Question about cats catching rabbits!

Little_Focker

We live in the country and there is millions of rabbits around. Our cats will catch one every couple of weeks :mad: One of them is after trotting in the drive with a tiny little baby rabbit - I went out and took it off him and it was dead but still very warm and still had a blade of grass sticking out of his mouth :( Thing I want to know is can rabbits die of fright? There is not a mark on the rabbit - the cat was carrying it by the scruff of his neck so that would hardly kill him? Thought I heard/read somewhere that rabbits (esp wild) can die of fright very easily? Id hate to think of them suffering.

Berns

Rabbit used to come into our garden a few years ago, don't know if it was anyones pet or what Dunno what ever happened to it think we hadda increase of cat's in the area the time it did disappear. Next door's keeps comin into our garden and mentioned we got dog's here and well, so they know. Hope none of em got it GF said about them diein of fright too btw if it helps. Dunno myself like.

Solair

If you want to discourage your cat from hunting :

1) Feed it actual meat - particularly chicken. They are a 100% carnivores, perfectly adapted hunter and they have a natural taste for raw meat.

2) If that doesn't work - try fitting a collar with a bell while baby rabbits and birds are around. Cats generally can't catch adult rabbits as they're far too big and they can't really cope with most adult birds either.
Just make sure that the collar is designed so that it can break and open if the cat gets stuck. Cats are very acrobatic animals and they can get stuck in branches etc and choke on collars so be very careful to test the collar and inspect it regularly to ensure it's not damaging the cat's skin or caught.

I've seen cases where cats have managed to put their paws through collars and nearly choke. They have extremely flexible bodies compared to dogs or humans!

3) If you cats are hunting, make sure they're flea and worm treated more regularly (talk to your vet). Mice in particular often have fleas and can infect cats with worms. While it's not a huge deal to the day-to-day life of an adult cat they can kill kittens and juveniles if they are severely infected.

More worryingly, because cats burry feces in soil, they can be picked up by small children or gardeners. So, worming hunting cats is largely a human-health protection measure.

Little_Focker

Solair wrote: »

If you want to discourage your cat from hunting :

1) Feed it actual meat - particularly chicken. They are a 100% carnivores, perfectly adapted hunter and they have a natural taste for raw meat.

2) If that doesn't work - try fitting a collar with a bell while baby rabbits and birds are around. Cats generally can't catch adult rabbits as they're far too big and they can't really cope with most adult birds either.
Just make sure that the collar is designed so that it can break and open if the cat gets stuck. Cats are very acrobatic animals and they can get stuck in branches etc and choke on collars so be very careful to test the collar and inspect it regularly to ensure it's not damaging the cat's skin or caught.

I've seen cases where cats have managed to put their paws through collars and nearly choke. They have extremely flexible bodies compared to dogs or humans!

3) If you cats are hunting, make sure they're flea and worm treated more regularly (talk to your vet). Mice in particular often have fleas and can infect cats with worms. While it's not a huge deal to the day-to-day life of an adult cat they can kill kittens and juveniles if they are severely infected.

More worryingly, because cats burry feces in soil, they can be picked up by small children or gardeners. So, worming hunting cats is largely a human-health protection measure.

1) Yeah we do this but our cats only seem to hunt for fun as they never eat anything they catch!

2) I think the longest they have lasted with a collar was 2 days They were about a year old when we got them so they just werent used to wearing them. I got sick of buying collars tbh as they would lose them while out and about.

3) Yeah thanks but Ive had cats all my life so I know the score

Berns - that def looks like it was a pet rabbit.

SophieSakura

Rabbits can die of fright apparently. But also I think cats suffocate their prey by biting their throats, well I think so? Which is not the worst way to kill them really . . .

ppink

yes they can die of fright.

Denerick

Your cat is a natural predator and so will look to hunt. If you want a house cat then you should declaw him (Which I personally think is barbaric and wrong)

In my experience a cat will always hunt, perhaps the best thing would be to put some bells under his collar so as to at least give the rabbit a chance to escape.

Our elderly cat still leaves us a 'present' at the front door. We tend to courteously refuse the gesture.

planetX

and catfood contains.....?

Little_Focker

Denerick wrote: »

Your cat is a natural predator and so will look to hunt. If you want a house cat then you should declaw him (Which I personally think is barbaric and wrong)

In my experience a cat will always hunt, perhaps the best thing would be to put some bells under his collar so as to at least give the rabbit a chance to escape.

Our elderly cat still leaves us a 'present' at the front door. We tend to courteously refuse the gesture.

Erm no I wouldnt confine them to the house and certainly wouldnt declaw them! My question was about the rabbit not the cats.

As I said in my reply to another poster - they wont leave collars on them.

Denerick

Little_Focker wrote: »

Erm no I wouldnt confine them to the house and certainly wouldnt declaw them! My question was about the rabbit not the cats.

As I said in my reply to another poster - they wont leave collars on them.

Then I'm afraid you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that your cat will kill rabbits. Its gruesome, but nature finds a way of finding a balance. I'd wager if all the cats in the country stopped hunting come tomorrow morning the rabbit and rat population would explode, and would have detrimental effects on agriculture and public hygiene. The key difference of course is that rabbits are cute and furry, and rats are vermin.

Oranage2

the owners of cats are just as bad as fox hunters except they live in denial!

Solair

Denerick wrote: »

Your cat is a natural predator and so will look to hunt. If you want a house cat then you should declaw him (Which I personally think is barbaric and wrong)

In my experience a cat will always hunt, perhaps the best thing would be to put some bells under his collar so as to at least give the rabbit a chance to escape.

Our elderly cat still leaves us a 'present' at the front door. We tend to courteously refuse the gesture.

While that's common in the united states, I don't think any Irish vet would do it. Its illegal in many countries.

Apparently the Veterinary Council of Ireland would strike a vet off who did it as it's considered extremely crewel.

Little_Focker

Denerick wrote: »

Then I'm afraid you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that your cat will kill rabbits. Its gruesome, but nature finds a way of finding a balance. I'd wager if all the cats in the country stopped hunting come tomorrow morning the rabbit and rat population would explode, and would have detrimental effects on agriculture and public hygiene. The key difference of course is that rabbits are cute and furry, and rats are vermin.

I didnt say I had a problem with them hunting per say! I was just concerned that the rabbit had suffered but yes I would prefer if they didnt catch rabbits but as I said they dont do it too often, this was the first time I had actually seen one of them coming with one in their mouths.

Thanks anyway

Themadhouse

Oranage2 wrote: »

the owners of cats are just as bad as fox hunters except they live in denial!

Apart from those who keep their cats indoors or indoors with enclosed outdoor access I am presuming you mean.

Graces7

One of our cats once brought in a headless hare. Tug of war? Always wondered who had the head.

Now the female cat brings me "gifts" frequently; sometimes the mice/birds are alive.. yesterday an adult goldfinch.. dead.

It is what cats do, simply.

And we have had similar bad experiences with collars..

kildare.17hmr

Little_Focker wrote: »

I didnt say I had a problem with them hunting per say! I was just concerned that the rabbit had suffered but yes I would prefer if they didnt catch rabbits but as I said they dont do it too often, this was the first time I had actually seen one of them coming with one in their mouths.

Thanks anyway

Truth is cats hunt for fun and will often taunt and play with their pray before killing it. There used to be alot of feral cats around my way and a few pet cats that used to hunt rabbits and birds in the fields, I watched someones pet cat play with a rabbit for about 10 mins before it killed it and stroled off. My girlfriends fathers cat used to catch mice and bring them back to the house alive and play with them for ages on the patio in the back garden before killing and eating them. Iv seen cats that have killed full grown pigeons too

If you dont want your cat catching rabbits keep it in, your cat is also liable to be shot if seen out hunting in fields.

Graces7

Oranage2 wrote: »

the owners of cats are just as bad as fox hunters except they live in denial!

Not at all; we know cats hunt. And that this is nature.

Graces7

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Truth is cats hunt for fun and will often taunt and play with their pray before killing it. There used to be alot of feral cats around my way and a few pet cats that used to hunt rabbits and birds in the fields, I watched someones pet cat play with a rabbit for about 10 mins before it killed it and stroled off. My girlfriends fathers cat used to catch mice and bring them back to the house alive and play with them for ages on the patio in the back garden before killing and eating them. Iv seen cats that have killed full grown pigeons too

If you dont want your cat catching rabbits keep it in, your cat is also liable to be shot if seen out hunting in fields.

??Excuse me? People who shoot cats for fun? As they go about their daily lives. People who shoot for fun are worse than fox hunters.

And you and your family stood by and watched all this? Most of us will take live prey off the cat.

So it is OK for YOU to kill but not cats?

Mine do a great job keeping vermin down.

OK; coffee time here! Time out time

Graces7

Denerick wrote: »

Then I'm afraid you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that your cat will kill rabbits. Its gruesome, but nature finds a way of finding a balance. I'd wager if all the cats in the country stopped hunting come tomorrow morning the rabbit and rat population would explode, and would have detrimental effects on agriculture and public hygiene. The key difference of course is that rabbits are cute and furry, and rats are vermin.

For this sane and sensible post, many thanks.

Those of us who live in rural situations see the balance and harmony. Our cats do a great work in keeping rats and mice down and negate the need for poisons, all of which are torture and cruel

Death is always hard; carry this to its conclusion and you would end up vegan etc as some choose to do. Because we see not the deaths of the meat animals ...

It is hard to see any critter that suffers. But this is the reality we live alongside.

And compared to the gratuitous violence of hobby-hunters and negligent owners?

Just is hard to come to terms with. Was hard to pick up the dead goldfinch yesterday.

But the same cats challenged and killed a huge rat that was living in the roof space.

Pigeons do so much damage to crops.

Left with no predators?

kildare.17hmr

Graces7 wrote: »

[/B]

??Excuse me? People who shoot cats for fun? As they go about their daily lives. People who shoot for fun are worse than fox hunters.

And you and your family stood by and watched all this? Most of us will take live prey off the cat.

So it is OK for YOU to kill but not cats?

Mine do a great job keeping vermin down.

OK; coffee time here! Time out time

No people who shoot cats that are causing trouble in fields they have no business being in, they do alot of damage and are dangerous around livestock particularly when they are breeding. I shoot for fun and will always do my best to make sure anything i shoot is killed quickly and does not suffer.

No i lay and watched this through biniculars, it is nature after all like you said in your last post. Ever watched a wildlife documentary?? I definatly wouldn't be sticking my hand between a strainge cat and a rabbit!

I didnt say that. cats will kill its a fact of life. i said if the OP does not want the cat to kill rabbits to keep it in!

By the way rabbits are also considered vermin, same as rats and mice.

Enjoy your coffee, think ill get one too!

kildare.17hmr

Graces7 wrote: »

For this sane and sensible post, many thanks.

Those of us who live in rural situations see the balance and harmony. Our cats do a great work in keeping rats and mice down and negate the need for poisons, all of which are torture and cruel

Death is always hard; carry this to its conclusion and you would end up vegan etc as some choose to do. Because we see not the deaths of the meat animals ...

It is hard to see any critter that suffers. But this is the reality we live alongside.

And compared to the gratuitous violence of hobby-hunters and negligent owners?

Just is hard to come to terms with. Was hard to pick up the dead goldfinch yesterday.

But the same cats challenged and killed a huge rat that was living in the roof space.

Pigeons do so much damage to crops.

Left with no predators?

Hunting is nessisery to controls numbers. please dont try belittle people who hunt by calling them violent because they are far from it and do alot of good in the country

the_syco

Denerick wrote: »

If you want a house cat then you should declaw him (Which I personally think is barbaric and wrong)

In case anyone ever thinks of declawing a cat, remind them that the cats "nail" is part of the bone structure of the leg, so it's akin to chopping off the arm. It's also akin to chopping off the arm, as should the cat get out, and need to fight off another cat, or another predator, without it's claws, the cats death is pretty certain.

Solair

the_syco wrote: »

In case anyone ever thinks of declawing a cat, remind them that the cats "nail" is part of the bone structure of the leg, so it's akin to chopping off the arm. It's also akin to chopping off the arm, as should the cat get out, and need to fight off another cat, or another predator, without it's claws, the cats death is pretty certain.

Well, it's closer to having the tops of your fingers chopped off.

You would be left in agony and unable to manipulate your environment.

Cats claws are used for : climbing, defense, manipulating objects, hunting ... pretty much everything.

First of all declawing is crewel in the extreme and is also not carried out by any Irish vet as it's against the code of practice of the Irish Vets Council.

Secondly, a declawed cat will usually bite in defense as it will live its life without its primary defense mechanism and generally develop odd psychological problems.

I know a friend of ours in Canada had a rescue cat which had been dumped by owners, but had been declawed and was in a terrible state with sore paws. It never really psychologically recovered and was always very vicious and bit / attacked with teeth anyone it didn't know.

It's an absolutely ridiculous thing to do to a cat.

A properly socialised cat is very unlikely to scratch you unless you really annoy it. Even if they do scratch, it's rarely out of spite, it's usually horse-play gone wrong i.e. they don't quite realise it hurts. Hence, it's very important to let a kitten know that scratching you is unacceptable i.e. if it scratches you - make yourself seem big (stand up) - hiss loudly at it, stare it in the face and then ignore it for a while. (Never hit it as it will just hit you back with razor-claws). Cats generally don't fight by actually scratching each other, it's usually a stand off and hissing match.

Provide your cat with a scratching post or two and there's no problem with furniture.

and if you're that worried about furniture or scratches, do not have pets end of story.

Shanao

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

No people who shoot cats that are causing trouble in fields they have no business being in, they do alot of damage and are dangerous around livestock particularly when they are breeding.

Sorry but I just found this absolutely hilarious. What livestock exactly are these cats killing? Just had an image of a cat taking down a sheep in my head.

kildare.17hmr

Shanao wrote: »

Sorry but I just found this absolutely hilarious. What livestock exactly are these cats killing? Just had an image of a cat taking down a sheep in my head.

Cats urine and fecies can cause still birth in sheep(cant remember the exact term, toxo something), when the sheep were breeding around me the farmer was giving them feed, this is where the cats were hanging around and this is how cats are dangerous to livestock, them doing their business and sheep coming in contact with it.

Shanao

Toxoplasmosis is what you're talking about. Sorry, i thought since this was about cats hunting that you were talking about cats actually killing lambs etc. Thought it was a bit of a mad accusation alright.
That's why you have to worm your pets and even ferals. If they were wormed and keeping rats away from the feed then I cant imagine there would a problem.

kildare.17hmr

haha i can see how you thought that alright!

There were alot of ferals around last year and the few pet cats, some of which seemed to be just left to do their own thing. How are we to know if they are vaccinated or wormed properly tho? i would not be spending mony worming wild animals or other peoples pets and i wouldnt imagine amny farmers would ether!

ppink

Dog faeces can cause similar problems.

Bullseye1

Cats are natural born killers. A bell on his/her collar might help.

On a side note if the cat is going to kill the rabbit can the rabbit be consumed by humans or is there a chance the meat would be affected?

MichelleGx

Berns wrote: »

Rabbit used to come into our garden a few years ago, don't know if it was anyones pet or what Dunno what ever happened to it think we hadda increase of cat's in the area the time it did disappear. Next door's keeps comin into our garden and mentioned we got dog's here and well, so they know. Hope none of em got it GF said about them diein of fright too btw if it helps. Dunno myself like.

That is a domestic blue dutch rabbit so it was someones pet.

But yes, rabbits can die with fright.

doctor evil

Shanao wrote: »

Sorry but I just found this absolutely hilarious. What livestock exactly are these cats killing? Just had an image of a cat taking down a sheep in my head.

Poultry and fish I imagine. People underestimate how destructive their pets can be.

OP, if you don't want you cat to hunt keep it in or at least inside during dawn and dusk.

Cats that are allowed to roam keep roaming until they are knocked down or injured/killed in another way.