Dead Mouse in the cat food bin (question).

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:32:40 -0400, "Kreisleriana"
wrote:



"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in message
...
I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. He didn't seal the cat
food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today, there
was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. The bin is FULL. I scooped the
mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches in diameter
and underneath the mouse. Good enough?? Or do I throw out the whole bin
of food? (Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

Tia!


I'm just thinking about the scene if you'd poured out that dead mouse in
front of your cats. Wow, there's a prize inside! Or as the LOLcats would
put it, "Derez a fud in mai fud."


LOL, indeed! (I did, at least).

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^

"Life without cats would be only marginally worth living."
-TC, and the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie.

Every day is a treasure with Kenzie; I try to treat them that way. There
will only be so many, and then there will never, ever, be any more.

How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven.
- Robert Heinlein

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
m...


~*LiveLoveLaugh*~ wrote:
I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. He didn't seal the
cat food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. The bin is FULL. I
scooped the mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches
in diameter and underneath the mouse. Good enough?? Or do I throw out
the whole bin of food? (Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

Huh? You lost me! Why not just scoop the mouse out with the kibble, and
drop it into whoever's bowl is first inline? (Whichever cat is the lucky
recipient will probably thank you!)


When one of my boys killed a mouse, I always would try to get it away from
him, because I would be afraid that the little critter had ingested
pesticides that my cat would then ingest. I wouldn't be inclined to let my
boys eat a local rodent. Then again, they rarely seemed inclined to eat it
themselves-- they were more interested in playing with it.

--
Theresa and Dante
drtmuirATearthlink.net

Stinky Forever: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
...


bobblespin wrote:
"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in
:


I was assuming a freshly dead mouse in my first response. If it's
maggoty, I'd just remove the mouse and any visible maggots, and proceed as
normal with the rest of the kibble. The cats aren't likely to care, and
so what of they ingest a maggot or two? (They eat insects all the time!)

It's not as easy as "cats eat insects all the time." Maggots are not
insects, they are the larva of flies that feed on dead flesh as you know and
cats do not eat them. If the body of a mouse has maggots in it, it has
started to putrefy and fluids from that process will drain out and could get
deep down into the kibble, so in that case I would throw it all away.
However this is not the case, fortunately. A dead stiff mouse in the kibble
bin without maggots can be removed without too much damage to the kibble's
palatability and safety. IMHO.
I'm very used to mice and rats, dead and alive. I keep poultry and all
poultry keepers get mice and rats around the poultry huts because of the
availability of food.
Boyfie catches mice and baby rats almost daily as KFC used to do in her
youth. I wish he wouldn't put them in the kitchen, just in front of where I
need to be to put my kettle on for tea in the morning so I step on them.
It's obviously a breakfast choice for us. I prefer toast ;-)
Although Boyfie is quite a big cat now, he's not brave enough to take on the
big rats with the brown razor teeth, and I don't blame him.
I get the terrier men in to deal with them every few weeks, and every time I
need to get the antiseptic out for the dogs who've been severely bitten on
the face or nose by these very big rats. It doesn't seem to put the
terriers off at all. They just love killing rats, it's their job, it's what
they were bred for.

Boyfriend has the right idea. Get the little ones, leave the big ones to
the terriers!

Having a permanent rat problem as all poultry keepers do, I used to poison
them, then saw a rat in extremis from it, dying for 24 hours. Now we have
the terriers come. We use an enginethingie from a hedgecutter to smoke them
out from their holes. One snap, gone. It seems so much kinder than
poisoning them. It's not possible to tolerate them, as much as my Buddhism
tendencies say yes.

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:

It's not as easy as "cats eat insects all the time." Maggots are not
insects, they are the larva of flies that feed on dead flesh as you know and
cats do not eat them.

Flies are insects, so their larvae must also be insects. And I know that
cats eat flies, as I've seen mine chase, catch and eat them. We think
maggots are gross, but cats might not feel that way.

If the body of a mouse has maggots in it, it has
started to putrefy and fluids from that process will drain out and could get
deep down into the kibble, so in that case I would throw it all away.

I would be worried about the bacteria that are also feeding on dead flesh.
Bacterial waste is pretty toxic.

However this is not the case, fortunately. A dead stiff mouse in the kibble
bin without maggots can be removed without too much damage to the kibble's
palatability and safety. IMHO.

I agree. Considering that it was below freezing, there was probably not
much decomposition going on, or not at a very fast rate, anyway.

Having a permanent rat problem as all poultry keepers do, I used to poison
them, then saw a rat in extremis from it, dying for 24 hours. Now we have
the terriers come. We use an enginethingie from a hedgecutter to smoke them
out from their holes. One snap, gone. It seems so much kinder than
poisoning them.

I totally agree.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

Christina Websell wrote:
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
...

bobblespin wrote:
"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in
:
I was assuming a freshly dead mouse in my first response. If it's
maggoty, I'd just remove the mouse and any visible maggots, and proceed as
normal with the rest of the kibble. The cats aren't likely to care, and
so what of they ingest a maggot or two? (They eat insects all the time!)

It's not as easy as "cats eat insects all the time." Maggots are not
insects, they are the larva of flies that feed on dead flesh as you know and
cats do not eat them.

Dunno about YOUR cats, but mine certainly kill and eat flies, when they
encounter them! (Can't say how they'd react to maggots, since I empty
the garbage often enough so it never reaches that stage.) ;-)

If the body of a mouse has maggots in it, it has
started to putrefy and fluids from that process will drain out and could get
deep down into the kibble, so in that case I would throw it all away.
However this is not the case, fortunately. A dead stiff mouse in the kibble
bin without maggots can be removed without too much damage to the kibble's
palatability and safety. IMHO.

Maybe I give cats too much credit, but I've never had one that ate
anything that might be harmful to it!

On Oct 24, 7:27*pm, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote:
wrote in message

...





Kreisleriana wrote:

"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in message

I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. *He didn't seal the
cat
food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there
was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. *The bin is FULL. *I scooped
the
mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches in diameter
and underneath the mouse. *Good enough?? *Or do I throw out the whole
bin
of food? *(Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

I'm just thinking about the scene if you'd poured out that dead mouse in
front of your cats. *Wow, there's a prize inside! *Or as the LOLcats
would
put it, "Derez a fud in mai fud."

LOL, my thought exactly!! I also wondered how the mouse knew where it
belonged (ie, with the other cat food)?

Cats eat mice, so unless it's fairly decomposed (and therefore full of
bacteria), I don't see why it would do anything bad to the food. How long
were you away?

I was away a little over 2 weeks. *We also are having quite cold weather, so
the mouse was rigid and frigid!! *And no maggots. *If there were, I would
have definitely pitched the entire bin. *After I removed the critter, I
sniffed/smelled and practically nibbled on the kibble to make sure it was
okay. *Everyone is eating from the bowl, so all is well!! *Thanks to all!

--

·.·´¨ ¨)) *-:¦:-
* * * *¸.·´ *.·´¨¨))
* * * *Laurie
* *((¸¸.·´ *..·´
* * *-:¦:- *((¸¸ ·.·

*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln





--
Joyce * ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ewwwwwwww!! You guys!! now you see why I don't like cats..they bring
home all sorts of dead animals..too. But even with the talking about
dead mice and rats around here, its still better than than ampf ..Jeez
its stinky in there,,,like some dead rat is fermenting!! and bringing
other rats..and they keep coming...

"luvharley" wrote in message
...
On Oct 24, 7:27 pm, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote:
wrote in message



Kreisleriana wrote:

"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in message

I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. He didn't seal the
cat
food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there
was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. The bin is FULL. I scooped
the
mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches in
diameter
and underneath the mouse. Good enough?? Or do I throw out the whole
bin
of food? (Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

I'm just thinking about the scene if you'd poured out that dead mouse
in
front of your cats. Wow, there's a prize inside! Or as the LOLcats
would
put it, "Derez a fud in mai fud."

LOL, my thought exactly!! I also wondered how the mouse knew where it
belonged (ie, with the other cat food)?

Cats eat mice, so unless it's fairly decomposed (and therefore full of
bacteria), I don't see why it would do anything bad to the food. How
long
were you away?

I was away a little over 2 weeks. We also are having quite cold weather,
so
the mouse was rigid and frigid!! And no maggots. If there were, I would
have definitely pitched the entire bin. After I removed the critter, I
sniffed/smelled and practically nibbled on the kibble to make sure it was
okay. Everyone is eating from the bowl, so all is well!! Thanks to all!

--

·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·

*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln





--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ewwwwwwww!! You guys!! now you see why I don't like cats..they bring
home all sorts of dead animals..too. But even with the talking about
dead mice and rats around here, its still better than than ampf ..Jeez
its stinky in there,,,like some dead rat is fermenting!! and bringing
other rats..and they keep coming...

But, harley, my luv... the mouse found it's way into the bin of food.
AFAIK, a cat didn't put it there!!

AMPF does suck, but without flames, it wouldn't exist at all!

--

·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·

*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln

On Oct 24, 8:49*pm, "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"
wrote:
~*LiveLoveLaugh*~ wrote:
I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. *He didn't seal the
cat food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. *The bin is FULL. *I
scooped the mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches
in diameter and underneath the mouse. *Good enough?? *Or do I throw out
the whole bin of food? *(Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

Huh? *You lost me! *Why not just scoop the mouse out with the kibble,
and drop it into whoever's bowl is first inline? *(Whichever cat is the
lucky recipient will probably thank you!)


Oh, no way! I'd never give a found dead mouse to the cats. I don't
think they'd
eat it anyway. It might make them sick.

Sherry

I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. *He didn't seal the
cat food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. *The bin is FULL. *I
scooped the mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches
in diameter and underneath the mouse. *Good enough?? *Or do I throw out
the whole bin of food? *(Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

Huh? *You lost me! *Why not just scoop the mouse out with the kibble,
and drop it into whoever's bowl is first inline? *(Whichever cat is the
lucky recipient will probably thank you!)


Oh, no way! I'd never give a found dead mouse to the cats. I don't
think they'd
eat it anyway. It might make them sick.

Sherry


You do not know what really made the mouse died if it wasn't over
eating cat food. It could possibly sicken the cat also.

On Oct 27, 3:36*pm, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote:
"luvharley" wrote in message

...
On Oct 24, 7:27 pm, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote:





wrote in message



Kreisleriana wrote:

"~*LiveLoveLaugh*~" wrote in message

I've been on vacation and I have a new pet sitter. He didn't seal the
cat
food bin in the garage, and when I went to fill the cat bowl today,
there
was a dead mouse in it laying on the top. The bin is FULL. I scooped
the
mouse (of course) and all the food around it about 2 inches in
diameter
and underneath the mouse. Good enough?? Or do I throw out the whole
bin
of food? (Which is about $40 worth of expensive kibble)!!

I'm just thinking about the scene if you'd poured out that dead mouse
in
front of your cats. Wow, there's a prize inside! Or as the LOLcats
would
put it, "Derez a fud in mai fud."

LOL, my thought exactly!! I also wondered how the mouse knew where it
belonged (ie, with the other cat food)?

Cats eat mice, so unless it's fairly decomposed (and therefore full of
bacteria), I don't see why it would do anything bad to the food. How
long
were you away?

I was away a little over 2 weeks. We also are having quite cold weather,
so
the mouse was rigid and frigid!! And no maggots. If there were, I would
have definitely pitched the entire bin. After I removed the critter, I
sniffed/smelled and practically nibbled on the kibble to make sure it was
okay. Everyone is eating from the bowl, so all is well!! Thanks to all!

--

·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·

*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ewwwwwwww!! You guys!! now you see why I don't like cats..they bring
home all sorts of dead animals..too. *But even with the talking about
dead mice and rats around here, its still better than than ampf ..Jeez
its stinky in there,,,like some dead rat is fermenting!! and bringing
other rats..and they keep coming...

But, harley, my luv... *the mouse found it's way into the bin of food.
AFAIK, a cat didn't put it there!! *

AMPF does suck, but without flames, it wouldn't exist at all!

I KNOW the cat didn't put it there...I read your story...