feeding cats live prey

[ben234]

Hi guys,

I was in the pet store the other day and the owner told me that some people come in and buy live mice for their cats to stalk and eat

Has anyone heard of this?? I don't think I could do that - would feel bad for the poor little mouse

I have been doing some research and found a site were you can buy some prey called "pinky rodents" or even small frozen chicks for your kitty to indulge in. Was just wondering if anyone tried this and if so what were the results?

 

[ladylonewolf]

If you do a search, there've been quite a few threads about feeding mice on here. I dug up a couple of them for you:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...t=feeding+mice

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...t=feeding+mice

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ding+cats+mice

Personally, since I've had mice as pets (and grew very attached to them as I do all the animals I've had), I most certainly wouldn't be comfortable giving my cat a live mouse. But I have heard of people feeding frozen mice before.

 

[jackbombay]

Jack finds PLENTY out in the sagebrush all by himself, I've certainly discouraged him from bringing them in the house live (they are always dead when he brings them in now) so I think he would be a little confused if I gave him a live mouse in the house, also you would need a contained are so the mouse couldn't escape, although a domesticated mouse might not even run away.

 

[dogstar5988]

I own a snake so I know all about buying frozen mice. I have heard of some people buying them for their cats before but I've never let Panther have one. I've thought about it before but I think I would be too afraid of parasites and such. I don't think I would EVER give her a live mouse for the same reason its discouraged with snakes, mice can give nasty bites that could get infected. But I have thought about giving her a frozen mouse snack since I have them anyway, but I couldn't imagine the type of mess she would make or she would lose it under my fridge with the rest of her toys.

 

[aechen]

I adopted bengals a couple months ago. They are brothers who are almost 3 yrs old and have been fed dry food diets with some wet food supplementation. One of them(larger one) is pickier than the smaller one and the transition was seemingly impossible. At first over a few weeks I transitioned them to a wet homecooked diet. Then I got some raw mixes and started transitioning little by little the raw food into the cooked wet food. They are still not on a completely raw diet. It's about 40%raw/60%cooked wet food. After not feeding for about 16-18 hours when I usually feed about every 12 hours, I brought home live prey(mouse) and the little one killed the mouse, played with it for a while, then started chomping on the back/butt of the mouse. When he left it there for more than a minute with entrails out, I picked it up and crunched the bones up with a cleaver though the skin was tough and mostly intact with some slits. then marinated with parmesan cheese and mixed in with a small can of regular wet cat food. My cats finished the whole bowl when they usually graze on their food for a couple hours. They also expelled more energy chasing and hunting the prey so possibly made them hungrier. I'll proceed to keep their diet as varied and natural as possible. whole live prey seems to be best, although not the most practical.

 

 

[feralvr]

I could never do that ..... (p.s. the thread you are posting to is a couple of years old)

 

[whollycat]

I could never do that

..... (p.s. the thread you are posting to is a couple of years old)

Me either.

I would like to add, even though this is such an old thread, that I believe all prey animals should be treated humanely and respectfully when it comes to feeding our little carnivores (and us, for that matter). Unless they kill live prey quickly and efficiently, I don't believe in purchasing live prey for them. Most house kitties that don't hunt out in the wild are not as adept sometimes at dispatching their prey quickly--they play with them, bite them, and IMHO, this is cruel because the prey animal is experiencing abject terror and pain. They also risk being injured by live prey (as someone else mentioned).

It might seem weird, but I often give thanks for the life (prey) that was given when I'm preparing raw food for my kitties.

People that sell frozen live prey, like rodentpro.com and Tracy at Hare-Today.com humanely euthanize their whole prey.

 

[catman513]

Ages ago, my brother got such a kick out of seeing the cat scoop a goldfish out of the bowl, that he started leaving the top off when we had company just to shock people with the cat's "fishing."  Once caught, you can imagine the commotion as the fishes flopped around and the cats chased the fish all over the place before chowing down.

Probably not humane as to the fish, nor healthy as to the cat, but then that's what prankish children do isn't it.

 

[Willowy]

No, that's what cruel children do. I assure you my brothers and I didn't torture our goldfish.

I'm not against cats getting live prey. . .themselves. The prey animals have a fair chance to get away under natural conditions. It just seems unfair and cruel to subject a domesticated, captive animal to that kind of thing .

 

[catman513]

Actually, we had the goldfish to feed to our snakes. And, we gave the goldfish a chance to get away. All they had to do was swim faster than the snake could move its head. Haha! Relax, its just a goldfish.

 

[carolina]

Relax, its just a goldfish.

so, you are ok if people are cruel with cats and say "relax, it's jus a cat"? animal cruelty is animal cruelty, it is ugly and unnecessary, no matter if the abused animal is a goldfish, a cat, a dog, or a mice, imho.

 

[ldg]

I try not to kill spiders, I prefer to release them outside.

I'm going to have to agree with Feralvr, WhollyCat, Willowy, and Carolina. Even if my cats were good at dispatching live prey, I wouldn't feed it to them.

 

[feralvr]

I think AEChen has left the building??? :scratch: :hmm: poor little mice

 

[ldg]

Yep, a drive-by, I think. But catman513 stops by every once in a while.

 

[feralvr]

Yep, a drive-by, I think. But catman513 stops by every once in a while.

poor little goldfish :fishy:

 

[catbehaviors]

I try not to kill spiders, I prefer to release them outside.

I'm going to have to agree with Feralvr, WhollyCat, Willowy, and Carolina. Even if my cats were good at dispatching live prey, I wouldn't feed it to them.

I don't like to kill any living beings at all. I'm with you Laurie, if I can release a bug outside, I'll do it. I feel bad after accidentally stepping on ants.

 

[catman513]

"Perspective" is that necessary human trait that causes one to differentiate between a cat and a spider. I have perspective. It feels good to have perspective.

 

[clynn11]

The way I think of it is, death to me is such a big mystery and actually does scare me- at the thought of my life being taken from me at any moment. So, my perspective, is why would it be okay for us to so easily take away the life of any living thing, no matter how small- and treat it as insignificant. It was a life. Yes, it happens. A lot. But I try my best to avoid killing anything.

 

[ldg]

I have respect. It feels good to have respect. :heart2:

 

[ldg]

"Consciousness" (as in awareness of self), or perhaps, a "conscience" is that necessary human trait that allows us to choose values.