Preventing cats killing mice

Gwynston

Hi all,
Can anyone recommend the best way to stop our cat bringing home mice? We live in the country and the fields around us are a huge hunting ground for him! We put a bell on his collar last year which seemed to reduce his abilities a bit, but recently he's been bringing back one (or more) mice multiple times a week, so he's obviously getting stealthier!

We're less tollerant of this now that we have a new baby in the house, especially considering some mice are still alive, while others are little more than a pile of entrails :eek:

Supposedly there are electronic cat collars which warn prey, but after some searching, I have only had limited success. There's this one from the UK which just beeps every few seconds:

http://www.willana-lifesciences.co.uk/index.html

or this more sophisticated pricey one from Australia which has a cleverer motion sensitive beep and also a flashing light:

http://www.liberators.com.au/

Both of those seem to specifically target birds, and whilst our cat has caught a few of those, it's mostly mice. I suppose mice catching is generally seen as a good trait in cats (just not bringing them home!) whereas birds are not considered fair game, and supposedly cats have a huge impact on bird populations.

Any advice?

Gilgamesh

man, that's a tough one.
but then agai, how do you get a bird to stop flying?
it is just in their nature.
the only thing that sometimes helps is to make the cat afraid of Mice, hehehe. Just kidding.
try stopping the cat into the house when it has something in the mouth, they normally learn quickly like that, and realise what they are doing wrong.
Don't use a catflap, but let them miaow away until you let him/her in.

Gwynston

Gilgamesh wrote:

try stopping the cat into the house when it has something in the mouth, they normally learn quickly like that, and realise what they are doing wrong.
Don't use a catflap, but let them miaow away until you let him/her in.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I doubt that would work because he often leaves it there overnight, so we wouldn't get a chance to interact with him. From what I've read, the best preventative by far is simply to keep cats indoors, but that's not really something we want to do, so yes we do have a cat flap.

Supposedly there are conflicting "expert" opinions on how a cat would react to various responses you give. e.g. trying to tell him off might actually encourage more "presents" because the cat might want to try to impress you better next time. However, ignoring them might conversely confuse them....

I was hoping someone might have tried an electronic collar.....

Gilgamesh

I tried an electric collar myself, (on my cats of course) but they didn't help much.
I moved into the city then and as my cats were young, I kept them inside, they adapted very well.
Cats are able to learn, but in a different way than dogs.
you need to create a pattern for them, and they will pick this up eventually.
I personally managed to get my cat to react to the command 'sit', It took about two weeks but she understands it now.

Gwynston

Gilgamesh wrote:

I tried an electric collar myself, (on my cats of course) but they didn't help much.

What kind was it - just beeping? Was it expensive? Where did you get it?

Doesn't sound too promising though...

Blub2k4

Surely letting the cat act out it's wild instincts and hone it's virtually useless hunting skills can do no harm? I would have thought that it is good for them to maintain this behaviour as a vestigial remnant of their wild past? Personally I would have thought it keeps them fit and happy, I may be totally wrong.

Victor

As I understand it the cat is being subservient to you as leader of the pack and bringing you gifts to appease you. :rolleyes: This is the thought process you need to break.

I saw one of the neighbour's cats stalking a magpie in a small tree the other day. Unfortuneately for the cat, it's "camoflage" on the footpath was similar to a jersey cow's (or a magpie's). Not very effective.

luckat

1) Briseann an dúchas trí súile an chait.

2) Cad do dhéanfadh mach an chait ach luch do mharbhadh.

3) Your cat is trying to teach you, its giant and very stupid kittens, to catch mice.

4) Perhaps you could train the cat to bring the mice to a particular place - for instance, a porch - so that the effect would be limited?

What a great cat! I hope it's bringing the mice in, not finding them inside!