Interesting "presents" your cat has brought home!

Lillylilly

We installed a cat flap a few weeks ago, and our little fellas love it, always popping in and out as they please!

Yesterday morning, we were rudely awoken by a screeching sound downstairs. When we went down, we found a bird flying around our hall! Our seven month old male cat, Bear, had brought it through the cat flap for us!

Then this morning, I heard him struggling to get in the cat flap and saw that he had something covered in tin foil. When I went out to the garden to see what it was, he had ripped open to tin foil to reveal that it was a demi- baguette with salad on it... freshly made and all! He'd obviously stole someone's lunch!!

It got me thinking, what is the most interesting/ wierd thing that you're cats have brought you home??

morgana

Assorted mice and occasional birds (alive and not), one or two rats (one alive (not nice, but got it out) one not, ewwww) - we especially love it when they bring them in alive and promptly loose interest resulting in occasional sightings of a mouse before they eventually dispatch it or a certain smell develops (followed by humans crawling under sofas and moving stuff to locate the source :P) - oh the fun

morganafay

My cat once brought a mouse into my room at 4am and let it go (still alive). I was tired so I went back to sleep but she was chasing it around under my bed for ages, and in the morning it was dead on my carpet :eek:

And when I was away one night she went in my sister's window with a live mouse instead! My sister caught it in a sock (with the help of the cat cornering it) and let it free outdoors . . . and I'm meant to be the one who likes animals and I just let the cat kill the one in my room . . .

And one of my cats caught a frog once, we had a stream at the back of the garden where I sometimes saw them. But they didn't eat it.

And one of them caught a hare before, which was massive. I got such a shock when I saw it dead on the lawn, cos I thought it was a cat but I didn't have a cat that colour. I have no idea how they caught it, it was bigger than any of them, and hares must be pretty fast. They didn't eat it either, but while I was picking it up on a shovel one of my dogs stole its leg and ran away . . . gross I know.

So yeah none of my stories are really funny because they killed the animals, but one of my cats did have a live mouse once and was playing with it to teach her kittens to hunt and my puppy picked it up and brought it over to me. She put it on the ground in front of her and just stood there looking at the mouse and at me, really confused. The mouse was so scared it just stood there frozen. So I picked it up and took it into the fields to release it. It didn't seem injured so hopefully it survived!

morganafay

morgana wrote: »

Assorted mice and occasional birds (alive and not), one or two rats (one alive (not nice, but got it out) one not, ewwww) - we especially love it when they bring them in alive and promptly loose interest resulting in occasional sightings of a mouse before they eventually dispatch it or a certain smell develops (followed by humans crawling under sofas and moving stuff to locate the source :P) - oh the fun

Oh yeah, once of mine brought a dead rat into my room before too :eek: it was horrible. I actually have pet rodents so I don't mind them at all, but don't want a dead rat in my room! Thankfully no live ones though.

foodaholic

loads of birds, came home one day and the bird was playing dead, but was still alive. Really felt sorry for the little thing.

We also got gifted a large rat (too big to come throught the flap) so it was left on the backdoor step.

Dont you just love pressies:D

Victor

Put a bell on the cat.

morganafay

The best thing is when they eat the rat but just leave its head! When one of my cats had babies she used to bring them a rat or a crow everyday and leave the rat's head, or one time I found a crow's beak and feet and a few feathers, but no body. :eek:

Lillylilly

Ew, I'm dreading the mice coming. We leave the cat flap open all the time, now I'm thinking of monitoring them coming in. We have a three month old female kitten and I know once she gets big enough, she'll be trouble too!!!!

morganafay

Victor wrote: »

Put a bell on the cat.

That doesn't neccessarily work unfortunately. There's not really much you can do to stop a cat from hunting. At least most cats don't hunt a lot, just the odd thing.

morganafay

Lillylilly wrote: »

Ew, I'm dreading the mice coming. We leave the cat flap open all the time, now I'm thinking of monitoring them coming in. We have a three month old female kitten and I know once she gets big enough, she'll be trouble too!!!!

Watch out for neighbour's tom cats coming in your cat flap to get to the kitten before she's spayed! My neighbours tom cat came in the cat flap I had in my bedroom window (because I had young females) and got tangled up in the net curtain and sprayed everywhere. I had to set him free while he tried to scratch me. I'm surprise my two tom cats and one aggressive female didn't attack him while he was there because they used to always beat him up!

convert

We had a cat a few years back who used to leave us presents on the doorstep every so often. However, we had a French girl (who lived in a city) who came to stay with us for two weeks as part of an exchange and he really seemed to take a shine to her as pretty much every day we received a present on the back doorstep. And it varied, too. For the first few days we received mice. Then we received a rat, well, the head and tail of a rat, and then for the remainder of the time we received rabbits. For about 4 days we received baby bunnies, and on the last day he obviously caught the mother as we were gifted the head and hind legs of a fully grown rabbit. Needless to say our French girl was not impressed with her gifts. Poor cat, he had gone to such effort for her (we never received that many gifts in such a short space of time again, nor did we receive a rabbit, either!!) :pac:

Lillylilly

morganafay wrote: »

Watch out for neighbour's tom cats coming in your cat flap to get to the kitten before she's spayed!

Good advice, thanks for that. Couldn't cope with any more kittens at the mo!

convert wrote: »

We had a cat a few years back who used to leave us presents on the doorstep every so often. However, we had a French girl (who lived in a city) who came to stay with us for two weeks as part of an exchange and he really seemed to take a shine to her as pretty much every day we received a present on the back doorstep. And it varied, too. For the first few days we received mice. Then we received a rat, well, the head and tail of a rat, and then for the remainder of the time we received rabbits. For about 4 days we received baby bunnies, and on the last day he obviously caught the mother as we were gifted the head and hind legs of a fully grown rabbit. Needless to say our French girl was not impressed with her gifts. Poor cat, he had gone to such effort for her (we never received that many gifts in such a short space of time again, nor did we receive a rabbit, either!!) :pac:

Oh my God. That is all.

Whispered

I have 2 indoor/outdoor kitties. The male has never caught anything except for bringing home a baby rabbit, in perfect health, carried by the nape of the neck and placed gently at my feet in the kitchen bunny was fine and was released in the nearest fields. He also brought home a live bird once which also was fine when he put it down, although obviously shaken. He lived in my box room for a night so I could be sure it was ok and he woke me up singing out the window so I opened it and out he flew. Out of ten years, I think 2 healthy pressies is not too bad.

The female is a different story, I have dead rabbits, rats, mice, frogs, birds on a regular basis. She's a right little hunter and you'd never tell by looking at her. She looks really sweet and cuddly. I took the following steps to limit damage.

They are allowed out about an hour before treat time so I know they will come back when she is called. Limiting their time outside.

The back garden has a lot of overgrown parts for them to lounge around in and explore and a chest level platform for them to sunbathe on. They rarely bother to leave it.

They are not allowed out around dawn or dusk. (they are at their most dangerous). When we have hatching birds, they are only out with constant supervision.

They are well fed and get tasty treats along with their food to give some variety, I'm not sure if it works, but I would hope if they are not bored of thier food they might not bother trying to kill things to eat.

I free feed now, cats don't naturally have "meals" and snack around 30 times a day. So their normal kibble is down most of the time. Their "meal" times is usually a treat like a sardine or a piece of chicken.

I play with them a lot, hopefully it gives them their hunting and pouncing fix before they go out.

I encourage them to be lazy when I'm not playing with them, not that it takes a lot of encouragement! Nice kitty cushions all over the place. specially on window sills and other places they can lie around and watch things happening. Trying to make their house more comfortable and interesting than being out hunting.

I'm sure I could take further steps but I think this is a good compromise to keeping them indoors all the time. I've had no pressies in about a year so we're doing well.

padimus2

A couple of years ago myself and the GF lived in Rathmines, A stray cat lived in our Garden and used to climb in the window to say hello every so often, After a few weeks we got used to her and began feeding her, after that she turned up every evening to get some food. When we were home in the evenings we would leave the window open and she would come in to curl up on the sofa beside us, one evening we heard an almighty howl from her and she climbed in the window with a hot dog! She ran over to us with the hot dog in her mouth and laid it in front of us, proud as punch. She did the same thing a few weeks later with a chicken fillet! We later moved out of the apartment and brought her with us to our new place after getting her neutered etc, She's turned out to be a lovely pet but extremely shy of strangers

planetX

usually my presents are mice, often just heads without brains. Sometimes alive as an extra special treat (I think the cat likes to watch the chaos that follows). About a year ago we got a few bats, mostly released unharmed. Now that cat has got older and fatter, he seems to have lost his bat-hunting ability thank goodness.
My long-haired cat is always bringing tiny slugs into the house - they hitch a ride in her fur. I find them all over the place:mad:

storm2811

Shrews,constant shrews:pac:

Caught 6 in one day a while back,no idea where she finds em because I've never seen a shrew around here before!

One of my dogs brought home this lovely baby rabbit a few weeks ago,dead unfortunately:(
But I looked out the window and seen him with the rabbit,looked back 2 mins later and it was gone!
He either ate it or the other dog stole it off him:pac:

buckshotbrolan

storm2811 wrote: »

Shrews,constant shrews:pac:

Caught 6 in one day a while back,no idea where she finds em because I've never seen a shrew around here before!

One of my dogs brought home this lovely baby rabbit a few weeks ago,dead unfortunately:(
But I looked out the window and seen him with the rabbit,looked back 2 mins later and it was gone!
He either ate it or the other dog stole it off him:pac:

You let your dog out unattended to roam? Im not having a pop here but it annoys me how people can be so flippant about there cats bringing wild birds home. Song birds are in a decline and i have seen cats killing them for fun and then just discarding them. If ur cat is bringing you presents then maybe its time to keep them in. Cheers.

yellowlabrador

I once left the boyfriend in charge of feeding the cat for a couple of days, while I was on holiday. He forgot. As a result the cat started bringing mice, rabbits, rats and squirrels. She would wait until he was asleep and then deposit them on his chest.
He was furious and I explained to him that the cat must have thought he was hungry as there seemed to be no food in the house.
Needless to say that relationship didn't last.

Alicat

Our cats (now deceased) used to bring back loads of shrews, mice and birds.

One cat caught a frog, and left in lying on the floor in the conservatory. When my mum picked up the 'body' it leapt out of her hand! She almost had a heart attack.

Another cat used to catch rats all the time. My mum (again!) was going out to the conservatory very early in the morning (it was still kinda dark) to feed the cats. She stepped out in her bare feet and felt something hairy, soft, wet and squishy underfoot! A great big dirty rat! Still makes me shudder. She always wore shoes after that!

PirateShampoo

Mice both dead and alive, shrews, rats and on 1 occasion a Juvenal hare.

He also has the strange habit of biting off the head, paws and tales of the rats and eating the body and leaving the remains in a nice neat pile.

mymo

The oddest so far have been, washing up sponges, hair scrunchies and a lacy thong:eek:
I didn't ask him where he got them(or ask the neighbours if they were missing any undies) and disposed of them in much the same way I do the odd rat or mouse.
We do get frogs occasionally, always alive, sometimes in the dogs water bowl.
Never a mark on them so we release them in a safe place.

morganafay

convert wrote: »

Then we received a rat, well, the head and tail of a rat

Oh yeah, I've found the tail of a rat too. And I think rats are kinda cute, but don't really like the tails . . .

storm2811

buckshotbrolan wrote: »

You let your dog out unattended to roam? Im not having a pop here but it annoys me how people can be so flippant about there cats bringing wild birds home. Song birds are in a decline and i have seen cats killing them for fun and then just discarding them. If ur cat is bringing you presents then maybe its time to keep them in. Cheers.

Eh yes,my two dogs live outside,and they don't go killing sheep or calves or anything,the only time they've caught and killed anything was that rabbit.

My cat doesn't catch birds,and sometimes you cannot keep them in all the time,e.g if they are in heat(which my cat currently is) they will go and spray all over your furniture and everywhere,it's a constant cleaning job if you keep them in and they are in heat.

morganafay

buckshotbrolan wrote: »

Im not having a pop here but it annoys me how people can be so flippant about there cats bringing wild birds home. Song birds are in a decline and i have seen cats killing them for fun and then just discarding them. If ur cat is bringing you presents then maybe its time to keep them in. Cheers.

I don't think people are being flippant exactly, just that they accept that it's a cats' natural instinct and will sometimes happen. Death is natural, and predators are natural.

I know what you mean, but I really don't like if my cats kill animals. They very rarely do (only 2 of the 5 do, and only maybe a mouse or small bird every few months) and I'd prefer if they didn't, but they are just doing what's natural to them. They're not killing them for fun, well they don't know what they are doing really, it's instinct. Maybe they have to keep their hunting skills sharp in case they are ever left to fend for themselves. I really think cats don't trust that you'll keep looking after them, the same way dogs seem to.

I also think that killing birds is no worse than killing mice and rats (just my opinion). Also cats eat meat, whether it's beef or chicken or wild birds. And those could have been the slower or sickly birds that they caught. And even if they don't eat it, well something will, like flies or something, so it's not exactly going to waste. (Flies are important too.)

I definitely understand what you mean, but it's easier to say to keep a cat in than it is to do it.


Oh and there are already a few threads about cats killing birds, so maybe it'd be best to discuss it there, because when loads of people start arguing about it, it gets really annoying. What you said was pretty respectful and a good point, but some people get really immature in these threads.

morganafay

mymo wrote: »

The oddest so far have been, washing up sponges, /QUOTE]

One of my kittens used to steal make up sponges and run away with them!

morganafay

storm2811 wrote: »

My cat doesn't catch birds,and sometimes you cannot keep them in all the time,e.g if they are in heat(which my cat currently is) they will go and spray all over your furniture and everywhere,it's a constant cleaning job if you keep them in and they are in heat.

Is your cat male or female? (I don't think males come into heat? but some people say they do) If it's male then you could just get it neutered to stop it spraying. And if it's female I guess you want kittens then.

ghost_ie

Over the years my father's cats have brought home many presents - mainly mice and the occasional bird and shrew. There was one memorable occasion when one of the cats brought home a very nice trout. Ma met a neighbour the next day who was wondering where the fish she'd been preparing for her husband's dinner the day before had gone (it was summer, she'd gone to answer the phone and the kitchen window was open - came back to find the fish gone). Ma beat a hasty retreat without commenting.

Cats aren't the only ones to bring home presents, unfortunately. My youngest Jack Russell trotted happily in from the back garden last year with a baby sparrow in her mouth. The bird didn't have a mark on it but died of shock within minutes, unfortunately

storm2811

morganafay wrote: »

Is your cat male or female? (I don't think males come into heat? but some people say they do) If it's male then you could just get it neutered to stop it spraying. And if it's female I guess you want kittens then.

Female,getting her spayed asap though,just waiting for her to be not in heat!

morganafay

storm2811 wrote: »

Female,getting her spayed asap though,just waiting for her to be not in heat!

Oh that's good. I never knew females sprayed when in heat, that's just why I asked.

morganafay

My kitten has just started to hunt . . . bumblebees! She's always after them. :rolleyes: I think she will probably be a hunter when she's older because she hangs out with my other young cat who does hunt (not very good at it though!) I have no choice but for her to live outside though because I live with my parents. And anyway she gets far too hyper if she's inside for too long and she's very loud so she just meows to be let out.

storm2811

morganafay wrote: »

Oh that's good. I never knew females sprayed when in heat, that's just why I asked.

Oh it's really bad:pac:
She just meows and meows if we don't let her out,then decides to spray inside instead,so we have to let her out really!

I lol'd at the kitten catching bumble bees,sounds cute:pac:

The Sweeper

If she's in heat and you're letting her out, she'll get pregnant. If you're happy to have her spayed as soon as this heat is over, make the appointment and get it done. Otherwise she'll have a litter of kittens - it can stunt her growth if she's young, plus she may suffer complications in pregnancy and birth which will be very expensive to fix at the vet, plus then you'll have to find homes for the kittens or, if you're keeping them, pay for all their spaying and vaccinations too.

Additionally if she's attracting a lot of attention from toms, being in heat, she can be bitten or scratched during mating, and the bites especially expose her to the risk of feline AIDs and feline leukaemia.

Some vets won't spay a pregnant cat, so it's important to make the appointment now, for maybe a week's time when the heat is over, and consider keeping her in - it'll only be for a few days. A heat doesn't last that long, just a few days and she'll cycle out of heat again, but she'll cycle back into heat as quickly as two weeks later.

/edit to add I did see that you said you'd have her spayed asap, but just beware of some vets who won't do it if the cat is pregnant - hence make the appointment now for next week so you get around both the problem of her having another heat, plus the possibility of kittens.

Ticktactoe

Mice, rabbits and birds.
I was putting my foot in my boot one morning and there in the toe was a grown frog looking up at me. I let it out and it went on its merry way. I got a bit of a fright!

buckshotbrolan

morganafay wrote: »

I don't think people are being flippant exactly, just that they accept that it's a cats' natural instinct and will sometimes happen. Death is natural, and predators are natural.

I know what you mean, but I really don't like if my cats kill animals. They very rarely do (only 2 of the 5 do, and only maybe a mouse or small bird every few months) and I'd prefer if they didn't, but they are just doing what's natural to them. They're not killing them for fun, well they don't know what they are doing really, it's instinct. Maybe they have to keep their hunting skills sharp in case they are ever left to fend for themselves. I really think cats don't trust that you'll keep looking after them, the same way dogs seem to.

I also think that killing birds is no worse than killing mice and rats (just my opinion). Also cats eat meat, whether it's beef or chicken or wild birds. And those could have been the slower or sickly birds that they caught. And even if they don't eat it, well something will, like flies or something, so it's not exactly going to waste. (Flies are important too.)

I definitely understand what you mean, but it's easier to say to keep a cat in than it is to do it.


Oh and there are already a few threads about cats killing birds, so maybe it'd be best to discuss it there, because when loads of people start arguing about it, it gets really annoying. What you said was pretty respectful and a good point, but some people get really immature in these threads.

Hi yep i hear you thanks for a nice reply! It just seems like a lot of bragging is going on about the trophys that cats are bringing home. They are predators but not a natural one in our eco-system. I have friends who have cats and when this behaviour starts they are then kept in. If you carn't keep a cat in doors then you should question weather you should have one at all?

Im not here to start an argument, i would like to hear what else people have done to curb there cats behavior? I like cats but there is no way i could cope with one bringing dead/live vermin in the house for me to find.

storm2811

The Sweeper wrote: »

If she's in heat and you're letting her out, she'll get pregnant. If you're happy to have her spayed as soon as this heat is over, make the appointment and get it done. Otherwise she'll have a litter of kittens - it can stunt her growth if she's young, plus she may suffer complications in pregnancy and birth which will be very expensive to fix at the vet, plus then you'll have to find homes for the kittens or, if you're keeping them, pay for all their spaying and vaccinations too.

Additionally if she's attracting a lot of attention from toms, being in heat, she can be bitten or scratched during mating, and the bites especially expose her to the risk of feline AIDs and feline leukaemia.

Some vets won't spay a pregnant cat, so it's important to make the appointment now, for maybe a week's time when the heat is over, and consider keeping her in - it'll only be for a few days. A heat doesn't last that long, just a few days and she'll cycle out of heat again, but she'll cycle back into heat as quickly as two weeks later.

/edit to add I did see that you said you'd have her spayed asap, but just beware of some vets who won't do it if the cat is pregnant - hence make the appointment now for next week so you get around both the problem of her having another heat, plus the possibility of kittens.

Yeah I'll be booking the appointment today for as soon as possible because she seems to have calmed down now anyway.
If she is pregnant though I know people who are looking for kittens at the mo so hopefully it'll all turn out for the best!
Thanks.:)

kylith

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/05/rig_your_home_cat_flap_to_unlock_via_image_recognition_of_your_cat.html

Lillylilly

buckshotbrolan wrote: »

It just seems like a lot of bragging is going on about the trophys that cats are bringing home. They are predators but not a natural one in our eco-system.

If you carn't keep a cat in doors then you should question weather you should have one at all?

Im not here to start an argument, i would like to hear what else people have done to curb there cats behavior? I like cats but there is no way i could cope with one bringing dead/live vermin in the house for me to find.

OP here. I grew up in a family where the cats came and went as they pleased. I waited until I had a house as opposed to an apartment to allow the kittens have some freedom. The vet explained that as a small kitten, if the cat made a great escape every time the door opened, or sat by the door crying, they would want to be outdoor cats. Both our cats made it clear from the start that they like playing in the garden. They only go out for an hour or two a day. I don't think it would be fair to keep them in against their will. I also don't have the space to fill the house with big scratching posts and climbing frames. Cats have this naturally outside. I also think that it is in their natural make up to hunt. Even though they aren't living in the wild, it's still their natural instinct. I don't think I should keep them imprisoned in the house because I feel uncomfortable when they bring something home! It's natural. I also don't know how it would be possible to keep a cat indoors all the time. Even if they are indoors at the time, once a window opens, they make a run for it!!

mymo

If you keep cats in at dawn and dusk, put bells on them, and keep them well fed you can minimize the hunting. I also keep mine in at night and when they do go out I call them back in after about 10 mins so they're not usually out long. One of mine is bright orange and despite his best stalking efforts never gets near birds, he also never leaves my garden, he's too lazy. My other cat is a rescue and obviously spent most of his life outside before we got him, but he is getting better at coming in when called. He is the hunter and gets mice and rats occasionally, but no birds so far. As for the washing up sponges, hair scrunchies and (once only) lacy undies, well I don't think they're species in decline.:D
And I do take this seriously, and have tried to cat proof my garden, and keep them in as much as possible. I love watching birds in the garden and hate to see them killed.

Victor

convert wrote: »

We had a cat a few years back who used to leave us presents on the doorstep every so often. However, we had a French girl (who lived in a city) who came to stay with us for two weeks as part of an exchange and he really seemed to take a shine to her as pretty much every day we received a present on the back doorstep. And it varied, too. For the first few days we received mice. Then we received a rat, well, the head and tail of a rat, and then for the remainder of the time we received rabbits. For about 4 days we received baby bunnies, and on the last day he obviously caught the mother as we were gifted the head and hind legs of a fully grown rabbit. Needless to say our French girl was not impressed with her gifts. Poor cat, he had gone to such effort for her (we never received that many gifts in such a short space of time again, nor did we receive a rabbit, either!!) :pac:

I think two possibilities.

She was new and had to be impressed

She was new, so had to be taught how to hunt.

morganafay

buckshotbrolan wrote: »

Hi yep i hear you thanks for a nice reply! It just seems like a lot of bragging is going on about the trophys that cats are bringing home. They are predators but not a natural one in our eco-system. I have friends who have cats and when this behaviour starts they are then kept in. If you carn't keep a cat in doors then you should question weather you should have one at all?

Im not here to start an argument, i would like to hear what else people have done to curb there cats behavior? I like cats but there is no way i could cope with one bringing dead/live vermin in the house for me to find.

Oh I'm definitely not bragging. I was more just saying what a surprise it was for them to catch unusual animals or how horrible it was to find dead rats, etc. I don't like them killing animals at all, but I don't mind it too much since I believe it is natural to hunt. (I really don't like animals being killed, I don't even eat meat, but think cats have to eat meat).

I definitely understand what you mean, but I think it's right to leave cats outdoors (if it is safe for the cat to do that) and I wouldn't like to keep them in. They're happier and healthier outdoors, like nearly all animals. There have been a few arguments about this on here, but I just know that for me it feels right to let them outside.

I know they're not natural predators in this environment, but I really don't think they harm the eco-system that much. Surely a lot more birds are killed by things like cars, pollution, people, etc. And I think cats probably only kill a small percentage. Maybe I'm wrong, I just can't imagine that they are destroying the wild life population.

I did have a problem that one of my cats was killing a dove everyday (my neighbours doves that were left fly around) so I put a bell on her and she stopped. After a while I took the bell off and she didn't start killing them again.

morganafay

Lillylilly wrote: »

OP here. I grew up in a family where the cats came and went as they pleased. I waited until I had a house as opposed to an apartment to allow the kittens have some freedom. The vet explained that as a small kitten, if the cat made a great escape every time the door opened, or sat by the door crying, they would want to be outdoor cats. Both our cats made it clear from the start that they like playing in the garden. They only go out for an hour or two a day. I don't think it would be fair to keep them in against their will. I also don't have the space to fill the house with big scratching posts and climbing frames. Cats have this naturally outside. I also think that it is in their natural make up to hunt. Even though they aren't living in the wild, it's still their natural instinct. I don't think I should keep them imprisoned in the house because I feel uncomfortable when they bring something home! It's natural. I also don't know how it would be possible to keep a cat indoors all the time. Even if they are indoors at the time, once a window opens, they make a run for it!!

I definitely agree with this. I'm sure some cats are fine indoors, but I had an indoor cat (I lived in Dublin for a few years) and he was miserable, even though he had never known the outdoors. He was incredibly hyper and badly behaved, and would do bold things that he knew he wasn't meant to, just to get attention. He was a lovely cat, but wasn't very happy. And when I brought him home for a visit to the countryside, he'd sit on the windowsill looking out at the other cats and so badly wanted to be outside. He used to run out the door and jump out windows, even going out an upstairs window.

Then I moved back home and even though I was worried about him adjusting to the outdoors, I decided it was in his best interests to go outdoors for part of the day. And it completely changed him. He became less hyper straight away, was really calm. He was always a lovely friendly cat, but my parents thought he wasn't because he was hyper and would play attack people. But once he was outdoors they agreed he was really friendly. He was just so happy to be outside.

But then I have other cats who love to be inside all day and would only go outside to use the toilet if it was their choice! But I make them stay out on nice days, because it's good for them. 2 of my cats are nervous inside though, and feel trapped and want to get out.

So I've seen myself how some cats just are not happy inside, no matter what you do. I know that they kill some wildlife, but I think the cat's welfare is more important than that. I really believe the same with dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, etc. they should be left outside for part of the day, if you have a garden that's safe for them. Pets should be given the most natural environment you can.

morganafay

mymo wrote: »

If you keep cats in at dawn and dusk, put bells on them, and keep them well fed you can minimize the hunting.

Yeah that's a good idea.

Mine always have food available, and they rarely hunt. One is too old to, one is blind in one eye so has never hunted, one is just a kitten and the other two hunt a little, but like I said, only maybe one small bird or mouse a month. It's unfortunate, but I accept it as part of having cats.

When I have my own house then the cats will be in for most of the time anyway, but with the choice to go out during the day . . . and since cats love comfort, I imagine they'll spend most of their day curled up on the couch. But I think I would let them make the choice.

Or I might try to have a cat-proof fence, or some large enclosure for them to go outside.

Mink

My cat'snever actually caught & brought home anything.

She will catch spiders who crawl across the kitchen floor. She tends to nose-butt them, killing them & then eats them. It's really gross to watch as she keepts chewing the spider up & spitting it out & chewing it again. Sometimes she just leaves a heap of spider legs & spit for me.

morganafay

Oh yeah, my cats attack daddy long legseseses on the windows and they lose a few legs and are still alive with only 3 or 4 legs, poor guys. They seem to be fine though.

And I once saw my cat swallow a butterfly, that was kinda disgusting.

planetX

I brag about my cats hunting skills because I live in a rental infested with mice and rats. My cats are fantastic, they kill at least two mice a night, AND they enjoy eating them. I'm not happy when they kill a bird, and do everything I can to prevent that. It happens, but the mice way outnumber the birds. I'm really proud of them for doing such a good job

planetX

morganafay wrote: »

Oh yeah, my cats attack daddy long legseseses on the windows and they lose a few legs and are still alive with only 3 or 4 legs, poor guys. They seem to be fine though.

And I once saw my cat swallow a butterfly, that was kinda disgusting.

one of my cats has started bringing in the most revolting enormous moths. That's something you don't want to see:(

morganafay

I'm glad that my cats might keep mice and rats away from my garden (thought they don't kill rats since we moved to this house and they rarely kill mice, but maybe they deter them?) because rats and mice could easily get into my hutches and sheds and kill my bunnies and guinea pigs. So I'm glad they keep them away anyway.

dan_d

My cat doesn't bring stuff home, so much as play with the stuff that gets into the house. She loves sitting on the windowsill, playing with flies...keeps putting her paw on them, then taking it off. We do find the carcasses of flies and daddy long legs everywhere, it's not good..! She not the most light-footed of animals, so we frequently hear her thundering around the top of the house chasing blue bottles...frightens the wits out of any visitors we have!!:rolleyes:
Btw I'm reliably informed that they bring you home presents when they're well-fed and happy...it's a sign that they're contented kitties!!

morganafay

The good thing about having a cat in your bedroom is they'll get rid of any spiders of flies in there . . . I can't stand a spider being in my room when I want to sleep.

The dog I had when I was a kid used to bring back stuff, like socks, dog biscuits, bones, rich tea biscuits, crow feathers I tried to train her to stay in the garden but there was too much temptation by all the treats the neighbours gave her (and the socks she stole from their washing basket) so we put up a fence.

And the dogs I have now, I let them wander off into the field behind the house (not all the time, just sometimes to have a wander around, I usually go with them, or keep an eye on them and call them back if they go too far, they don't run away or cause trouble), and they've come back with things like bones and slices of bread I think the woman who feeds one of my cats probably gave them to them!

convert

Victor wrote: »

I think two possibilities.

She was new and had to be impressed

She was new, so had to be taught how to hunt.

It was probably the latter... She was a city girl through and through and not very impressed with 'country' life... I don't think the cat had any chance of teaching her how to hunt; if she wouldn't walk through a puddle wearing a pair of wellies there was no way he was going to teach her how to hunt!!

galah

had a good few laughs here (seriously- cats bringing sandwiches home? Brilliant! I wonder if one could train them...;-))

We get the odd mouse, loads of bumblebees (cat number 2 is a little dim...), butterflies & moths, and random other insects. Autumn will be interesting I think.

At the rate they're learning though, one day, I fully expect the two of them to drag a cow home from across the field and push it through the cat flap...;-)