Stray Cat Bring Snakes To My Garage

[Mike0]

hey
I am taking care of a stray cat. She lives in my garage.
Lately she picked up a very bad and frustrating habit. She keeps bringing snakes to my garage !
She brings them alive. I don't know what shall I do about this issue! I don't want a snake to enter my house ! A friend said that I should stop taking care of the cat and force her to move away from my garage ! However, I have a very strong connection with her and It is gonna break my heart if that's the only solution.

Does anyone know anything about this issue ? Any tips?

 

[amysuen]

Yikes! I thought cats were deathly afraid of snakes?

 

[talkingpeanut]

She is hunting for you to provide for you. It's a present!

Can you bring her inside your house and not allow her out? That would keep her safe and prevent the hunting.

 

[Mike0]

Yikes! I thought cats were deathly afraid of snakes?

That's what I thought ! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the snake

 

[Mike0]

She is hunting for you to provide for you. It's a present!

Can you bring her inside your house and not allow her out? That would keep her safe and prevent the hunting.

Present ? That's the worst present I have ever had .
No. I can't let her in unfortunately

 

[talkingpeanut]

Can you help her to find a home inside?

 

[shadowsrescue]

Please do not stop caring for her. She has come to depend on you.
Also is she spayed?

 

[Kieka]

I've never figured out a way to stop mine from bringing presents. Luckily the current group limits it to grasshoppers and lizards.

I would assume that if she can't get in your house from the garage a snake wouldn't be able to either. But our garage is detached. My brothers is attached but there aren't any shared vents and the door is kept closed so his also wouldn't have a way for the snakes to go from one to the other.

 

[Mike0]

Please do not stop caring for her. She has come to depend on you.
Also is she spayed?

Stopping caring for her will be my last solution. I love her , and I guess she loves me too.

It would be ok for me if she brings anything that can't kill me ! But she brings alive snakes !

Yes she is spayed

 

[Kieka]

Are the snakes poisonous?

 

[Mike0]

I've never figured out a way to stop mine from bringing presents. Luckily the current group limits it to grasshoppers and lizards.

I would assume that if she can't get in your house from the garage a snake wouldn't be able to either. But our garage is detached. My brothers is attached but there aren't any shared vents and the door is kept closed so his also wouldn't have a way for the snakes to go from one to the other.

My garage is attached to my house.

 

[Mike0]

Are the snakes poisonous?

I have no idea how to determine if the snakes are poisonous or not. They are small black snakes.

 

[Boris Diamond]

I don't know where you are, but where I live, a local college has made a webpage for identification of all snakes in this state, North Carolina. The only black poisonous snake here is the cottonmouth, and it is rarely black. If I see a black snake here, it is most likely a black rat snake, a good snake to have around as they feed on rodents and are reputed to keep copperheads away.

 

[Kieka]

My uneducated guess would be if the cat is bringing it in it is non deadly. If it was poisonous (makes you ill with a bite) the cat would likely be ill from it. Ditto for venomous (kills you with a bite) as the cat would be dead. Snakes are flexible enough that there isn't a way she's brought in mulitple and not been bit. If you are in the US there are only four venomous snakes and non are solid black.

If you don't mind sharing location or even better have a picture we can do some looking around and try to figure out what kind of snake it is.

 

[Mike0]

No I don't live in USA

Honestly I never knew that there are non poisonous snakes. I always thought that all snakes are poisonous

Here is a short video for the snake.
20170427_223626.mp4

The cat ran away to the garden with the snake when I tried to step on the snake. I am not sure if the video is clear.

 

[astrael]

Hmm, I use tennis balls for the ferals to play with. They're cheap, sturdy and easy to replace (and catnip sticks to them really well). You could try putting a few around your yard, and hoping that she'll bring you them as presents instead.

For what it's worth, when I was a kid, we had a cat that was a crazy hunter. He once brought home a live young barn owl. I kid you not. (The owl was released unharmed) Bats, snakes, mice, he brought home it all. Every one of us had to bring critters, alive and not, outside.

Some cats have a very strong hunting instinct. He brought home critters till his last 2-3 months, at 21. (He was the healthiest cat we'd ever had.) Your best bet is probably to try to change her target.

Might not work all the time, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Good luck.

 

[Kieka]

I can't see the video. But you can take it to a local zoo or college or pet store and a reptile expert should be able to tell you what it is.

There are about 600 known species of snakes that are posionous. While that may seem like a alot that actually only represents 25% of the snakes in the world. So you have a 75% chance that a snake is NOT posionous. Even within that percentage only some are deadly to humans (the rest just hurt, bad). Even within the deadly ones many have treatments if prompt care is recieved (although long lasting damage is common especially with ones who have neurotoxins). If you are in Australia or certain other areas the chances are higher but for the most part chances are it won't hurt or kill you. I am still fairly certain that if the cat has it and is alive it isn't a threat. Snakes that can kill, will kill. Especially if we are talking smaller baby snakes since they tend to be more deadly. Where I am rattlesnakes are fairly common but the bigger danger comes from not seeing them. They blend in and most of the time people and animals who get bit do so because they stumble across and startle them.

Technically there is a difference between venomous and posionous but the two are frequently interchanged. For the most part a triangular shaped head and verticle eye slits are indicators it can kill you. But that isn't perfect. The best way is to bring one or a video or picture to a local snake expert to find out what the cat is playing with.

 

[Mike0]

I can't see the video. But you can take it to a local zoo or college or pet store and a reptile expert should be able to tell you what it is.

There are about 600 known species of snakes that are posionous. While that may seem like a alot that actually only represents 25% of the snakes in the world. So you have a 75% chance that a snake is NOT posionous. Even within that percentage only some are deadly to humans (the rest just hurt, bad). Even within the deadly ones many have treatments if prompt care is recieved (although long lasting damage is common especially with ones who have neurotoxins). If you are in Australia or certain other areas the chances are higher but for the most part chances are it won't hurt or kill you. I am still fairly certain that if the cat has it and is alive it isn't a threat. Snakes that can kill, will kill. Especially if we are talking smaller baby snakes since they tend to be more deadly. Where I am rattlesnakes are fairly common but the bigger danger comes from not seeing them. They blend in and most of the time people and animals who get bit do so because they stumble across and startle them.

Technically there is a difference between venomous and posionous but the two are frequently interchanged. For the most part a triangular shaped head and verticle eye slits are indicators it can kill you. But that isn't perfect. The best way is to bring one or a video or picture to a local snake expert to find out what the cat is playing with.

why can't you see the video ? is it unclear or you couldn't download it ? I can upload it to anther site.

 

[Kieka]

why can't you see the video ? is it unclear or you couldn't download it ? I can upload it to anther site.

I couldn't download it.

 

[Willowy]

Oh, that's a very small snake! Like an earthworm, lol. Anyway, if you google your country's name plus "native snake identification", you should be able to find something. Usually venomous snakes have large arrow-shaped heads (the venom glands make them have "puffy cheeks") but I think there are a few with more streamlined heads so you should try to make sure of that.

Haha, I'd be OK with a cat bringing in little snakes like that but then I like snakes in general, lol.