I have three cats and I thought you would not get mice if you have cats but I have got mice and don't know what to do. Will the cats catch the mice? They are all indoor cats, I can't put poison down.
Julie,
Cats are natural predators and should catch the mice if they still have their claws. Stop feeding them or cut back their feed to encourage them to find their own. You might also try placing glueboards (buy them in most hardware stores) behind appliances, corners of pantry, etc. CAUTION: glueboards will not kill mice, merely catch them...you have to be willing to pick up a glueboard with a live mouse caught on it and dispose of it accordingly. Pour vegetable oil on glue to get unstuck.
Use mechanical traps to either catch the mice alive or dead, depending on their design. Your cats sound too well fed if they are not catching the mice but they should still catch and play with them until dead - just not eat them. Make sure the cats have access to the areas you have seen the mouse droppings, e.g. cupboards.
Regards
Jo
Julie, call an exterminator, there is a place where they are coming into your home and they will seal it and you will have no further problems.
I had the same problem a couple of years ago and the company found where they were digging near the foundation and they would end up in either my basement or under my Jenn air. They sealed the space.
Do NOT cut back on the feeding of the cats, that is inhumane. I don't know how anyone would suggest that. How sad.
Jennifer
Do you have an old plastic container, a Rubbermaid storage container, that you could turn into a poison control center? Make a hole in the bottom corner of the container at ground level just big enough for the mice to get in but not big enough for the cats to get in. Take off the lid, place a low container (maybe a tin plate or a lid from a peanut butter jar) in the middle of the box and fill it with mice/rat poison, replace the lid.
Put your "mice control center" on the floor close to where the mice are coming into your home. (Ours is in the garage, since the garage doors do not seal the mice love it in there, out of the rain and in MY stuff). After eating the poison the mice will go back to their nest and quietly die there. I have yet to see a dead mouse die in his tracks (IF you are concerned about the cats getting/eating the dead mice). Cats and dogs actually like eating the poison so the container works wonderfully and is much cheaper than an exterminator. Mice love to crawl into holes and this one is just for them. Actually my container has a hole on the left side and one on the right side (you never know if you have left-handed or right-handed mice :) ).
Then find the holes and fill/fix them to keep the mice out. Do you only have a little hole? Use steel wool and stuff the hole, they do NOT knaw on steel wool.
Whatever you do -- DO NOT stop feeding your cats or reducing their food. I have 3 well-fed cats and all are excellent mousers. Catching mice is a natural thing for most cats; they consider it a game. Catch the mouse, play with it, kill it, and then (maybe) eat it. But first you have to find out where the mice are coming from. Any hole 1/4 inch or more is an entrance for mice.
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I have 2 male cats they are brothers. They are 18 months old. They first started catching birds, then mice and rats, but now it seems they only catch mice when it's raining why is this?
Does rain make mice come out more or slow them down? I'm getting at least 1 mouse a day, it's when they loose it in the house and I have to find it lol.All small cats love to chase and catch different animals. Mice will seek shelter when it is raining or snowing outside. Maybe this is one reason that they are catching so many more right now.
Mice are like people and like to be warm and dry and your house seems to be the place the like. Your cats are doing what they were born to do...mouse (catch, play with, eat/kill).
The best remedy and safest thing for both is to go around your house and plug up all the loose bricks, any holes in the foundation, gaps in the windows and doors etc. and prevent the mice from getting in the house in the first place.
They can come in any where...so also be sure to check things like the roof and loose shingles, around the chimney, and the foundation.
Steel wool (like brillo type pads) can be stuffed into holes as a short term fix around the perimeter of the home and in window casements.
This should deter the mice from burrowing through them and it will not harm them. They have a right to life....just outside the house and away from the jaws of your kitty boys :)
Hopefully prevention will be the best cure! It is very unpleasant to find the rewards the kits offer when they share their successes! They think they are doing something good...and it is for them, just not you or the poor mice!
Prayers and blessings to you and yours!
Your 'problem' brings back memories of my 'mice catching' cats.
This sounds like your cats are indoor/outdoor cats because you say they originally caught birds and rats and that must have been outside.
The mice are probably outside looking for food and when it starts to rain they start looking for a dry spot and your cats are waiting.
You may have a pet door (?) and the cats want to get in out of the rain to play with their toy and this is entertainment for them and hopefully for you also as I feel sure they will not leave a live mouse running loose in your house for very long. Whether you want to catch the mouse and return it to the outdoors or let the cats play to the end is your choice.
Hunters usually are very healthy cats and adjust well to their environment.
Lucky you - 2 brothers who love to play.
My vet told me that cats will bring 'things' to their owners/parents to show their affection. My present cat leaves me one piece of food on a small counter almost every night.
Some cats love to leave gifts for their beloved owners and dead mice are a popular gift. Keeping an outdoor cat from leaving dead mice on porch can be difficult but it may be possible to get them to stop.
