main reason the human / cat relationship was started in Egypt thousands of years ago.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 3]

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Do you actually mean outdoor?

Haven't you ever heard of a barn-cat?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[MikeJD 0]

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Do you actually mean outdoor?

Haven't you ever heard of a barn-cat?

Of course, but I don't see any mention of barns. I'm taking a cue from this thread and assuming same house, same mouse problem.

[hungarianchick 0]

Make sure to have them spayed as well as getting them all their regular shots. If you don't, pretty soon you will be overrun by cats, instead of mice.

"I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."

[DavidB 0]

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Make sure to have them spayed as well as getting them all their regular shots. If you don't, pretty soon you will be overrun by cats, instead of mice.

First & foremost!

Second: A well-fed cat is a lousy mouser! Give them plenty of water but feed sparingly (once a day).

I've known too many people with well-fed indoor/outdoor cats who's cats would thank them by bringing "presents" (mice, birds, moles, etc) home. More often than not those "presents" only "stunned" or only "slightly immobilized."

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[ltdiver 3]

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Make sure to have them spayed as well as getting them all their regular shots. If you don't, pretty soon you will be overrun by cats, instead of mice.

Very very true!

Hmmmm . . . the first positive of my neighbor with 20 cats. No mice around. Brilliant.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[RhondaLea 3]

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Second: A well-fed cat is a lousy mouser! Give them plenty of water but feed sparingly (once a day).

You really don't want the cats eating the mice. Better to keep them well fed, and dispose of the mouse bodies yourself than rely on the cats to eat them.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[davjohns 1]

Mixed bag in my experience. The cats prefer to play with the mice rather than eat them. The toy eventually breaks, though. Sometimes it gets away. Not a problem. It will be caught again.

The annoying part is when the cat brings birds into the house and then opens its mouth to show you. The bird is hard to get back out of the house. If you see this happening, grab the cat and carry it outside. The cat will usually hold onto its treasure while you are carrying it.

Good luck!

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[RhondaLea 3]

That's a whole nother problem, and one more very good reason to keep cats inside. You don't want them eating birds.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[JohnDeere 0]

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Mixed bag in my experience. The cats prefer to play with the mice rather than eat them. The toy eventually breaks, though. Sometimes it gets away. Not a problem. It will be caught again.

The annoying part is when the cat brings birds into the house and then opens its mouth to show you. The bird is hard to get back out of the house. If you see this happening, grab the cat and carry it outside. The cat will usually hold onto its treasure while you are carrying it.

Good luck!

+1 It great when you are sitting there and your cat jumps in your lap to show off his new toy. They love playing catch and release....But it will fix your problem!

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[MikeJD 0]

I'd say:

If you want cats, get cats and they will take care of your mouse problem. But of course you have to take care of them.

If you just want to catch mice, set traps.

Good luck either way!

[fossg 0]

Ditto on the female cats. The males will spray and you DON'T want that in your house

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Ditto on the female cats. The males will spray and you DON'T want that in your house

The human society often neuters them when they're just eight weeks old, before they get the hormones and develop the spraying problem.

[mtbriles 0]

Ive got two farm cats.

When we got them as kittens we had a cat door installed on the bottom of the full basement so they could go into thier "cat room" and eat and occasionally sleep (in winter). Other than that we've done nothing. We have zero mice and all we do is feed the cats and take them to the vet when needed.

Even as kittens we would watch them hunt and track stuff through the bushes and grass.

Great animals. Very smart.

Briles

Why not?
My direction in life is up...then down again REALLY REALLY FAST!!!
Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
D.S. #55

[Nightingale 0]

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I've moved out to a little more of a rural area. I have mice around and I was considering getting a couple kittens to keep the mice levels down.

How do you go about raising a few kittens to be outdoor pest control technicians?

Kittens without mom to show them how to get by outdoors are just going to end up hawk lunch. Try asking around to see if anyone's willing to part with a couple of barn cats, bring them over, and let them do their thing. Make sure there's fresh water and put out some kibble so there's easy food (cats will hunt mice whether they're hungry or not, but make sure you bring the kibble back in when they're done, or you'll get uninvited guests) and plant catnip, so you've done what you can to keep them comfy so they won't want to go back to where you got them.

[flyangel2 2]

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With that said, mice carry parasites that you do not want your kittens to catch, so make sure they have all their shots and top-of-the-line flea prevention.

And Cestex to control the tape worm problem you'll have with the cat's eating the birds/mice.

I live in the country and both my cats live indoors. I don't have any problems with mice inside my house. *lots and lots of mice shit all over the backstep* I guess the mice are smart enough to smell the cats and stay outside.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[pinkfairy 0]

http://www.whatjeffkilled.com/

Efficiency. And this is a male cat.

I have to say like the rest of the people here: Kitties cost money in veterinary care, and spaying or neutering is a very good idea.

Mouse traps and closing any holes or gaps that mice can get into the buildings through is cheaper.


Oh, and even if they work outdoors, they will like it indoors too, outdoors cats make very good pets, but require less attention from you when it comes to petting and playing.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

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