Cats as mousers: nature or nurture?

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm cat
litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting them.
The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly dispatch
a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably scared to
death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that the Bengal is
thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

On 2/8/2012 9:10 PM, Brian Link wrote:
For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm cat
litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting them.
The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly dispatch
a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably scared to
death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that the Bengal is
thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

probably because they're toying with it rather than dispatching them.

perhaps if they were hungrier? a friend that has an outdoor cat near the
desert commented that during the winter, the cat lays around and eats
inside food, but during the summer when there's more plentiful outdoor
prey, he eats almost no indoor food but concentrates on pack rats and
desert rabbits.

On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:25 -0600, Brian Link .
wrote:

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm cat
litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting them.
The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly dispatch
a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably scared to
death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that the Bengal is
thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

I've only had a mouse three times in 16 years but my cats seem
hardwired to do them in. I did manage to rescue two of them before
they were killed and sent them on their way (outside).

My one girl does seem to be the best at tackling them but I did pick
her up off the street so she might have learned out there.

On Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:48:45 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:25 -0600, Brian Link .
wrote:

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm cat
litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting them.
The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly dispatch
a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably scared to
death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that the Bengal is
thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

I've only had a mouse three times in 16 years but my cats seem
hardwired to do them in. I did manage to rescue two of them before
they were killed and sent them on their way (outside).

My one girl does seem to be the best at tackling them but I did pick
her up off the street so she might have learned out there.

We were all for them killing the critters, until one night when they
grabbed one and it looked absolutely pitiful, rearing up, running
around in panicked circles. My wife was in tears, and decided that we
should try to save them if we can.

Well, luckily one of my jobs in college was working for a scientist
doing field-mouse studies. Occasionally one of the rascals would get
loose, and I developed a good strategy for grabbing them (with a
gardening glove on). I've managed to catch 2 and toss them outside
before the cats could savage them.

BLink

On Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:48:45 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:25 -0600, Brian Link .
wrote:

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm cat
litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting them.
The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly dispatch
a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably scared to
death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that the Bengal is
thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

I've only had a mouse three times in 16 years but my cats seem
hardwired to do them in. I did manage to rescue two of them before
they were killed and sent them on their way (outside).

My one girl does seem to be the best at tackling them but I did pick
her up off the street so she might have learned out there.

Just after I posted my first response, Louis managed to grab a mouse
under the stove. This time I heard a definite "CRUNCH!", and there was
blood. Managed to grab it and toss it outside. Now he's ****ed at me
for getting rid of his toy..

BLink

Per Brian Link:
Just after I posted my first response, Louis managed to grab a mouse
under the stove. This time I heard a definite "CRUNCH!", and there was
blood. Managed to grab it and toss it outside. Now he's ****ed at me
for getting rid of his toy..

I keep hearing stories about other people's cats killing things
and bringing them home to be placed at one's feet.

Ours gets 'hold of something and I can't even get near it. It
kind of hunkers down, glares at me with this "Yer not gonna get
*this* one sucker..." look, and darts off with the prey in it's
mouth.

Every so often I find a long-dead mouse, vole, or chipmunk. Ours
seems to like to eat the legs and tails off - hopefully after the
thing is dead...
--
Pete Cresswell

On Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:42:20 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per Brian Link:
Just after I posted my first response, Louis managed to grab a mouse
under the stove. This time I heard a definite "CRUNCH!", and there was
blood. Managed to grab it and toss it outside. Now he's ****ed at me
for getting rid of his toy..

I keep hearing stories about other people's cats killing things
and bringing them home to be placed at one's feet.

Ours gets 'hold of something and I can't even get near it. It
kind of hunkers down, glares at me with this "Yer not gonna get
*this* one sucker..." look, and darts off with the prey in it's
mouth.

Every so often I find a long-dead mouse, vole, or chipmunk. Ours
seems to like to eat the legs and tails off - hopefully after the
thing is dead...

I let me cats go out into the (fenced in) backyard when I'm around.
During the summer they rarely catch anything, but during winter I have
a bird feeder and a (heated) birdbath so there are zillions of birds
back there. On the weekends I do let the cats out but I try to arrange
it so the birdseed runs out first. Still, sometimes the cats are back
there when the birds are feeding. I bang something to frighten them
away as the cats head out the door, but then it's up to them.

Espy is the best at nailing a bird. He hunkers down under a naked
azelea and tries his best to stay still, and he's good at it. He does
better if he's the only cat back there because the others move around
a lot and scare the birds away. He'll sit still for an hour waiting
for a bird to come too close.

So two or three times during the winter I'll see Espy with a bird in
his mouth. I try to get it away while it's still viable but sometimes
it's too late.

Still, I go through 40 lbs of seed a week and change the water in the
bath every third day so the birds still come out way ahead.

On Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:37:48 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:42:20 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per Brian Link:
Just after I posted my first response, Louis managed to grab a mouse
under the stove. This time I heard a definite "CRUNCH!", and there was
blood. Managed to grab it and toss it outside. Now he's ****ed at me
for getting rid of his toy..

I keep hearing stories about other people's cats killing things
and bringing them home to be placed at one's feet.

Ours gets 'hold of something and I can't even get near it. It
kind of hunkers down, glares at me with this "Yer not gonna get
*this* one sucker..." look, and darts off with the prey in it's
mouth.

Every so often I find a long-dead mouse, vole, or chipmunk. Ours
seems to like to eat the legs and tails off - hopefully after the
thing is dead...

I let me cats go out into the (fenced in) backyard when I'm around.
During the summer they rarely catch anything, but during winter I have
a bird feeder and a (heated) birdbath so there are zillions of birds
back there. On the weekends I do let the cats out but I try to arrange
it so the birdseed runs out first. Still, sometimes the cats are back
there when the birds are feeding. I bang something to frighten them
away as the cats head out the door, but then it's up to them.

Espy is the best at nailing a bird. He hunkers down under a naked
azelea and tries his best to stay still, and he's good at it. He does
better if he's the only cat back there because the others move around
a lot and scare the birds away. He'll sit still for an hour waiting
for a bird to come too close.

So two or three times during the winter I'll see Espy with a bird in
his mouth. I try to get it away while it's still viable but sometimes
it's too late.

Still, I go through 40 lbs of seed a week and change the water in the
bath every third day so the birds still come out way ahead.

Thanks for this - I remember that I was involved with birder groups
when I was last active on Usenet. The birders would holler about cats
eating songbirds, and the cat folks would holler "THAT'S WHAT CATS DO!
GET OVER IT!".

Still, I'm not a fan of letting cats outside. Tiger prolly couldn't
have made it to a ripe old age if he'd been an outside cat. Saw the
neighbor's cat get plowed down in the street a couple years ago.
Nobody should ever have to see that, cat-lover or not. He was just out
for his evening constitutional, and a car came roaring through. How
many tears have been shed for a cat eaten by dogs, or run over by some
dude driving too fast?

BLink

dgk wrote:
On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:25 -0600, Brian Link .
wrote:

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm
cat litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting
them. The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly
dispatch a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably
scared to death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that
the Bengal is thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY
EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

I've only had a mouse three times in 16 years but my cats seem
hardwired to do them in. I did manage to rescue two of them before
they were killed and sent them on their way (outside).

My one girl does seem to be the best at tackling them but I did pick
her up off the street so she might have learned out there.

My, "B-K" brought a chipmonk in last year, and he lived under our stove for
the whole Winter. All the cats tried to get him but easily the fastest thing
on four feet is a chipmonk.... they didn't have a chance. We fed and watered
him all Winter, and when the weather warmed up, I left the sliding glass
door open a crack at night and after a few days, he "escaped"., by then, the
cats had accepted him as another pet, and were unconcerned.....

On Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:04:52 -0800, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:25 -0600, Brian Link .
wrote:

For the first time in the 12+ years we've lived here, we've got mice
coming indoors. We've got a 16 year-old moggie adopted from a farm
cat litter, and a 9 year-old F7 Bengal, both males.

They've slain two mice so far (we found the carcasses on the kitchen
floor), but we've seen a few more and witnessed the cats hunting
them. The Bengal is the most energetic and enthusiastic, but the most
clumsy. The moggie is patient, precise and determined.

I read somewhere that female cats are the main hunters, and that only
when they've been properly taught by their mothers. Also that male
cats will hunt mice for food when feral.

They both seem pretty interested in the mice we've seen, but don't
deliver killing blows, thus allowing the mice to escape.

So, any hope that our two cats will figure out how to cleanly
dispatch a mouse? I suspect that the corpses we found were probably
scared to death, or inadvertantly killed by play. My guess is that
the Bengal is thrilled that we somehow bought him the BEST CAT TOY
EVER!!

Thanks for any ideas.

BLink

I've only had a mouse three times in 16 years but my cats seem
hardwired to do them in. I did manage to rescue two of them before
they were killed and sent them on their way (outside).

My one girl does seem to be the best at tackling them but I did pick
her up off the street so she might have learned out there.

My, "B-K" brought a chipmonk in last year, and he lived under our stove for
the whole Winter. All the cats tried to get him but easily the fastest thing
on four feet is a chipmonk.... they didn't have a chance. We fed and watered
him all Winter, and when the weather warmed up, I left the sliding glass
door open a crack at night and after a few days, he "escaped"., by then, the
cats had accepted him as another pet, and were unconcerned.....

I know. We've always said Tiger is our cat, and Louis is Tiger's cat.
Now Louis has a pet/pets too. He just has to learn how not to break
them.

BLink