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Can you tell if the cat is a good mouser???

Started by GDinMaine, May 20, 2014, 08:00:10 PM

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GDinMaine

We used to have three dogs and the last one just had to be put down.  We could never have cats, as they would have been torn to shreds.  Greyhouds really only love three things:  people, food and other greyhounds.
So. now that the last of the hounds have passed on, we are talking about getting a cat, to cut down on the mouse-problem in our old farm house.  I must admit, that I'm really not a cat person so I'm looking for a cat with some useful skill, besides occupying some warm spot.  Is there a way to tell if one might be more inclined to catch mice?  Also.  Is there a correlation between outside cats and good mousers?  Whatever we end up getting, it will have to live inside the house, as we are really close to a road, and I like my pets to live a long life.  Please share some wisdom on this.
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Don_Papenburg

If they do not care for commercial dry cat food but will tolerate it . is a good sign .if they about tear your hand off when you offer them some old bologna ,that is a good sign .   
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yukon cornelius

if they have mouse bits hanging out of its mouth it might be a good mouser. :D I don't think you can tell by looking at them. maybe if it likes to chase a string or something
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Ken

If you can get a kitten from a proven mouser they tend to do well.  Also as mentioned don't spoil with them with too much easy grub.
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dgdrls

They have to understand its a business relationship :D
They mouse good they eat. If not, out to the barn or shed.

My F-I-L had a shop cat.  NO-ONE including him messed with, petted or even looked at the cat.
All business. F-I-L would leave out a dish of food and water. Sometimes a little milk.

No rodents ever in or near that shop, same for wood chucks and any other small furry animals.

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Ianab

Our cat arrived home with a mouse the other day. Probably wasn't hard to catch though.. It was still in a mousetrap  :D

Went and saw Ivan next door "Ohh, I was wondering where that went."  :D
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thecfarm

I had a wonderful cat. Had to watch him when we went to let him in,he might have something in it's mouth. Did a job on chipmunks too. That was a very nice cat. Did not get on the furniture,that took some work,never had a litter box,always went outside,even in the winter. Ate the dog food right from the same bowl as the dog.
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StimW

I find that females  make the best hunter/mousers but some males enjoy the activity!
Also know that when they do have a kill and they bring it to you it's a compliment to you.
 
If you haven't seen the Cat attacks dog biting little boy video please check it out. You will never look at cats the same way again!
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jargo432

For years we had cats.  In my opinion it's a crap shoot.  You won't really know till you've had it for a while.

Remember, the more you feed it the lazier it will be.
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Mac102004

The orange ones are the best mousers  :D

Personally I like cats, I have one in my house right now, and growing up always had 3 or 4 in the house. Not as mousers, just friendly pets. Dogs too, but not in the house. I grew up on a dairy farm and we had 15-20 barn cats at any given time, there was very very few mice or moles or anything around.
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Chuck White

My best suggestion would be to go to a farmers barn and get "about" a 10 week old kitten.

At 10 weeks, the kittens would normally have been out hunting with their mother.

Now, if it's going to be a house cat, keep it on a "sort of" low intake diet so it isn't always stuffed, because then they get lazy, then it'll hunt.
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Roxie

Our cat is an outstanding mouser, and he's a neutered male.  He is the only cat I've ever known that refuses to eat any kind of moist (canned) food.  He has a automatic feeder and eats when he wants too.  We got him as a kitten from a dairy farm.  Cowboy Bob claimed that he followed him into the pasture and the kitten helped herd the heifers into the barn.  Ya just can't leave a cat like that behind.   :D

Prior to this cat, we had a spayed female calico.  She was also the consummate mouser even though she would get so fat in the winter that her belly dragged the ground. 

It's been my observation that if you have the cat first, and then get a dog, kitty will teach puppy some manners. 
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Bill Gaiche

We have 2 females and 1 tom cat. All have been fixed. The yellow tom cat is a very good hunter. Had a mouse yesterday evening out in the yard. We have kitty doors and they come and go as they please. Food in the utility room all the time. We have had to take tom back outside many a times because he has brought in a rat, mouse, rabbit or squirrel. He was a throw away cat that came to our back door when he was about 6 weeks old and he's now 8 yrs. old. bg



 

Bill Gaiche

By the way, the wife just reminded me that Tom had tuna fish and some cheese yesterday evening and then went out and was eating a mouse within 30 min. of that. bg

pappy19

Quote from: StimW on May 20, 2014, 09:46:56 PM
I find that females  make the best hunter/mousers but some males enjoy the activity!
Also know that when they do have a kill and they bring it to you it's a compliment to you.
 
If you haven't seen the Cat attacks dog biting little boy video please check it out. You will never look at cats the same way again!

Ditto on the females making the best mousers. The males wait around to eat what she brings in just like the big cats in Africa.
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thecfarm

We had a male and he stayed out more than the female we have now. No big deal for the male to be gone for 2 days.Both are fixed. And there is food in the house all the time for the animals. 
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clearcut

Our local cat rescue group gives out "barn cats" for free. These are somewhat friendly but near feral cats that have been spayed or neutered and need a warm safe place to sleep, access to clean fresh water, and enough food to supplement the mice and such. They are generally good hunters.

These are not pet cats. They are not going to curl up on the couch with you at night. They are expected to live outside and may or may not like people all that much.

Most will tolerate the person who feeds them but will be skittish around others.

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GDinMaine

you should be able to find a good mouser very easily.  Maine coons are known for being great hunters.  I have had both males and females.  By far my male was a much better hunter.  Even though we fed him twice a day and would let him in whenever he wanted he would go on hunting trips and be gone 2-3 days.  He hunted mice, chipmunks, squirrels and birds.  One day I saw him take on a fox and honestly if I hadn't gone out there he may have taken down the fox.

When he was in the house he was a great companion and would curl up on your lap or with the dog.

There are lots of them in shelters in Maine as I was just looking to get another one.
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Tamiam
Is a Maine coon a cat?

Correction... I looked it up, and it is a cat breed. Learn something new every day on the FF
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21incher

We had some outdoor cats that were good mousers, but they preferred baby bunnies in the spring. They would eat the mice and bring home the snakes to leave on our doorstep.
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Tam-i-am

yep breed of cat.

They are big and hardy.  Can withstand cold Maine winters. In colder seasons they grow a thick mane.  When they have their manes they are beautiful cats during the summer they just look like any other long hair cat.

I don't think they are far down the feline family tree from bobcats and lynx. ;D
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blade69001

love maine coons had two of them before and trying to talk the new better half into a pair of them she is woried about the cat being bigger than her though so we will see.
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Raider Bill

I've had 2 Maine Coons in the past. Both grew to be over 20 lbs and not counting the tail 28 inches long  because they are tall they look more like a bobcat/lynx.  The walk like racoons.
One enjoyed grabbing most of your wrist in his mouth lovingly.. then look at you with those I dare you to pull your arm out of my mouth look.
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