Help! Good Mouser needed!
Chris
I am exasperated with a mouse problem in our house and am considering
getting a cat to take care of the situation. I am frustrated with mouse
traps, rodenticides and all that. We are having a very mild winter and,
well, they seem to be reproducing faster than we can kill 'em. Am
finally figuring that maybe a good working cat presents the best
solution. Don't worry, we'll get rid of the poison baits when the cat
arrives ;-)
Are there any particular breeds of cats or traits that I should watch
for when picking out a kitty? Someone suggested that high energy and
playfulness with a ball are key things to look out for. Any anecdotes,
success stories, suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
To reply remove the final "r" from the e-mail address.
Denise Schleeter
Hi Chris,
I to am having a large rodent population at my house due to the warm
winter. Fortunately I have 4 cats to help me out :-) 2 of them are
tabbies (One 10 the other 1-1/2) and my good mousers my black & white
ones (I believe they are Pathfinders?) I have to admit tho they all have
different ways to kill the rodents. They will just play with them until
they are dead and intact, or leave a little "science project" on my floor
(so don't get too grossed out if they leave you a mess to pick up). All
of them will do the job and they know what they are doing very early (A
kitten is the best bet). One thing I would do tho is before you get any
cat seeing you are using poison already) is remove the poisons a week or
so before you find/purchase one and remove any dead mice they can find
later. You don't want your new mouse hunter to get poisoned by eating or
playing with the poisoned mice.
I wish you luck with your mouse problem!!!
Denise Schleeter
**"I'm almost Mouse-Free!!!**
Linda Taylor
I believe the best possible mouser is a tortoiseshell. They are instinctive
hunters, and very good at it. (They have been traditionally kept on farms,
in UK anyway, to hunt down mice). They are invariably female (the rare male
tortie is sterile) and fantastic company - but don't expect a tortie to be
predictable. (Fair enough - she's a cat). Treat her like a human, and
she'll treat you like one in return.
I can't help feeling sorry for the mice, though. Cats aren't exactly humane
in their methods. I'm a ridiculous softie, I know. You can get traps in
England that capture mice enabling you to release them well away from the
house. There are still a million reasons for getting a cat!
John Huff
Hi Chris --
[ snip ]
> Are there any particular breeds of cats or traits that I should watch
> for when picking out a kitty? Someone suggested that high energy and
> playfulness with a ball are key things to look out for. Any anecdotes,
> success stories, suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
Do you *like* cats? Do you *love* cats? Just their presence seems to
drive mice away. But you must take care of them, and "taking care" of
a cat/cats means more than just giving them food & water. You *must*
really love them, because that's what they need more than any custodial
care you can ever give them. Remember, they'll bring their kills to your
door for you to admire. <g> Are you prepared to praise them for it?
Hope this helps.
John
Kool Kat
Outstanding reply. My mind ran the same direction as
yours.
Caro,
An Avid Cat Lover
Kool Kat
Jim Freeman
Kool Kat wrote:
>
> John Huff wrote:
> >
> > Hi Chris --
> >
> > [ snip ]
> >
> > > Are there any particular breeds of cats or traits that I should watch
> > > for when picking out a kitty? Someone suggested that high energy and
> > > playfulness with a ball are key things to look out for. Any anecdotes,
> > > success stories, suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
> >
> > Do you *like* cats? Do you *love* cats? Just their presence seems to
> > drive mice away. But you must take care of them, and "taking care" of
> > a cat/cats means more than just giving them food & water.
During one of the brief catless periods in my life, I had a
mouse problem in my abode. I bought a couple of those
ultrasonic mouse repellent gadgets, from Brookstone,
plugged them into the nearest outlet,
and the mice packed up and moved elsewhere posthaste.
There's nothing wrong with having a kitty who works for a living,
if you're going to love him or her too.
However:
One of the problems with a professional mouser cat
is that he or she is likely to regard
you as a somewhat backward kitten who needs to be fed and taught
to hunt. The way that you will be taught to hunt is that you
will be brought live crippled mice so that you can practice chasing.
Since the mouser cat is incorrect, you are not a kitten, and you
don't want to practice chasing, you will have to deal with these
crippled squealing mice.
Driving the mice away with ultrasound is much less wearing on the
nerves.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Freeman
james....@csfb.com
www.interport.net/~eureka
(TDC Czar, just because he's married to the Czarina. Really.)
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Kool Kat
Dear Jim,
I loved your reply regarding a good mouser.
It was very funny, but very true. Well put
my friend.
Another Avid Cat Lover
Caro
"if a dog jumps onto your lap it is because
he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same
thing it is because your lap is warmer."
Alfred North Whitehead
Eric Walter
If you want a good mouser, make certain that the kitten/cat that you get
was raised by a mother who hunted. I got two indoor cats, and neither
of them will kill a mouse. One will play with them until they get away
or die of shock, the other dosen't even know to do that. Another cat I
got (stray and pregnant when we got her) would catch mice for her
kittens. She was very insistant about it - I was trying to wean the
kittens so that I could get her fixed and was keeping the kittens in a
large crate at night. When the mother caught a mouse (we lived in an
old farmhouse full of them) she would wake me up so that I could let the
kittens out so that she could teach them. So if you want a mouser, get
one from someone who has seen the mother teaching the kittens, or from a
farm. (If a farm has cats, they usally are very willing to give away a
kitten or two. People dump cats a farms, so the farmers usually have
increasing numbers of cats to get fixed - very expensive!)
Good luck
Cheryl Walter