King's Kid Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I'm wondering if we should get a cat and keep it in our basement and garage (allowed outdoors too) to keep rodents in control. It would be kind of a barn cat. We live near woods and have dozens of chipmunks just outside our house. Also, when cold weather hits, mice come in to make their homes in our cellar. There used to be neighborhood cats which kept the rodent population in check, but the owners have moved and the population is growing. Our neighbor told us that before the cats came to the area, there was even a rat problem! :eek: The problem is that I'm allergic to cats and can't have one in the house. The basement is warm enough because the furnace is there. My dds would love to have a cat, but understand that it wouldn't be allowed in the house. We do have house pets: a dog, a rabbit and 3 parakeets. I've discussed it with dh and he's open to it. Has anyone on these boards ever done this? Would love some advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I would get a known mouser who likes the unpampered life. Some are, some ain't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Yes. We hired our kitten Mew to eat scorpions. We feed her (light) and expect her to eat her weight in scorpions. We pay her in kibble and cuddles. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 My aunt lives in the country and she has a cat for this very reason. She only feeds it once a day and lets it eat mice and bugs for the rest of her meals. The cat only stays outside or in the barn. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 we tried to get a cat for that purpose....failed miserably. I've considered it recently again but.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Get a female from a known hunter line (ask at a farm) most domestic moggies don't cut it! We have 1 ratter cat and 2 useless bundles of fluff. (but very dear bundles of fluff! ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherLynn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 We just gave two of our EXCELLENT mousers and all their kittens to a horse ranch for this reason. All my cats have been great mousers. But, I agree, don't get a pampered one. They don't do so hot at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Cats are great at keeping rodents away. They also help keep away bugs and snakes. We put food out for some of the feral cats in our area so they will hunt in our yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Yes, we have friends that have cats for that purpose. Call the local shelters and see if they have a barn cat population or a vet that deals with livestock and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King's Kid Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 we tried to get a cat for that purpose....failed miserably. I've considered it recently again but.... Why do you think your cat failed miserably? I was thinking that if we get a youngish female (I know the females are the hunters) it might work . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I was going to mention scorpions too. My husband and I grew up in Arizona and cats were great for scorpions and centipedes. My sister-in-law recently moved to our old home town and was terrified of the scorpions (she has three children under 6), I told her to get a cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisasaysto Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The animal shelter in our city won't allow someone to adopt a cat if they say they want it solely to be a mouser. There is a question related to that on the form a person has to fill out to adopt. Just letting you know that there's a possibility you could be asked about that if you try to get a shelter cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabelle's Mom Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I have 8 cats. One is an indoor/outdoor cat (he showed up on our doorstep and was already an outdoor guy, so he insists on the dual life). The outdoor cat especially is a great hunter--outdoors. The indoor cats can and have on occasion played with and killed (probably by too vigorous play!) the occasional mouse. But the last couple of years we've periodically had mouse problems. Don't know why. But I do know that a cat in itself won't guarantee freedom from mice. And keeping one only in the basement will not keep mice out of your house as they will just stay out of reach of the cat. I think you will just end up with another issue in your home--allergies, litter, and a very unhappy cat. It does sound kind of mean to imprison the cat in the basement with little interaction with the family and probably not even windows to look out. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hey There, For hunting, isn't it http://asianbamboobengals.net/?gclid=CLjRgvXhv5sCFSMSagod0m9BAg that are suppose to be awesome for hunting critters? Also, http://www.angelfire.com/mt/yowie/pages/allergic.htm for a bit of information about allergies with cats. I don't know that I'd get a cat if I was allergic to it, unless I could find one that I wasn't... I have to say that I'm slightly allergic to ours, but not enough to not have her. After all, I'm allergic to a lot of things. Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We have a male cat that is our resident mouser. He is such a happy boy! But he is not a loving cat like our other three male cats. He wants to work and sleep. We just let him do his thing. Go for it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.MacGyver Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We have 2 cats that DH picked up at the local shelter. They were both terribly scrawny and sickly (so we assumed that they were either strays or were neglected). The male only catches birds and moles (which DH loves about him - the mole part), and the female catches mice all of the time. However, we still tend to have mouse problems sometimes. The cats mostly live in the basement/drive in garage with a kitty door. The dog sleeps down there at night with them, and whenever we are outside they trot along with us and get tonz of interaction. It gets very cold here in the winter, but the basement is semi-heated, and they have many cozy spots and a rottweiler to cuddle with. I believe our shelter has "barn cats" that you can adopt which are also cheaper than other cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King's Kid Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 I have 8 cats. One is an indoor/outdoor cat (he showed up on our doorstep and was already an outdoor guy' date=' so he insists on the dual life). The outdoor cat especially is a great hunter--outdoors. The indoor cats can and have on occasion played with and killed (probably by too vigorous play!) the occasional mouse. But the last couple of years we've periodically had mouse problems. Don't know why. But I do know that a cat in itself won't guarantee freedom from mice. And keeping one only in the basement will not keep mice out of your house as they will just stay out of reach of the cat. I think you will just end up with another issue in your home--allergies, litter, and a very unhappy cat. It does sound kind of mean to imprison the cat in the basement with little interaction with the family and probably not even windows to look out. Linda[/quote'] IF we got one (and I emphasize "IF"), it would not go without a great deal of affection, esp. by my younger one who's been begging for a cat for years. And fear not, the cat wouldn't be "imprisoned" in our basement since it would be an outdoor/in-basement-garage cat. I imagine it would be a lot happier than cats who are "imprisoned" inside a house. ;) Finally, I wouldn't expect any cat (except maybe Supercat?) to get rid of every mouse in the area. It's just that with no cats patrolling our neighborhood, the rodent population is increasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Our cats would never kill anything. We had a few mice in the house once, while we were doing some remodeling and the contractors kept leaving the doors wide open :glare:. One night, I saw a mouse on the kitchen floor and two of the cats were sitting right there, looking at it. I swear they thought it was cute. No chasing. No hissing. No spitting. No getting up to investigate. So if you get a cat, prepare for the possibility that he or she will have no interest in hunting, and assume you're getting a nice new pet that might help with the rodents. If the cat turns out to be a worthless hunter, what will you do with her? Finding a new home for a cat isn't easy, so you need to consider this to be a long-term thing. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We got a young stray cat from a friend and she has been a great mouser for over a year now. We do let her in the house, because our problem was mice in the house (EW). If there are any farms nearby, I'd see if they have any cats to get rid of. The farm we visit in the summer is always trying to get people to take cats home with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We had cats growing up, who were indoor/outdoor. We never owned a litter box - they were allowed access to the basement if they wanted, through a broken windowpane and a plank ramp, but they were always out at night and so didn't need a box indoors. One of our cats was a great hunter outdoors, but when indoors she was on vacation. Showed no interest even if the darn mouse was sitting in her cat food eating it. But she caught tons of stuff outdoors. We currently have only indoor cats (hubby insists, and he cleans the boxes :)), and our best hunter is actually a male. He catches mice, and has even caught bats and flying squirrels (yes, indoors :glare:). Anyway, if you had free access to the basement or another sheltered area, this would work. It might do to find a cat that has already grown up outside - barn cat or feral. Then they would have been taught to hunt by their mother. Our good indoor hunter was a feral kitten, which could account for his hunting skills. Domestic cats are solitary, they don't live in prides like lions, so all cats male and female have to hunt to survive if on their own. If you're looking for animal control and not a cuddly pet, many feral cats can be enticed to live in your yard if you just feed them a bit. If it is "yours", though, it would be still be a good idea to spay/neuter anything you adopt, even if it just lives in your yard, or you could end up with a population explosion. :tongue_smilie: We have tons of feral cats in our yard, as we have a crazy neighbor lady who feeds them. Too bad you don't live close, we've captured many kittens and given them out for adoption. Dh was once on a mission to capture as many as possible to get them spayed/neutered and get it under control, but the tide is against us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 And fear not' date=' the cat wouldn't be "imprisoned" in our basement since it would be an outdoor/in-basement-garage cat. I imagine it would be a lot happier than cats who are "imprisoned" inside a house. ;)[/quote'] Here's the thing, cats like to be inside, if that fits with their personality. My cat wants to go in the yard, make sure nothing's out there that she should hiss away, and then all 10 lbs of her wants to come curl up inside. If that's the way they were raised, there's a good chance they'd want nothing to do with outdoors. But, I've heard that some cats don't like to be inside. In cold weather, I'd think that most cats would enjoy warmth. If you're allergic to cats, you need to consider HOW allergic. It's usually the cat dander, which rubs on to whomever visits the cats...which they can bring up to you...which next time you hold your little one...can have you in fits of sneezing. Or, are you more like me, which means that even though it's a little bad...you could handle it? Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 (edited) You might also consider getting it neutered/spayed. Our neighbor's wife is originally from England and hates (terrified of?) mice with a passion. So they get a cat or two for the mice, don't spay/neuter, and next thing you know there are cats all ... over ... the ... place. (We live in the woods.) Their house is a mile down our gravel road (one empty house between) and their millions of cats even wander down to our house at night! We caught one once in a Hav-a-hart trap. One eye gouged out, scrawny, and wild as could be. We had to use leather work gloves to handle the cage, it was so wild. When we drive past their house, we have to creep for fear of squashing one of those cats. And when you stand in their yard, there are cats all over the place ... mating! Yuk. And when you sit on their porch, guess what. It reeks of cat urine. I think they also had a flea problem. Several years ago, about 10 of their cats just dropped dead rather suddenly. I suspect another neighbor poisoned them, somehow. He lives closer to the cat neighbor than we do and he apparently had cats day in and day out and got fed up with it. They would come down to his house and try to fight with his one, neutered, male cat. Cat neighbor finally tried to catch some of them to take them for rabies shots and spaying; but some of them were so wild by then, he never did get them all. And he STILL has a yard full of wildish cats. Anyway, we actually own 3 cats (2 spayed, 1 neutered) and we put in a pet door for them to go and come as they please. I've noticed they tend to stay inside more if it's very cold or raining. They all bring in dead things from time to time - birds, mice, moles, flying squirrels, etc. Our male cat even killed a full size gray squirrel once. With the pet door, they can go out at night when they feel like it and you don't have to worry about getting up to let them out at all hours. Good for the cats and the people. And we've never had a problem with other animals using the pet door - except for a bear. He reached his paw in and left a knick in the side of our piano with one of his claws. (We had the bag of cat food sitting too close to the pet door and he smelled it and was trying to grab it. :blush: He also ripped off the plastic door part. Twice.) Also, if you want them to kill things, don't leave food out. Feed them at set times, every day, and don't overfeed. I'm also allergic to cats, but only if I touch them and then touch my eyes. They swell up for days if I do that. So dc do everything cat related. I never touch them unless I'm planning to run scrub my hands immediately. This way they can stay in the house. Your daughter is probably capable of doing all the cat related stuff. Another interesting thing has been the difference between the males and females. I read somewhere that the males would favor the male people in the house. So when we went to get the third cat, I got a male. It's fascinating to watch. The cat does seem to favor the males (mostly ds's - dh is not much of an animal person). But our ds's really seem to favor HIM. He's much more athletic than our female cats; and they roll him around and play roughly with him and throw him up in the air and catch him and they all love it - even the cat. :) Our dd's seem to prefer the female cats because they will sit in dd's laps or lay on their tables while they do their school. HTH, Kathy Edited July 6, 2009 by ksva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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