Real Mouse. What would your cat(s) do?

[bikeman]

Our cats always love those little plastic, leathery furry play mice you can pick up in a 6-pack at the store. Hours of fun as they slowly wear them down to the plastic hull and bat them into the wall with the distinctive click. Ours dig them out from wherever they hide (or lose) them at wee hours of the night waking us up with their mousy fun downstairs. Most everyone here can relate to this, right?

But as "owners" of full-time indoor domestic cats I often wonder what either of ours might do if they ran across an actual flesh and blood variety mouse.

 

[rapunzel47]

I suspect it depends to a large extent on whether MomCat had sufficient opportunity to teach her kittens about hunting. All my cats have been indoor/outdoor. Some have brought prezzies home, and some not.

We used to have meeses in the house, but I think they got the idea this isn't the safest place to live. All our current girls hunt. Cindy brought me a lovely prezzie yesterday morning. I admired it, showed it to Daddy, and then put it in the garbage.

 

[dawnofsierra]

When Sierra caught a mouse, she became protective over her prey as I tried to get it away, finally dropping it in my hand, yuck. Serenity has never had the pleasure, but has caught a couple of bugs which she proudly presented to me. Similar to our playtime with "Prey", she had to have a snack afterwards or else she would roam around, meowing pitifully searching for her cleverly captured prize. As for the killing, neither has shown any interest in eating what they caught, so I feel it's unintentional as they're playing with it.

 

[bikeman]

I hope we find out what any of our cats would do someday with a real mouse, because I'd be rooting for them (the cat). Wife doesn't even want to think about it. The cats probably dream about The Grand Mouse Hunt after seeing creatures like mice just outside the porch screens.

Someone once mentioned here, I think, that if a cat drops the present in front of you, it is because your cat feels sorry for you because you can't hunt. Don't know if that's true, but it sounds as reasonable an explanation as any.

Anyway, I voted for the fourth option, not knowing what would really happen.

 

[hissy]

All my cats at one time or another have had a mouse. Instead of giving you 14 descriptions- basically they do one of three things- play with it until they torment it to death. Snatch it up and kill it then race around the house with it in their mouth growling all the time- or play with it until they are bored, without fatally injuring it then it escapes through the wire (I have an outside enclosure)

 

[hissy]

Originally Posted by Bikeman

I hope we find out what any of our cats would do someday with a real mouse, because I'd be rooting for them (the cat). Wife doesn't even want to think about it. The cats probably dream about The Grand Mouse Hunt after seeing creatures like mice just outside the porch screens.

Someone once mentioned here, I think, that if a cat drops the present in front of you, it is because your cat feels sorry for you because you can't hunt. Don't know if that's true, but it sounds as reasonable an explanation as any.

Anyway, I voted for the fourth option, not knowing what would really happen.

Actually when a cat drops a "trophy" at your feet, it is a supreme compliment. He is sharing his kill with you. I always take the proferred trophy and give the cat a nice meaty treat, while i dispose of the lizard, frog, bird, mouse, gopher, or garter snake

 

[ryn]

When my neighbours cat caught a mouse next to us when I was out with Usva, she got so scared she jumped up to a tree. Last autumn an ant (1) invaded our living room and our brave four totally paniced: The ant sprayed them with acid and they ran off to get help. DH carried the corageous little survivor out.

So, no great hunters here. My little sister once said that if you left our cats in a forest, squirrels would rape them in 15 minutes.

 

[maverick_kitten]

each of mine have brought me a (live) mouse and acted quite strangely with it.

They both spent ages grooming their mouse and carrying it around ever so gently like it was a kitten.

they in no way harmed their mouse and chased it only when it escaped their paws, carefully carrying it back to be groomed some more.

Jupiter did bring me back a dead bird once that he had plucked. it looked like small roast turkeys with the head, wings and feet still attatched.

 

[mom of 10 cats]

Phoenix and Lilith are our huntresses. Back in PA, we'd take Phoenix out in the yard almost every day and invariably she would catch (and kill) a vole. She got a mole twice and a shrew once. Lilith got a vole once when she and Phoenix were out there together, and Phoenix ran up to her and licked her cheek, it was like "welcome to the Hunt Club, girlfriend!"

After all her kills, Phoenix always brought them to us. Her contribution towards the household, I assume.

 

[mom of 10 cats]

Originally Posted by Ryn

My little sister once said that if you left our cats in a forest, squirrels would rape them in 15 minutes.

I've always used the expression for my Jules, who's not the brightest bulb in the marquee, "If he went outside, he'd get mugged by a gang of field mice!"

 

[mom2salemisis]

Ailey would catch it kill it and eat it (she used to be an outside fend for yourself cat)

I don't think salem and isis have ver seen a mouse lol i don't know what they would do.

I didn't vote cause i wasnt sure which one to pick lol

 

[stampit3d]

Earlier this fall our Toby (who`s been an "Indoor-Only" since he was 8 weeks old) was at the foot of the bed, making strange sounds....He`d caught a MOUSE!
I got rather excited, which brought Tedy on the run to investigate...(He`d been an "Out-Door-Only" till we adopted him at 6 months....so having had more experience with hunting, he just laid in wait until Toby temporarily lost control of the mouse...then he took his turn. Once he caught it (which did`nt take long at all!) ..he ran around the house growling at us and Toby when any of us got too close.
Wanting Toby to have a chance to hone his hunting skills I had Hubby take the mouse from Tedy and give it to Toby, who`d caught it in the first place.(Big guy as he, is he admitted to actually being afraid that Tedy was going to attack him in the process) We put tedy in the bathroom, where he whaled loudly ....and gave the mouse to Toby, who after toying with it for only a few minutes, LOST it under the stove!!!
Never did see it again either (or smell it for that matter, so apparently it found some means of escape)
I`m assuming if they`d get a mouse when I was`nt around, they`d eat at least part of it....but if I was here I`d take it away before they did....however I have`nt seen hide nor hair of one since then...so maybe "Mousie" passed the story of the "Kitty Monsters" that almost got him onto his children and they all stay far away.
It sure was EXCITING around here THAT evening though!!!
Linda

 

[fwan]

Teufel has only ever seen a live mouse once, took him an hour and ahalf to kill it, it kept on staring at it, chasing it, and trying to go for its neck, ben gave the mouse a quicker death by chucking it down the toilet

once teufel bit though its neck

 

[blondiecat]

Both of my boys will catch and torment the poor mouse until dead. Oscar will run into the bathroom and get in the bathtub with it for hours of fun before the finally attack and the poor little mouse is a goner.

There has been only one mouse who had escaped the terrible twosome and it ran up and hide in the folds of the shower curtain. You should have heard the screaming when I got into the shower and pulled said curtain where mouse promptly land on my naked foot

 

[miss mew]

Jeff & I used to live in a home that was 120 years old and we had a mouse problem. Reilly caught 4 mice over the period of a year and killed all but one..he played with them until he killed them..it was so sad

he did it in the middle of the night and we didn't realize until we woke up in the morning.

 

[jcat]

Jamie is quite good at catching mice, although he only goes outside on a leash. He catches them, bats them around a little, and then brings them to me. He once placed a live rat on my lap, and has caught, but not killed, two bats, which he brought inside from the balcony. Ditto birds (twice). ZsaZsa, on the other hand, kills her prey (she's an indoor/outdoor cat), which has included a hedgehog and a marten that was bigger than she is.

 

[bob'smom]

Both Bob and Delilah (former outdoor cats) go for the kill. Pierre and Freckles have lived as indoor cats all their lives and have no clue. Bob caught one last week. Freckles didn't even leave the bedroom to check until I got up. Then he just followed Bob.

 

[icklemiss21]

If my hamster is any indication, mine would follow it around watching. My hamster has escaped three times, once he ran across my bed and got put quickly back in his cage, the second time the cats just watched him, the third time I found him and Bumper curled up in a ball sleeping. I thought Bumps had killed him, but no just cuddled up together sleeping!

 

[halfpint]

Mine would chase it chase it chase it, bat it and bat it, Mouse does not live though would be intact maybe

 

[gemlady]

Ari will catch, kill, and eat - or let it mummified under the fridge, then play with it.