White Mice For Food

[Mardon]

I searched for a post regarding the concept of feeding live white mice to my cats, but could not find anything about it. Is it possible? Would it be considered cruel or inhumane? would it be more like their diet in the wild? Any thoughts on this/

 

[Norachan]

I think this is a really bad idea M Mardon

Unless your cats have been born and raised as outdoor/feral cats they won't know what to do with a live mouse. They'll probably play with it and eventually kill it, but they won't eat it until they get really hungry. Letting cats go hungry until they are so famished they try to eat unfamiliar food can cause liver damage.

There is also the chance that the live mice could bite or scratch your cats.

Finally there is the mess. When my (former feral) cats bring in a mouse from outside they only ever eat part of it. There's always a head or a bloody pile of guts to clean up the next morning.

So it's likely to be a very cruel, messy and potentially dangerous way to feed your cats.

Far better to feed them commercial raw or a home made diet if you don't like the idea of giving them canned cat food.

 

[Mardon]

I think this is a really bad idea M Mardon

Unless your cats have been born and raised as outdoor/feral cats they won't know what to do with a live mouse. They'll probably play with it and eventually kill it, but they won't eat it until they get really hungry. Letting cats go hungry until they are so famished they try to eat unfamiliar food can cause liver damage.

There is also the chance that the live mice could bite or scratch your cats.

Finally there is the mess. When my (former feral) cats bring in a mouse from outside they only ever eat part of it. There's always a head or a bloody pile of guts to clean up the next morning.

So it's likely to be a very cruel, messy and potentially dangerous way to feed your cats.

Far better to feed them commercial raw or a home made diet if you don't like the idea of giving them canned cat food.

WOW I am glad I asked, thank so much for your candid reply. I am very interested in finding the very best way to feed my little twin black cats, Yin & Yang.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I agree with what Norachan said. I've had a few close calls with indoor/outdoor cats bringing things home. None were eaten and thankfully none made it inside the house itself; usually just the garage. The "best" was finding a baby snake on the garage doorstep with my cats one morning. Both cats sat proudly next to their catch; but I'm SO glad they didn't get to bring it into my bedroom!!

There are many options to consider in feeding your babies. The most important factor really is that they get a species appropriate and complete balanced diet. For my 2 I feed them the best that I can afford that they will eat. What that is can be different for every person.

 

[Azazel]

Why do the mice have to be alive?

 

[Ladewyn]

I would like to add that cats do not always kill very humanely. It can be a pretty torturous way to go. Dead mice would provide the same nutrition. I know some people do whole prey diets, sometimes feeding frozen whole mouse (thawed and warmed before feeding), sometimes chopped up to be more appealing or easier to consume. This is what I've done to feed wild animals in rehabilitation, though I have no clue how well this would do for a housecat (even most carnivores in rehab receive a ton of supplementation via canned food and kibble). I have no clue how good of a diet this is for housecats honestly, might be great, might be terrible, but I'd avoid live feeding at all costs, just from an ethical standpoint.

 

[Willowy]

I would not feed live mice. That's cruel to the mouse and the cat could get bitten. But, every reptile store in your area ought to have frozen rodents. Or you can order them online. Very popular with snake owners (feeding live rodents is risky for snakes because the rodents don't always go easily and can really tear a snake up. Who wants those vet bills?). For online suppliers, I like The Big Cheese best.

My cats get the rodents the snakes refuse to eat. Only a few of them will eat the rats/mice; most housecats have no idea that mice are edible, lol. So if you want to try it, just get one or two frozen mice at your local pet store (even Petco and Petsmart have them) and see what your cats think about it.

Whole mice and rats SHOULD be a complete diet for a cat. Organs, bone, etc. I don't know anybody who uses whole prey as a complete diet but that is what cats were made to eat so I don't see any reason it wouldn't be OK.

 

[Azazel]

There are some factors to consider when feeding whole prey.... cats don’t only eat mice. They will eat different kinds of rodents, birds, bugs, maybe even rabbits. They don’t just have one food source in the wild. Also, when they eat food in the wild it’s fresh and there’s no nutrient degradation. For these reasons, people who feed whole prey rotate proteins to ensure nutritional adequacy.

 

[Norachan]

WOW I am glad I asked, thank so much for your candid reply. I am very interested in finding the very best way to feed my little twin black cats, Yin & Yang.

You're welcome.



What are you feeding Yin and Yang now? I feed my cats canned and dry, because they like that and it's affordable and convenient for me. Cats can do very well on this diet, but if you want to try a raw diet you could offer them that.

If you're going to make your own food you need to do a lot of research to make sure the cats are getting all the nutrients they need. There are good commercial raw diets available. I'm sure people who feed raw could give you some advice on the best ones out there.

Cats who are used to canned food need a bit of persuasion to switch to raw, so be prepared to slowly introduce the new food and try a few different recipes/brands of raw before you find one that works.

 

[molly92]

Agree with all of the above. It's not even recommended to feed snakes live mice (instead you're supposed to buy frozen, thaw and warm to body temperature, and wiggle it around on tongs to get the snake to eat it). It's horribly inhumane for the mouse to be fed live, and mice have killed snakes before!

Hare today sells frozen mice if you want to try them. They also sell a variety of raw meats and body parts that could be interesting to cats if you want trying some things out for enrichment and healthy snacks.

 

[Willowy]

There are some factors to consider when feeding whole prey.... cats don’t only eat mice. They will eat different kinds of rodents, birds, bugs, maybe even rabbits. They don’t just have one food source in the wild. Also, when they eat food in the wild it’s fresh and there’s no nutrient degradation. For these reasons, people who feed whole prey rotate proteins to ensure nutritional adequacy.

True, but in the wild snakes eat a lot of different kinds of fresh live animals too, and seem to do well in captivity with just frozen/thawed mice or rats. Idk if anyone has tried it with cats, but theoretically there shouldn't be a problem.

It would be frightfully expensive though.