should I let my cat eat mice???

Question

Did I do the right thing in taking the two mice my cats caught last night? I’ve suspected that I’ve had mice in my house for a few weeks, so I’ve put out mouse traps, the enclosed ones. I haven’t caught anything; well last night my boys caught to ‘baby’ mice, they were pretty small mice. I honestly didn’t want them to kill the mice and mainly I didn’t want them to eat the mice. My house is really close to a corn field where they use pesticides and the previous owners of my house used rat/mouse poisoning heavily. So I have been extremely leery of letting my cats eat mice. Well I took the first mouse away and threw it outside, it was still alive, but you could tell it was hurting, so I assumed it would die and the second mouse I didn’t get to in time to ‘save’ it, the cats killed it. But I threw it out back into the field. I know mice carry disease and fleas and worms and potential poisoning, so was I right in intervening or should I have let the cats eat the mice?

My cats are completely indoor cats and are up to date on all of their shots. They are well fed and don’t need to eat the mice. And I don’t fell that the only reason to have a cat is to catch mice, mine don’t have to do anything to earn their keep.
Oh and they were interested in eating them, they weren’t just playing and then once they were dead they would leave it be.
Oh and how long will it take them to stop searcing for those 2 mice?

I use the 'spin traps' from Decon. Where you set it, the mouse goes it, it spins and kills the mouse, and it seals the mouse inside. They've worked for me, I'ved used them for awhile..And there are traps out, I can't make the mice go in them though.

Answer 1

No, I can't think of anything positive out of your cats eating the mice. They mainly play with them (torture them!) for a long time till they die. Some walk away and then come back leaving the mouse still alive but in bad shape so is quite horrible. Though that is nature. But our domesticated cats living indoors have no need to eat mice though the torture part is entertaining to them..toys will suffice.

Their are really good mousetraps by a company called Viktor that you can order online or get at Walmart. Viktor quick set mouse traps. They kill somewhat quickly usually but then you have to watch your cats cannot get in the traps and hurt their paws or another part get stuck in them.

Mice breed very often and if not controlled will just keep coming in and coming in. You can seal up your house with foam sealant but that can be messy to apply but does help. It will stick to anything it touches though, even you and is hard to remove from anything but seals cracks in foundation quite well.

If your cats do get the mice and eat them only thing I would watch for is you may want to get a wormer from a vet to prevent them getting worms.

Eating the mice wont kill the cats no. Usually that is a long process as the cats love to play with them for a long time so you may just want to remove the mice quickly.

Answer 2

It's fine. I used to live out in the country and my kitties would bring home mice, shrews, birds, chipmunks, even the occasional bunny, and they'd eat all of them. Except the shrews, actually. Not sure why. Then they'd leave little animal heads and tails around. Or little bird feet and feathers. So cute. Anyway, the only time it was ever a problem was when my cat would kill a whole nest of mice in a single day and try to eat all of them. Mouse-gut vomit is NOT pretty.

Answer 3

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

Answer 4

all felines are hunters by nature. You really can't stop them from eating any small creature unless you never let them outside. All of my cat's are inside cats and when they do get the chance to get out and escape they bring back birds rats etc...I see nothing wrong with letting your cat(s) eat whatever they can catch. It stimulates play and also lets the cats practice their natural hunting capabilities. Let cats be cats!

Answer 5

This usually is fine, but most likely the mice both came from the corn field, getting away from the pestisides. I would be careful and watch for abnormal behavior in your cats. hope i helped :)

Answer 6

Let your cat eat mice. It is the cat's nature to hunt and eat mice and birds. Let him have some fun and enjoy being a cat.

Answer 7

no you don`t give mice to your cats to eat.. just throw them out of the house...cats are mice killers they really don`t eat mice... i have 7 cats and they have never eaten a mouse they will kill one and bring it out to show me then drop it..but none of my babies have eaten a mouse and i would not allow them too..mice carry disease..

Answer 8

Wild animals can carry diseases that could effect your cats health. You did the right thing. When we want to give our cat a treat we give her plain packed in spring water tunafish it makes her crazy happy.

Answer 9

i don't think you should let your cat eat mice... i could be carrying a decease and harm your cat in some way... instead of using the cat try setting out mice traps if u have them in your house...

Answer 10

yes its good protien.