HALT HIS HUNTING
QBarney, my rescue cat, keeps bringing in dead or even living mice. He has even brought in a rat. I hate having to deal with the corpses and find the living rodents even worse. How can I stop him hunting?
Your Cat reader
CELIA SAYS:
ABarney, like most cats, is hardwired to hunt and for most hunting cats it is the supreme pleasure of their life.To stop him hunting completely, the only way is to fence in your garden or keep the cat flap permanently closed. If Barney has been used to a cat flap for several years this will make him very frustrated.
You can reduce, but only reduce, the number of corpses by shutting the cat flap at night and feeding a meaty cat food. Cats given a diet of meat-rich cat food are somewhat less keen on hunting — though most cats prefer hunting to eating their cat food! If you give Barney a regular play session with a fishing rod toy this may also reduce some, but not all, of his hunting instinct.
You can take the cat away from hunting range, but you can’t take the hunter instinct out of the cat. A wellington boot can be used to deal with a living rodent.They will generally run into it and can be shaken out of it outside the house.