4 ms·

For a Cat to work on mice it has to be a Mouser. I can't pretend I know the full theory of Mousers but it seems that females brought up by Mouser mothers in a m

For a Cat to work on mice it has to be a Mouser. I can't pretend I know the full theory of Mousers but it seems that females brought up by Mouser mothers in a mouse-rich environment are the best Mousers, since they are taught to kill from their earliest years.

jbaber 5y ago
All I did was go to the adoption place and ask for a slightly older cat who'd been on the street long enough to be a hunter. They were very happy I wasn't asking for a cute kitten. He came litter trained, fixed, and kills everything that gets in the house.
- geon 5y ago
  I would have thought they were thrilled that you picked an older cat.
giantg2 5y ago
Then all you have to be concerned with is avoiding toxoplasmosis exposure.
- fipar 5y ago
  The most important precaution is daily cleaning of litter boxes, since the parasite does not become infectious until after a day of being expelled from the cat through its feces. Also, cats only spread the parasite for up to three weeks after becoming infected themselves. This has more info about this: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.ht... Also, for anyone curious about parasites, this book is a gem: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex
tartoran 5y ago
True, some cats couldn’t care less about mice. I had an outdoor cat that was into pigeons which I didn’t have a problem with. At the same time the dog we had was a natural mouser. She got the problem under control.
mbg721 5y ago
I don't need a mouse exterminating machine, I just need to dissuade additional mice from showing up. Even my untrained cat is okay at that; she'll eventually kill a mouse, but gets disappointed when her plaything stops moving.
willcipriano 5y ago
They don't have to be all the good of a mouse hunter to lower the number of mouse sightings you'll have. Rodents have a built in fear of car urine and cat dander, so just their presence will deter mice.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > Rodents have a built in fear of car urine and cat dander, so just their presence will deter mice. I thought so too. But nope.
JoBrad 5y ago
Of course, a good mouser is also likely a good birder.
sonofhans 5y ago
That’s not been my experience, and I’ve lived with dozens of cats. Currently we have three cats, siblings. They were found orphaned, a few days old, and raised bottle-fed by humans. They never had a cat mother. All three of them regularly delivery rodents to the house as gifts.

jbaber 5y ago

All I did was go to the adoption place and ask for a slightly older cat who'd been on the street long enough to be a hunter. They were very happy I wasn't asking for a cute kitten. He came litter trained, fixed, and kills everything that gets in the house.

geon 5y ago
I would have thought they were thrilled that you picked an older cat.

giantg2 5y ago

Then all you have to be concerned with is avoiding toxoplasmosis exposure.

fipar 5y ago
The most important precaution is daily cleaning of litter boxes, since the parasite does not become infectious until after a day of being expelled from the cat through its feces. Also, cats only spread the parasite for up to three weeks after becoming infected themselves. This has more info about this: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.ht... Also, for anyone curious about parasites, this book is a gem: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex

tartoran 5y ago

True, some cats couldn’t care less about mice. I had an outdoor cat that was into pigeons which I didn’t have a problem with. At the same time the dog we had was a natural mouser. She got the problem under control.

mbg721 5y ago

I don't need a mouse exterminating machine, I just need to dissuade additional mice from showing up. Even my untrained cat is okay at that; she'll eventually kill a mouse, but gets disappointed when her plaything stops moving.

willcipriano 5y ago

They don't have to be all the good of a mouse hunter to lower the number of mouse sightings you'll have. Rodents have a built in fear of car urine and cat dander, so just their presence will deter mice.

WalterBright 5y ago
> Rodents have a built in fear of car urine and cat dander, so just their presence will deter mice. I thought so too. But nope.

JoBrad 5y ago

Of course, a good mouser is also likely a good birder.

sonofhans 5y ago

That’s not been my experience, and I’ve lived with dozens of cats. Currently we have three cats, siblings. They were found orphaned, a few days old, and raised bottle-fed by humans. They never had a cat mother. All three of them regularly delivery rodents to the house as gifts.