Help! Cat brings bugs inside.

Here is one guy's solution from my personal, all-time favorite list of

posts to rpc.

From Tama: You know, I once read a column about a guy whose cat brought him so many live mice that he was about to lose his mind. So he writes to our pet columnist guy and says, 'Hey, I'm losing my mind here. What's with all these live mice?'

The pet columnist tells him, 'Sorry, Charlie, she thinks that you are a pretty dense kitten. She's trying to teach you to survive. If you want her to stop, you'll have to pick up the mouse IN YOUR MOUTH to prove you've got her message.' Haha, say most of us, what kind of a dink would do that, haha.

Time passes.

Then the guy writes back in. He's done it. He's gotten down on his kitchen floor, batted the poor little mouse with his hands and picked it up IN HIS MOUTH (ack! phleck!), and shaken it about to prove he gets it.

His cat, he reported, went berserk. She purred, she headbutted, she kneaded him, she praised him in no uncertain terms. She was so THRILLED with her slow boy. She then pranced away. And never brought him another live critter again.

I guess it _might_ be a solution...but then again, just how BIG a problem is it, after all?

<<<snip>>> : hours trying to catch it...I did & let it go unharmed but probably : psychologically scarred forever : Pam

I'm left with visions of a rodent delinquent-you know hanging around the garbage can with the wrong crowd-smoking gawd knows what-and committing minor acts of vandalism and petty theft as s/he cries out in inarticulate anguish this cruel twist of fate that sent this gentle creature down the dark path blatherblatherblather

This is a great example of communication breakdown! The kitten is bring the stuff in to show you what a wonderful hunter she is...little does she know how offensive it can be to us mere humans!

Sorry, I know of no way to stop it, however I have had my cats bring in a live chipmunk. I had to put the cat in a carrier & spend the next two hours trying to catch it...I did & let it go unharmed but probably psychologically scarred forever

Dinah (mom & dad's cat) brings live mice inside through her cat door. She catches them outside in the garden, picks them up in velvet jaws, carries them through 2 cat doors, and then lets them go inside so she can play. Sometimes they are nearly paralyzed with fright, sometimes they run around (which she loves), and sometimes they hide and she 'loses' them.

We have found mice nests all over the house; the most interesting one was in the kitchen, in the pot-cabinet under the stove. The mouse had nested in a potholder (we found mouse poop in it), and had been sneaking out and stealing food from Dinah's kibble dish.

Whenever Dinah brings in a mouse, my parents trap it and put it back outside. She then goes right back out and catches more

Hi,

I've been trying to access http://www.fanciers.com for a couple of days now and get the old DNS error. Anyone know if they are having problems? My server is pulling up most everything else, so it probably isn't me

The site worked for me. (10/31/96 - 11:40 am PST) Check with your ISP maybe there is something they can do.

Steven Fletcher

My Pet Business site <http://www.petpals.com> My Home Town site <http://www.syix.com/yubacity>

I'm afraid it may not be........ I've known of a number of indoo/outdoor cats to exhibit this behavior as long as they were physically able to catch the critters (were talking up to at least fifteen years old). the difference is, she won't be bringing moths, spiders and other assorted insects, but birds, mice, wild rabbits and all sorts of fun goodies. A very good friend of mine, owner of an 8 year old female cat woke up one morning to find a half mauled blue jay on the pillow next to her, and a kitty cat with a VERY big grin on his face

I have to agree. It probably won't stop. One cat of a friend of mine did the same thing. Feel lucky. Their cat didn't just leave his 'kill' to be displayed, but left parts in several places. Ick.