Cat Safe Mouse Poison?

We've had the mice on and off for years. Usually the cats catch them, but they always want to play with them before killing them, and after they're dead.

It wouldn't be a huge issue except for my in-home daycare. Licensing rules say the environment must be "free of pests," and I don't want the parents to know there's mice around.

Up until now I've avoided using poison because I'm worried one of the cats might catch a poisoned mouse and get sick. But after helping the cats chase a mouse around and under sleeping children this afternoon I've had enough. Are there any cat-safe poisons I could use? I've tried TomCat traps and they don't work.

I can’t help with the poison, but have you thought about live traps? I bait mine with peanut butter. You have to release the mice at least two miles away or more or they find their way back!

Any posion that will kill a rat would kill or harm a predator that got ahold of the body or into the posion. This page has a good list of options, 7 Humane Solutions to Rat and Mice Infestations

Although, if your cats are already catching and killing it would just be doing a home check before opening in the morning. Most mice would avoid the sound of children so they probably are only active at night.

It's not poison, but years ago I endeavored to rid a cabin of mice by baiting an empty plastic trash bin (no liner: they can climb those!) with peanut butter or other starchy/sweet foods. I'd place the bin near something the mice could climb; they'd jump into the bin and become trapped, then I'd release them as far away as I could (never had the stomach for killing traps or poison). I could catch a whole family in a night if I was lucky. Actual live traps might work better, but the bin DIY is an option too. Just add something heavy to the bottom, too, so the cats don't knock it over and inadvertently release the mice. And maybe make sure the bait isn't something your cat will want to get into!

I saw a new mouse poison at a hardware store, they said it was totally safe for cats and dogs (and children! You wouldn't want to have regular poison in the same house with kids).

It's made from salt and corn gluten. I guess because of how a rodent's digestive system works, the salt makes them feel like not drinking water so they dehydrate and die. If you absolutely have to use a poison that's probably the best bet.
Rat X

What about the sticky traps? Live traps didn't work for me. I just kept catching the same one over and over again.

We always used live traps. Just release mice far away (in our case a few miles and across the river). We released them in a wildlife area so they likely became tasty snacks for wildlife. I would highly doubt anything that could kill a mouse wouldn't be dangerous to a cat or a child. Or at least not willing to risk it. The garbage can trick works extremely well also. We used that for catching mice that got into the cars since a live trap is almost always triggered by closing a car door.

Thanks for all the ideas!

We once had a chipmunk in the house and the peanut butter baited live trap didn't work - he kept stealing the PB and avoiding the trap! But it's worth a try, maybe the mice aren't as sneaky.

I'd rather not use a sticky trap because I don't think it's humane, with the cats around. I figure it's only fair to give them a fighting chance to run away.

I've heard of the trash bin trap before, but was told to fill it with water so they'd drown. I don't know if having it where the cats could get at it would be humane - even if they didn't tip it over I could see them jumping in for a snack.

You'd think an AM home check would work, but they like to come out during naptime when it's quiet (like yesterday). Or the cats bring one out to play with after I've checked (like Monday - all of a sudden Toothless was batting around a dead one.) And for some reason they almost always appear in the playroom!!

So far they haven't flushed out the one from yesterday...

Here’s the one I have. They have to go inside to get the peanut butter—no stealing—and I’ve never had one escape.
Victor® TIN CAT® Mouse Trap | A Non-Lethal Mouse Trap Solution

In fact, I had kind of an awful thing happen. I didn’t need it in the house any more so I cleaned out the peanut butter and put the trap on a shelf in the garage. By chance, I happened to open the lid months later, and a little guy had gone in and died. I felt terrible. So now the two entryways are duct taped so the mice can’t get in and starve or die of thirst.

Tobermorey said:

Here’s the one I have. They have to go inside to get the peanut butter—no stealing—and I’ve never had one escape.
Victor® TIN CAT® Mouse Trap | A Non-Lethal Mouse Trap Solution

In fact, I had kind of an awful thing happen. I didn’t need it in the house any more so I cleaned out the peanut butter and put the trap on a shelf in the garage. By chance, I happened to open the lid months later, and a little guy had gone in and died. I felt terrible. So now the two entryways are duct taped so the mice can’t get in and starve or die of thirst.

Click to expand...

Apparently the technology has improved massively. This one is great!

Sticky trap - mouse - cat. That could get ugly in so many ways!

Annimation said:

What about the sticky traps? Live traps didn't work for me. I just kept catching the same one over and over again.

Click to expand...

Lol that made me laugh. That same "not-the-brightest-crayon-in-the-box" mouse.

jen said:

Lol that made me laugh. That same "not-the-brightest-crayon-in-the-box" mouse.

Click to expand...

Or could be Einstein mouse! “Hmmm. I got the yummy, got caught, but human let me out. Hmmm. ”