Field Mouse (was - field mouse or baby rat ?)

ifconfig

Our cat caught a rodent (still alive but dosy).
I've attached a photo.
I estimate the creature was between 5-6cm long and you can see the tail.

Is this a field mouse or infant rat species ?

-ifc

kildare.17hmr

Looks like a mouse to me

ifconfig

That will be a relief to my wife... though, to be honest.. having the cat(s) around helps anyway.
Any other takers ?

-ifc

christmas2012

haha @ cat in the background is he disinterested or what? dunno ... anyway looks like a field mouse

ifconfig

Not disinterested at all.
that was a still frame.
The cat was tormenting poor fellow. by bringing his paw in and turning him over repeatedly... not in a frantic way but in a cool psychopathic way :eek:
I've left them at it.
I could have given the rodent an easier time by carefully removing him using a shovel over to the neighbouring farm/field, I guess.

Any more takers.. definitely field mouse.
The comment from the house was.. maybe was too big to be a little field mouse.
We are used to seeing the cats with deag pygmy shrews (they've taken about 10 of those in as many weeks to our doorstep. This is the first "mouse"/whatever)..

Deer Hunter DL

ifconfig wrote: »

Not disinterested at all.
that was a still frame.
The cat was tormenting poor fellow. by bringing his paw in and turning him over repeatedly... not in a frantic way but in a cool psychopathic way :eek:
I've left them at it.
I could have given the rodent an easier time by carefully removing him using a shovel over to the neighbouring farm/field, I guess.

Any more takers.. definitely field mouse.
The comment from the house was.. maybe was too big to be a little field mouse.
We are used to seeing the cats with dead pygmy shrews (they've taken about 10 of those in as many weeks to our doorstep. This is the first "mouse"/whatever)..

its a field mouse

this is proof of how much damage cats can do roaming in the wild , they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses, cats get shot on site on our farm , pygmy shrews are a protected species and have bother enough from natural predators with out cats killing them, please keep a better eye on your cat as they do have a devastating impact on wildlife

Galwayguy35

Deer Hunter DL wrote: »

its a field mouse

this is proof of how much damage cats can do roaming in the wild , they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses, cats get shot on site on our farm , pygmy shrews are a protected species and have bother enough from natural predators with out cats killing them, please keep a better eye on your cat as they do have a devastating impact on wildlife

So you don't like household pets then I take it.

Traonach

Deer Hunter DL wrote: »

its a field mouse

this is proof of how much damage cats can do roaming in the wild , they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses, cats get shot on site on our farm , pygmy shrews are a protected species and have bother enough from natural predators with out cats killing them, please keep a better eye on your cat as they do have a devastating impact on wildlife

The OP is hardly going to shoot/kill his own cat.

kildare.17hmr

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

So you don't like household pets then I take it.

:rolleyes:

Where did you read that exactly?

If they're under control fair enough, but the way cats are left to roam is a disgrace, they annihilate loads of nests around here.

ZX7R

Maby all humans should be shot we are the worst invasive species,we kill more species,than all invasive species put together.Cat have been in ireland for nearly 1000 years ,they were introduced by the nomans,most or the natural preadtors of birds and small rodents have been hunted and killed by hunter famers ect ect because they see them as pests,so the cats are only keeping the balance...

op. its a field mouse

ifconfig

ZX7R - a man after my own heart. Total concur with your views regarding natural predators.

to other posters : I really just posted this to identify the rodent and to be sure it wasn't a rat.
I could have put down BASF/Storm in nooks and cranniesbut that would have risk poisoning other creatures.
Instead I let nature take its course and I am proud of the cat.

Regarding, elimination of humans .. perhaps just the subspecies trollus trollicus , an unprotected species

-ifc

kildare.17hmr

Your proud of your cat for killing a protected species that we all have a duty to protect? If your cats are killing them you should really try stop it. There was nothing trolling about DHDLs post

ifconfig

I am proud that the cat hunted a mouse.
It is natural and part of its instinct in the natural order of things.
As for it having killed pygmy shrews - if you have any practical advice on how to stop it from hunting such creatures I am all ears.

I could lock the cat indoors all day or use CCTV and Tasers I guess.

—Ian

Galwayguy35

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Where did you read that exactly?

The bit where he said that cats are killing all the fieldmice (proof of this would be good to verify his point) and the fact that he shoots them. I would have thought it was obvious but I'm happy to explain it to you.

Deer Hunter DL

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

So you don't like household pets then I take it.

I never said that , just because i shoot them doesn't mean i don't like them

ifconfig wrote: »

I am proud that the cat hunted a mouse.
It is natural and part of its instinct in the natural order of things.
As for it having killed pygmy shrews - if you have any practical advice on how to stop it from hunting such creatures I am all ears.

I could lock the cat indoors all day or use CCTV and Tasers I guess.

.

—Ian

you could take it out for a walk on a lead like a dog and not having it roam around everywhere as it likes, if a farmer sees a cat on his land he is within his right to shoot the cat so if you have farm land near by your cat might not come back some day, no need to be such a smart ass either thats just pure childish.

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

The bit where he said that cats are killing all the fieldmice (proof of this would be good to verify his point) and the fact that he shoots them. I would have thought it was obvious but I'm happy to explain it to you.

care to point out where in my post i said the above highlighted in bold ??

Galwayguy35

Deer Hunter DL wrote: »

care to point out where in my post i said the above highlighted in bold ??

The impression was given that cats were doing a lot of damage to rodent wildlife. I was raised on a farm as well so I have a fair idea of what the cats were catching as we always had them growing up.
They mostly caught rats which are vermin, rabbits, also vermin and the occasional shrew, no big deal really.

ifconfig

GalwayGuy and I are on the same page.
The idea of bringing cats out for a walk on a lead like a dog is , in my opinion, the more childish comment but really I didn't enter the forum to start a debate about the elimination of cats
I didn't need to mention shrews but I did out of just some collateral info to inform those who understood wildlife.

cats are natural hunters - I'm afraid we must live with it.
Your ancestors and mine had them on farms to keep rodents at bay from grain stores, etc.
We all take our chances with eccentric farmers taking a pot shot at a creature which isn't causing any disruption to the habitat.

There was a mature discussion on this on the Mooney show not too long ago.
Basically most breeds and cross breeds of dogs have been domesticated and have lost their natural urge for hunting.

Cats still have a wild hunting streak after many millenia and it ain't going away soon despite attempts to parade them around Crufts style.
In our case they are male cats which have been neutered at vet, innoculated ,etc. I'm not going to tag them like prisoners on parole

ZX7R

A new species of shrew has been found in ireland its called "the greater white toothed shrew" this shrew could have a bigger impact on our native pzgmy shrew as it is spreading at a great rate ,useing up the natural habitats of our shrew.
shurely they are a worse invasive species than cats.

planetX

my cats catch mice and baby rats - an easy way to tell the difference here is that the mice are gutted and eaten and the rats are never touched.

Cork boy 55

put on a bell on your cats collar!

Caseywhale

I called to my sisters house one day to find the cat nearly dead on the doorstep covered in blood.
I brought it to the vet who luckily brought her back to life - after removing shotgun pellets from her jaw and front legs.

There is a farmer nearby who often bragged about shooting cats on his land. I wonder if he knows why the door of his brand new car was kicked in outside the pub that night.

megafan

ifconfig wrote: »

We are used to seeing the cats with deag pygmy shrews (they've taken about 10 of those in as many weeks to our doorstep. This is the first "mouse"/whatever)..

Maybe this might help keep your cat under control & help preserve the wildlife? :rolleyes:

[URL="mhtml:{852A73D8-D91D-4EF6-A2D8-27794790D1DA}mid://00000437/!x-usc:http://www.invisiblefence.com/Find-the-Right-Solution/Cats"]http://www.invisiblefence.com/Find-the-Right-Solution/Cats[/URL]

ifconfig

Having read around I am not clear about the legal status regarding farmers shooting cats on their land.
I might check with Mayo pet rescue to see what their understanding is of it .. just to be fully informed.
The biggest risk is the road, to be honest.
As one other poster explained, most farmers like cats and have more things to be bothered about.

For the record, I do try to keep the cats indoors during dusk/dawn times as advised on Mooney show so as to reduce risk to small birds.
However, I cannot just have them sit in all day and get fat and not allow them some decent exercise, etc.

If there is a nest of shrews nearby then that is just unfortunate.
I doubt if the biggest risk to pygmy shrews are wandering cats in the bigger scheme of things.
I suspect competing breeds may place a bigger role in their survival as indicated by the other poster.

I was told that collars are a no-no because, in many cases cats have hung themselves when becoming entangled on trees with collars on ,etc.

ZX7R

Sadly cats are classed as vermin ,so famers are allowed to shoot them BUT they must kill them ,if they are wonded and wonder off there land they could face charges of animal cruety,happened to a famer where i live,he shot the wrong cat belonged to a garda.

Traonach

ifconfig wrote: »

I was told that collars are a no-no because, in many cases cats have hung themselves when becoming entangled on trees with collars on ,etc.

I have a quick release collar on my cat. It has two large bells (sounds like cow bells). If he catches it on something it releases so he won't get hung. He loses one around once every two months. He has only caught one bird in a year with it on, he used to catch a couple of birds a week. He doesn't mind it at all.

Deer Hunter DL

Caseywhale wrote: »

I called to my sisters house one day to find the cat nearly dead on the doorstep covered in blood.
I brought it to the vet who luckily brought her back to life - after removing shotgun pellets from her jaw and front legs.

There is a farmer nearby who often bragged about shooting cats on his land. I wonder if he knows why the door of his brand new car was kicked in outside the pub that night.

That is the most cowardly thing anyone could do, the farmer was in the wrong ok if he couldn't do the job right but at least have the guts to say it to his face :rolleyes:

Traonach wrote: »

I have a quick release collar on my cat. It has two large bells (sounds like cow bells). If he catches it on something it releases so he won't get hung. He loses one around once every two months. He has only caught one bird in a year with it on, he used to catch a couple of birds a week. He doesn't mind it at all.

That is a really good idea the cat is safe and it gives a fair warning to the wildlife too

@ifconfig please get one of these for your cat

Deer Hunter DL

ZX7R wrote: »

A new species of shrew has been found in ireland its called "the greater white toothed shrew" this shrew could have a bigger impact on our native pzgmy shrew as it is spreading at a great rate ,useing up the natural habitats of our shrew.
shurely they are a worse invasive species than cats.

yes the greater white toothed shrew is a big problem too we did a recent survey on these in work, this is one more reason to try and stop cats killing them as their under enough threats.

Please anyone with a cat put a safety collar with bell on it and help save our wildlife

kildare.17hmr

Caseywhale wrote: »

I called to my sisters house one day to find the cat nearly dead on the doorstep covered in blood.
I brought it to the vet who luckily brought her back to life - after removing shotgun pellets from her jaw and front legs.

There is a farmer nearby who often bragged about shooting cats on his land. I wonder if he knows why the door of his brand new car was kicked in outside the pub that night.

Bet ya felt real big after that pointless excercise :rolleyes:

ifconfig

Deer Hunter DL wrote: »

@ifconfig please get one of these for your cat

I will definitely consider it DHDL but only after I have consulted widely with reasonably minded individuals and not solely via recommendations from individuals who advocate

"they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses,"

Deer Hunter DL

ifconfig wrote: »

I will definitely consider it DHDL but only after I have consulted widely with reasonably minded individuals and not solely via recommendations from individuals who advocate

"they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses,"

Thank you for considering it anyway , and as for my comment "they should be all shot like any other invasive species if seen roaming any distance from houses"
i still stand by that, but if i seen a cat with bells on its collar on my farm i can honestly say i would not shot that cat just so as we are clear on that