Okay, my kitty loves to catch mice. I love to rescue cute little animals. When he brings them in- still alove, I try to set them free but they come back inside within minutes and he gets them again.
Well, a few times he brought them to me dead. More an more often, I'm asuming he takes them away to play with them lately because I keep taking them away and throwing them outside.
Last night I placed him in the tub (easy to clean and it's where I always save the mice because they can't escape and I can catch them later tossing them outside) and atempted to rescue his latest catch but it was already dead. Out of curiosity I let him play with it (in the tub still, no mouse blood on my carpet!!) to see what he would do. Well, after five minutes he tried eating it. I tossed it out.
Now, I am wondering is it okay to let my cat eat the mouse. I'm worried about the parasites mice might carry. I know my cat licks his own bum and all but still. Would it be bad/unhealthy to let him eat mice???
2007-05-02 22:58:10 · 16 answers · asked by Sandy 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
I can't believe no one has mentioned the likelihood of your cat catching worms from mice! Many species of worm live in mice, this is the most common way for cats to get worms.
If your cat is going to eat mice (and he can certainly eat the whole thing if he wants) you need to worm him at least every 3 months. Use a proper wormer from the vet that treats roundworms and tapeworms, get your vet to advise you.
Eating mice is of course natural instinct for the cat - that's their diet in the wild. My cat would catch mice, and if I didn't get rid of them right away she would eat the entire thing apart from one little white organ. She always left that.
Keep him wormed and you should be fine!
Chalice
2007-05-03 00:21:38 · answer #1 · answered by Chalice 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you do the right thing in taking the mice away i mean if you live next to a field and all the pesticides are used there and also the do carry diseases and if your cats eat them they might catch the disease but if you really think they want to eat mice and you are fine with it they are really cheap at the pet store so you can always buy the mice because then you know for sure they are healthy and disease free
2016-04-01 06:28:31 · answer #2 · answered by Belle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Renaissance raises a good point. A lot of people lay poisons out to kill mice and other pests without regard to pets or wildlife. Even an indoor cat would stalk and/or kill a mouse if it comes inside its home, so it was always a big worry for me when I saw a mouse in the house. Because I live in a condo, the little mice can travel thru the walls, and I have no idea what my neighbors might be doing to repel them.
2007-05-02 23:08:08 · answer #3 · answered by all things mystical 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My cat always ate mice. Im a sucker for those little critters too. But seeing i had such a mouse problem i had no trouble letting her go after them. I think really the only thing you should watch out for is rat or mouse bait though. Some people may lay poisons down in there houses or outside to kill them off. Nothing is worse than the poison passing from the mouse to the cat if its still alive.
2007-05-02 23:01:55 · answer #4 · answered by ~*Renaissance*~ 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The cats go to the horse barns at the track so there are plenty of mice with all the grain and feed. But my cats are are pretty lazy (or slow) and don't catch them very often. Usually they'll wait until one of the neighbor's cat catches one then bully them and take it away or wait until they drop it, then snag it!
Only one of my cats them eats them though (a tortie calico). The rest play with them. It is the food chain, so it is normal. The wild barn cats live on them, and none of them are skinny or sick.
I have had the my cats bring their 'catch of the day' in the house when I wasn't looking, play with them, and let the mice get away. I finally had to get electronic mouse traps...I caught 10 mice in the house!
2007-05-03 00:11:33 · answer #5 · answered by Mama_Kat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your cat is at high risk for Heart Worm. That's one thing you don't wan't your cat to have. It's preventable with a simple Vet visit and heart worm meds. Mice are carriers of those and other parasites. You might want to get it anyway to prevent any risk. You can prevent heart worm and other parasites more than you can prevent your cat from eating a mouse.
2007-05-03 00:31:14 · answer #6 · answered by jay b 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's better not to let the cat eat them. Mice carry many diseases, including toxoplasmosis, which is then incubated in cats and multiplying and that is a problem for pregnant women. (They usually don't get it from the cat, because it is in the cat's feces which people usually avoid, so it has nothing to do with having a cat and being or not being pregnant, but it is important to keep our cats toxoplasma-free, because their feces lying around transfer nd multiply the bacteria and other animals get them, and then if we eat the other animals we get them too). And mice may have other bacteria too, which cause problems to the cat.
2007-05-02 23:51:37 · answer #7 · answered by cpinatsi 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's totally natural and OK for cats to eat mice. This is like asking if it's bad for fish to swim in water.
2007-05-02 23:06:14 · answer #8 · answered by John G 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't want my cat to eat any of those rodents if they have been eating rat poison yeah!!! But suppose these people are right when they say some cats just want to play with the rats! Which is probably a good exercise for your furry friend ;-)
2007-05-02 23:16:06 · answer #9 · answered by joulsey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its natural cats are hunters just like their ig cousins the lions now if you think of it that way would you every tyake a hard earned kill from a lion i dont think so i just wouldnt set out any poisins for the mice and if you live close to anyone else i would ask if they have been setting out mouse poison just to be on the safe side
2007-05-02 23:10:16 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋