Can I borrow your cat? archived

It will be a few months before I get my new Mouse Hunters business up an rolling. I will be renting proven six toe mousers for extermination work at a very reasonable rate, but it is taking time to find the six toe cats.

You can get those mouse trap - where they trap them alive and you take the mouse at the reservation or something . It's an option ...

A temporarily cat would only help for a bit ..

Have you considered adopting a cat of your own? Lots to be had at JAC.

joan_crystal said:

Have you considered adopting a cat of your own? Lots to be had at JAC.

There is never a shortage of cats in need of good homes,but only certain cats are good mousers. Usually females who were either born in the wild and taught to hunt by her mother, or cats who have had kittens outdoors, are the best mousers. My current dog is a better mouser than either of my cats.

If a cat is a passionate hunter it can probably clean up a problem in about three weeks. The cat needs to ferret out the holes/dens. She'll sit in the yard at dusk, watching and listening. She'll crawl under your house and behind outbuildings. She'll go over the fence to see what is next door. Our current cat eats at least two adult mice per day, cleaning up our neighbors houses as well. She's an invaluable member of our household. We haven't seen a mouse in 5 years. No exterminator can approach the efficacy of a motivated cat.

ETA Agree with Calliope 100% (was typing while she posted)

Our mouser, Fiona, is a natural. She's been running around the house at night now. We all know the cool weather may bring a new crop. As for certain cats being mousers, our late old lady, Bart, caught her first mouse at 16 after being an indoor kitty her whole life. She just stepped on it and let my husband take care of it

Having spent the first 58 years of my life believing I was "deathly" allergic to cats, I am now living with 2 cats and loving it. Always had a dog, still do, and I must say cats are also great pets. And no mice. The dog was a terrible "mouser". (I do take daily allergy medicine)

Our dog, though quick and strong, is no match for a mouse. She has torn apart some of the cat's mouse toys. Cat laughs at her

snowmom--- I am highly allergic to cats (other people's cats.) I am desensitized to my own. A couple of summers ago. I had a squirrel in the basement. I have one cat who weighs 17 pounds. I put both the cats in the basement (figuring they would tagteam the squirrel, as they do crickets and grasshoppers that have the misfortune to wind up in the house) They both looked at me like I was nuts. I think I clearly heard Sarabeth say : "We are not THOSE kind of cats!" I brought Gracie(my dog) to the basement, she flushed out the squirrel and chased him out the Bilco doors. Unfortunately she also wreaks havoc on the chipmunks, and bunny population in the yard, and has been known to chase off deer.

Leo lays on the kitchen floor with one eye open (ala Garfield) and watches any mice wander by with absolutely no interest. Had to get Jerry from Buckingham in. Cat was totally useless

I'm allergic to cats so unable to adopt, so I thought an annual cool weather hunt and scent might do the trick. Has worked in past years with neighbor's cat.

My best mousers are gone now. :-(
The current Lords and Lady of the Manse might yawn, roll over and give me that, "take care of that, will ya? And while you're up, refill your glass of water. It's too low for me to drink out of" look.

I never got many mice in Maplewood, which I attributed to mice with god survival instincts. Multiple cats seemed to keep them away, although, once I awhile, I would find mouse poop in places like locked cupboards. Then I would just leave the cupboards open so that the cats would go explore & leave their scent.

You might also try collecting cat hair from people who brush their cats. Put it in a cheese cloth or similar & toss into cupboards, other hidden mouse places & see if it helps. I've done that, but since I get so few mice anyway, have no idea if it actually helps.

I am planning to Furminate my cat soon, so as weird as it is, let me know if you want some fur.

greenetree,

That is a nutty interesting idea.

afa,

I'll message you and get a bag-o-fur from you.

The fur thing works. Several years ago we had a mouse problem. A friend gave me a baggie full of fur from her cats, and we pushed it into any small openings we could find. At the same time, we used traps.
I have absolutely no problem with rodent suffering. The traps got rid of the inside mice and the fur kept the outside ones at bay while we sealed up the holes. Keep in mind that a mouse can squeeze through a space that is the circumference of a number 2 pencil. We haven't seen a mouse in a few years, but we are always alert.

:-D

And it don't get no better than Furminator harvests!

I hear you can actually buy cat fur on line for this purpose as rodents tend to avoid the smell. You have to refresh it every six months or so though so at that point it seemed easier to just feed a cat and let her distribute her puente damn fur

My cat (adopted at 4y/o) used to be an outdoor cat before we adopted her. She is now strictly an indoor cat -she freaks outside now- and the best mouser I've ever seen.
She does not eat or even bite them, just bats them until they die ( she doesn't like a bloody mess and I thank her for that) all with her bell jingling away.
Living in the country now, we used to get quite a few mice, now zero. I'm guessing word spread in the mouse community my cat was ruthless. Lol