My cat ate an entire mouse... is this a problem? archived

I am used to the occasional baby mouse wandering into the 'hood (my cat-laden house) and being tortured, then left for half-dead, or stunned and me catching it and setting it free.

Tonight, I noticed Gracie running out of the room with a mouse in her mouth, followed closely by Cleo. Here's the embarrassing part: "Freedomland" was almost over, so I let th em out of my sight for a moment, trying to see if Julianne Moore would confess.

When I got to the dining room, the lower half of the mouse was sticking out of Cleo's mouth & she was chomping. I went to get the broom and dust pan, only to return and find 4 cats sniffing around the floor & under things, as if the mouse had escaped.

Cleo was licking her lips & swallowing, but also looking. I've searched all over and they all have seemed to lose interest in finding the mouse. I've concluded that she ate the whole friggin' thing.

When she lived with my mom, she was quite good at catching moles and chipmunks, but usually brought them inside if she could. My mom never said anything about her eating one and I know that she's made the neighbor come get them (dead) out of the house in the past.

I don't have any mouse poison in my home, but I've never had this happen before. Should I be worried?

TIA

It's a problem for the mouse.

Ahh! Dave, I was just about to type that!

I'm thinking you should give the little bugger a pat on the head.

As usual, it was the females who did all the work. The males sat around, looking. Waiting to see if they could cash in on the girls' work. At least they don't leave the seat up.

Thanks, TL. It's just a little worriesome.

I'm glad that Gracie didn't eat it. She seems to have an eye infection and of course, it showed up on the weekend. If she'd eaten the mouse with red eyes, I would have gone to the emergency vet. This was, I'll wait and call Levine in the a.m.

My cat eats plastic.

At least yours ate something they're supposed to kind of take an interest in...

gt,

Mice come inside when it gets cold. My cat once sat for three hours waiting for a mouse to come out from under the couch and when it did, he immediately pounced on it. My husband rescued it and put it outside. I haven't seen a mouse in the house since. I doubt if you'll see any more either. I wouldn't worry, if she can't digest it, she'll puke it up. Sorry to be so graphic.

ml

Raw meat is not a problem - if you fried that mouse, that would be bad - brittle bones break - raw bones, not an issue.

Not too graphic at all. I've scraped dried mousie entrails off the kitchen floor after having my cat eviscerate one while I was away for the weekend. It's just the total consumption that had me worried.

Of course, now I'll lay awake wondering if she really didn't eat the whole thing and plans on having a snack in bed some time tonight.

We had a cat who loved dry cleaner plastic and grocery bags. Caesar eats bread. Can't leave it out, even wrapped.

Lydia - I have them on the lazy-person's BARF diet, but this isn't quite what I had in mind....

:smile:

Posted By: marylagoI wouldn't worry, if she can't digest it, she'll puke it up. Sorry to be so graphic.

Exactly. At one time, we found a "leftover" that seemed to be a . . .


That's not important right now. Basically, the cats adapt.

Only problem I can think of is if the mouse had eaten wafarin or any other poison that your cat might have ingested along with the mouse. The mouse itself would be part of a cat's normal diet if it weren't a pet cat. If you haven't been sprinkling mouse poison (and I doubt you would, since you have cats who might get at it), I'd guess you and your cat are home free.

Greenetree -

Lazy BARF - LOL

Good cats eat mice and they digest them just fine. IMO - mice-eating is character building for cats.

A cat who hasn't tasted mouse blood isn't a true cat, it's not pretty, but cats are cats.

Did she swallow the mouse to catch a spider?

Because I don't like where *THAT* usually leads.

Welcome back, greenetree. I love you.

JB - :swingin:

Lydia- I buy it canned. Pathetic, I know.

Min wants to know, how did Gracie manage to catch the mouse so the others didn't get any of it?

GT - the only thing I'd be at all concerned about if she did eat it would be tapeworm (ick). Easily solved with an anti-tapeworm (ivermectin?) shot.

I bet the others are jealous! If you think the mouse might have been sick it wouldn't hurt to call the Vet. Everyone in my house tells me I worry too much about what Micle might eat. They remind me if I allowed her outside I wouldn't know what she ate.

I posted a couple of months ago about an article I read about wild cats and a theroy on how they dometicated, actually semi-domesticated, themselves by keeping the rat and mouse population down when humans began agriculture and storing grain.

Just another case of how close to the wild domestic cats are. I rather suspect that Gracie will be no worse for her extra meal and certainly hope so! How many dogs are going to attack, kill and eat, say, a groundhog? Cats are different.

ingesting it all is so much better an end of the story than having it dumped in your bed when you are asleep as a little "gift" from your kitty. Cats are programed to eat mice and as much as I love little mices, that seems the proper end. Don't worry. Congratulate her!

One time, (in tennessee), my dog was standing over the cat, watching her with his tail wagging. the cat was eatting a mouse. She left only the head, rather complete with it's little eyes and ears. As soon as she walked away, the dog swooped in and ate the head. It was pretty funny to watch.

eww, c_q

GT - it's been sort of too-quiet/lame around here w/out you! I'm sure your kitty will be fine.

At least your cat didn't leave it out to be stepped on in bare feet like my cat (growing up, also in TN) once did...it's one thing to clean cat entrails off the floor - quite another to have them squishing between your toes.:shocked:

My cat eats flowers & does "run-bys" if you're not careful, where he races by grabs food off a plate & is gone like lightening. we have to keep a spray water bottle around

This thread reminds me of when I was a kid, my best friend said she heard her cat chewing on a chicken bone, and even though she knew she shouldn't allow the cat to have it, she thought, "Oh heck, let her enjoy it."


Turned out to be her sister's pet lizard :shocked:

I love it when my cats do stuff like this. I prefer it when they eat their catches.

I wish I could keep cicadas for them to catch and eat. Crunch, crunch!

greenetree, perhaps you should get angelak's recipe for roasted brussels sprouts, to go with Cleo's mouse.

Well, it was a bit of relief not to have to catch a stunned mouse or clean it up. I was just worried that it wasn't good for her. I mean, she didn't even leave an eyelash. I think that she must have swallowed it whole, like a snake.

To tell the truth, I suspect that there is a little mousy foot somewhere in the basement. It's probably stuck to some Xmas lights and we won't know until it starts to cook from being plugged in on the tree.

Yum!

Gracie is going to the doctor today, so I'll remind TS to ask Levine. He always says something really funny.

Tom - in order for my cats to eat cicadas, they'd have to be outdoor cats. They'd never get in the house bbecause I have an absolute phobia about them!