Humane Society Cats?

Question

Now i called the humane society told me over the phone that they have some cats declawed and some that are not declawed. I asked her if we picked a cat we liked that was declawed, would he be able to catch mice. She said "We dont adopt our cats out for pest control".
Why did she say this? Do you think i should go adopt anyway and not tell her my reasons for adopting? or do you think humane society cats are not effective for catching mice period? Do they train their cats to not catch any mice? please tell me. i have no clue....SERIOUS ANSWERS PLEASE

Oh now please dont get me wrong, I would like a cat to love. My daughter also wants a cat to love and feed and put clothes on him too. But I think its an extra advantage to have a cat around to catch mice is all im saying. I really do love cats, but i dont want one if he doesnt want to work around the house like we do. Because hey, were gonna keep his litter box changed 1 once a day. When we had "smoke" my mom change his litter box everyday!!!! And he wanted canned food at least 6 times a day. So all im saying is, i just want a cat, and the mice out the house at the same time.

Oh and i failed to mention, "Smoke" was like a Diva Cat. He only wanted to eat canned food with gravy. Nothing else. He would rather starve if he couldnt get his canned food with gravy.

Jewel's 4 U-
U should know that its a cats natural instinct to hunt small things that move, ok.
I remember one night i was masturbating under the covers in the dark. And "smoke" jumped in the bed and tried to bite my fingers because he saw them moving under my covers ( in the dark now) . Now with that being said.
Its a difference for a child to be adopted to work in sweatshops because its not in a childs instinct to work. So your answer is totally invalid.

mks 7-15-02 Why did you pick the ugliest cat there? did you see the oppurtunity that you could give this cat love that he never had? or you just wanted something different? just would like to know. thy

Answer 1

If you were feeding him 6 times a day, I'm surprised he'd bother chasing mice!

I don't think you meant any harm with your questions, despite what some of the other responders say. You just want it to keep mice away as well.

I don't think you should prefer a declawed cat - unless you have expensive furniture you are worried about. I wouldn't tell the Humane Society that you want a mouser - I guess they don't like it.

Look for a cat that is very active and alert. One that is playful. When you've narrowed it down to a few and have a chance to play with them, choose one that chases a toy when you dangle it - those are similar to it's basic hunting instincts.

Having said that - sometimes even ones that will chase anything won't chase mice. You are just going to have to take a chance. (Then you may need to get another to keep it company!)

Best of luck

Answer 2

What she meant is that they adopt animals out to be companion animals, not as a means for someone to control pests.

Plenty of cats without paws can catch mice. I had two declawed cats when I was a kid who caught mice.

If you want a declawed cat, adopting one is the best option. Please don't declaw a cat yourself, it's cruel.

The humane society has nothing to do with whether cats do or do not catch mice. There is no "training" involved either way, and the cats in their care are the same as any other cat.

If you want a cat merely for pest control, please don't do that. You're going to be responsible for the animal for another 10-20 years....so if you're going to get one, get one because you want a cat, not because you have pests. There are mouse traps for that.

Ace Bella is way off base here. Declawing is inhumane....but adopting a declawed cat is a noble thing to do. Their previous owners obviously didn't give a crap about the cat's well-being....it's not the cat's fault it was mutilated. It deserves a good home just like any other cat.

Answer 3

Cats are not for catching mice. Cats are for being pets. Do not buy an animal to do what you can accomplish with some serious cleaning, mouse traps or pest control.

There are many reasons for this, but the most specific one is that IF a cat would kill a mouse that was indoors (most would not actually kill it, but merely stalk it and play with it. Indoor cats often don't have the motivation to kill when they have food closeby), it would eat it, and eating mice is VERY VERY bad for cats considering the disease, worms and parasites that wild mice can carry. You would be greatly endangering your kitty.

The Humane Society is perfectly within their right to assess whether or not you will be an acceptable adoptive parent. Imagine if someone was going to adopt a child and force them to work in a sweatshop. Would you think that would be acceptable?? Would you expect a human adoption organization to allow that? It is the same thing. Cats are not employees, dogs are not security guards. Adopting a pet is for companionship.

As well, many of the cats at the Humane Society were probably once house pets themselves, and have not ever learned to catch and kill mice. It wouldn't be within their nature.

Please, look into pest control or mouse traps.

Answer 4

Cat's learn "mousing" young, they'll either do it or they won't. If you are looking for a mouser, do not get a cat that is declawed. A declawed cat generally means that it was kept indoors and they are missing one of the "mousing" tools, their claws. If you are going to have a cat that is an indoor/outdoor cat, do not get one that is declawed as claws are a form of protection for the cat.

I suppose you might be able to train a cat not to chase mice however, I can't see the humane society holding anti-mouse-chasing classes.

As far as why the humane society said that they don't adopt out for pest control, I believe they try to find proper homes for their animals and some people might adopt and then just dump the cat outside, not feed it and expect it to be able to feed itself on any pests it may or may not be able to find.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

I know why the humane society person answered you this way. First they tend to not like adopting out (especially declawed cats) to someone who will be letting the cat outside. And I agree with this. Without his/her claws life outdoors is much more dangerous since it is short of one very important defense mechanism. But to answer your question yes a cat without his/her claws can hunt and will tend to also bite you more to let you know it is not happy with you.

I do not intend to judge when I ask you this but have you really looked at if you are ready to be a cat owner? Cats are a lot of work and you need to want to have a cat just to have a cat. Cleaning the litter once a day is just a fact of being a cat person (I don’t say owner because I don’t believe we can own a pet) you should not expect for something in return from the cat. PLUS have you ever had a mouser? My cat is a mouser and he can drive us insane with this. Cats have a tendency or hunting just for the sport which means you might end up with getting mice’s in your house thanks to the furry mouser bringing them in to play with while you sleep! They do not always kill the mouse they do sometimes get bored with it and walk away then YOU become the mouser chasing around the house at 3 in the morning while your cat is watching you!

Beware of what you wish for….

Answer 6

The Humane society prefers to adopt there cats to homes where they will be inside cats, especially declawed cats. To get a cat for the sole purpose of getting rid of mice is ridiculous. Mouse traps work wonders. No you should not go adopt anyway.

Answer 7

I think she was a little short with you. In doing adoptions you are looking for the best possible home for these "second chance" animals. People who want guard dogs will usually chain them outside for the rest of their lives and not make them part of the human family. Same with mice and rat-catching cats. They are frequently not given the shelter and veterinary care that the cat may need to lead a decent life.

Just the presence of a cat in your house may keep the mice away whether the cat catches them or not.

Answer 8

I think her comment was to tell you that they adopt their cats out to become pets, not to be placed outside to just catch mice.
All cats are natural hunters and will go after a mouse if it sees one. Some are better at catching them than others. I have 2. 1 with nails and 1 without. The one with no nails is my mouser while the other one would probably not know what to do with a mouse if I caught it and gave it to him.

Answer 9

It does not sound like you know enough about cats to jump into adopting one right away. Read up on them first so you know what to expect. I'm not saying you have to take a college class or anything but prepare yourself first. The Humane Society has caused more animals to be euthanized than they ever adopted out because of their paranoid policies that restrict perfectly good, loving families from adopting animals for the most trivial of reasons. They are certainly within their rights to restrict who they adopt out to but they should do an overhaul of their policies. I've heard of them refusing to adopt to people because they had children or because there wouldn't be someone at home 24 hours a day. I've heard they refused to adopt out a hound or retriever to someone who hunts even though the person wasn't looking for a hunting dog. They want their animals to be pets in perfect homes and nothing else. This is a precaution to make sure they aren't exploited or abused. When all is said and done it is keeping them from achieving their goals of getting animals into loving homes.

Answer 10

All cats chase small animals by nature, mice being one. I doubt that the Humane Society has trained cats not to chase mice. Just go and get yourself a cat, as long as you take good care of the cat it shouldn't matter if the cat catches mice or not. I hope you are not just using the cat to catch mice I hope you are going to love it and treat it like part of the family. It is recomended that the cat has front nails for mice catching, though it can still hunt without them. Be prepaired for gifts!! Cat's offer gifts of their catch to their humans.