"Don't feed your cat...

[CurlyDave]

How do ya tell a cat when they bring things in the house to make sure the dang things are "DEAD".

Many years ago I discovered that if you don't frighten the cat it will not drop the mouse/gopher/mole/snake/lizard or whatever else it has.

My wife used to scream and then I had to chase down whatever the cat had brought it. Now we just ignore it, and the cat doesn't let go of the prize.

 

[Soundguy]

My cats like to let the crippled thing go, and then lay there tossing it up in the air.. then let it attempt to crawl away, and then when it gets right at max 'paw range'.. it gets speared and drug back into close proximity to start the 'dance' all over again..

soundguy

 

[bruski]

Our rodent population has diminished greatly thanks to two well fed barn cats. They don't eat but love to play/kill. Their favorite technique is to sit atop stacked bales scanning below then drop like hawks when a rodent appears from the hay. They stay in the grain room at night (always ready to go in for dinner). On a regular basis there is a dead rodent in the middle of the floor with one both circling/preening around it when I go in there in the a.m. Good kitties . . .

Lefty

 

[Roady]

Here in rural PA we have a bad feral cat problem. It all starts with people letting out their house cats to roam free and then they breed and ect ect ect. I hate when in the summer evenings I would sit on the porch in almost dead scilence when all of the sudden you hear a squealing rabbit getting mauled. It's a slow death for sure.

Up until 5 or 6 years ago we had a VERY limited amount of rabbits around. You might see 1 or 2 a week in the yard or fields. Since then we've eliminated the cat problem. Some weeks we would get 10 to 15 of them. Now in the summer at any given time I can count 5 bunnies just in my yard alone.

Does anyone else have a feral cat problem? I heard it was really bad in Wisconsin.

 

[Bird]

Does anyone else have a feral cat problem?

I think it happens quite often. I had a brother-in-law who trapped a couple of dozen in a mobile home park in a Dallas suburb two year ago. And I know there was a problem 20 years ago at Port Aransas, TX (north end of Padre Island, also known as Mustang Island).

 

[wjoerob]

Our alpha male cat is named Midas. The other day he was doing that "dance" with a mouse out front (tossing it up in the air, then waiting for it to try to run away). Little by little he carried it up on the porch where the cats all hang out, got up on the table, and put it in the cat's food dish. He took it out a couple of times and put it back, like he wasn't sure if this was right or not, then proceeded to eat it IN the food dish. Ours catch quite a few shrews here in central IN.

 

[bruski]

I think it happens quite often. I had a brother-in-law who trapped a couple of dozen in a mobile home park in a Dallas suburb two year ago. And I know there was a problem 20 years ago at Port Aransas, TX (north end of Padre Island, also known as Mustang Island).

When we first moved here from the city we had a major feral cat and raccoon problem. The loony that lived here left food out for them in the barn at night. Two large live traps and two weeks reduced the problem to a manageable level. Now we just get one of each now and then.

Bruski

 

[Sigarms]

Here in rural PA we have a bad feral cat problem. It all starts with people letting out their house cats to roam free and then they breed and ect ect ect.

Take my word for it, there are feral cat problems all over the U.S.

Personally, I think it's because people are stupid or ignorant (you take the pick). People have pets, and as you mentioned, they let those pets roam anywhere it wishes without having that pet altered. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know what's going to happen.

Same can be said for dogs as well. Have a neighbor down the road aways who has a ***** in heat roam the country side 24/7. So far, I've counted 13 puppies dead along the roadside because of that one dog left unsupervised. I love animals, but if that ***** ever comes onto my property, well... the "problem" will be taken care of. You would think however that the people who own this dog would realize that there is a issue here. The real scary part is that these same people have children.

 

[Kendrick]

lol we have 2 right now that are indoor only. 1 has all 4 declawed due to prevous owner and is about 10. he was always a indor cat with us for 9 ish years. since moving in last year he has proved to be quite the mouser. he has issues killing it but no problems catching. he knows how to use his paws like we use fingers. that includes round door knobs and child safe locks.

he has started to make his brother kill them for him though. the big one we just picked up is blind up close and works on smell alone. he is not intrested in catching or killing but is forced to by the other. on occasion though when he gets the bug up his butt he does have at it. hes about 20 lbs strong. he unfortunatly was busy tossing and retreving when he tossed it on the wifes face. it woke up and ran down and off her... neadless to say the cat was in trouble.

 

[cqaigy2]

Speaking of presents. My Wife and I were staying in my parent's 5th wheel while we were building our house. Our cat got in the habit of climbing up the ladder on the back of the rv and would sit on the roof and meow at the vent to be let in. One night we're laying in bed sleeping when the cat wakes me up meowing to be let in, so i reach up and pop the vent open when something drops through and lands in bed. Not a cat but a mostly dead rabbit.

Some how she had drug this rabbit up a vertical metal ladder then across the roof to be delivered as a nice present.