# Anyone know of a way to prevent outdoor cats from catching game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258 "2013-05-01T22:11:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/1 "2013-05-01T22:11:26Z")
A friend asked me if I knew if there was a kind of bell she could hang on her cats collar to impede the cats hunting. Does anyone know how effective such bells are? Or other solutions? Keeping the cat indoor, or fencing her in, are not options , unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/2 "2013-05-01T22:20:29Z")
it’s possible to put bells like [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=cat+bell&newwindow=1&safe=off&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9ZSBUeuMNIPuiQLXtIGACQ&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=635) on a cat’s collar, but they’ll hate you for it and try to get free of the bell. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/3 "2013-05-01T22:37:44Z")
Not very effective, and doesn’t stop the cat from getting preyed upon itself or run over by a car. Why not just keep the cat inside? ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/4 "2013-05-01T22:46:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why not just keep the cat inside? Gosh, I wonder why she didn’t think of that? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/5 "2013-05-01T22:46:58Z")
keep the cat indoors or deal with it. Cats are carnivores and they’re meant to hunt. why doesn’t your friend feed the cat a vegan diet while he/she is at it? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/6 "2013-05-01T22:49:50Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > keep the cat indoors or deal with it. Cats are carnivores and they’re meant to hunt. why doesn’t your friend feed the cat a vegan diet while he/she is at it? I much prefer cats to any other animal, and I think people who try to make their cats vegetarians are idiots. But as I understand it (I could be wrong) cats aren’t actually native to North America but were brought here by the Europeans, and in that sense are considered an invasive species. Certainly they can wreak havok on bird populations if left unchecked. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/7 "2013-05-01T22:54:23Z")
You can’t. They’re wired to do this. Keep the cat inside if you don’t want it doing this. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/8 "2013-05-01T22:57:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I much prefer cats to any other animal, and I think people who try to make their cats vegetarians are idiots. But as I understand it (I could be wrong) cats aren’t actually native to North America but were brought here by the Europeans, and in that sense are considered an invasive species. Certainly they can wreak havok on bird populations if left unchecked. then it shouldn’t be an “outdoor cat.” I mean, if that’s the concern, then the friend of the OP has already screwed up. and as I recall, Maastricht is in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/9 "2013-05-01T23:07:02Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Gosh, I wonder why she didn’t think of that? The Op sez its ‘not an option” but didn’t explain WHY? If he explains WHY we may be able to come up with other ideas. So, your passive-aggressive reply is not helpful, while my question may be. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/10 "2013-05-01T23:15:37Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > then it shouldn’t be an “outdoor cat.” I mean, if that’s the concern, then the friend of the OP has already screwed up. > and as I recall, Maastricht is in Europe. Oh, I quite agree that, if you are going to have your cat be an outdoor cat, you have to make peace with it killing small animals and bringing you their corpses as gifts. That’s what cats do; expecting otherwise is just begining to be told the scorpion story. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/11 "2013-05-01T23:30:28Z")
(Disclaimer: Not a fond-of-cats person here.) The saving grace of outdoor cats (indeed, the only reason I, for one, see any need to tolerate their existence) is their hard-wired habit of killing small game: Mice, to be specific. As best I can tell (from things I’ve heard), they are very good at this. Seriously, they are alleged to do a fine job of keeping the rodent population down, and I believe that is true. All the birds they kill are collateral damage, I suppose. It’s too bad we can’t program cats to prey on mice only. If we could just do that (and program them not to serenade), it would be great. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/12 "2013-05-01T23:35:18Z")
Keep her satisfied by feeding her. A full cat likes to play with mice. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/13 "2013-05-01T23:45:48Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Keep her satisfied by feeding her. A full cat likes to play with mice. A full cat likes to TORTURE mice. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/14 "2013-05-01T23:49:39Z")
Get it de-clawed and de-toothed. Then it will be a fair fight. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/15 "2013-05-02T00:00:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Get it de-clawed and de-toothed. Then it will be a fair fight. the fuck is this? cats are predators, mice are prey. those are their natural roles. stop trying to apply human “morals” to animals which have no concept of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/16 "2013-05-02T00:05:19Z")
Not only are house cats not native to North America or Europe, they’re an invader supported by humans. It’s a bit like introducing coyotes to Australia and providing them with food, shelter, and medicine to ensure they kill as many native species as possible. Bear in mind that even feral cats get fed by well-meaning people. > [@](#): > > …[F]ree-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4–3.7 billion birds and 6.9–20.7 billion mammals annually. Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality. [http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/abs/ncomms2380.html](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/abs/ncomms2380.html) That figure is for the US only. The state of Victoria recommends the following steps to reduce the body count of your cat: > [@](#): > > Register your cat and ensure it wears the council tag when it is off your premises, as required by law > Desex your cat - neutered cats make better, more contented pets > Confine your cat to your property, this may be a requirement of your council > Keep your cat in at night - cats kept indoors won’t be hurt in fights, won’t be hit by cars and won’t harm wildlife > Put bells on your cat’s collar [http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/abs/ncomms2380.html](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/abs/ncomms2380.html) I know from personal experience that a cat will get used to a bell. Ours tried to outrun her bell at first. She got over it quickly and certainly doesn’t hate me for putting it on her. Bells probably do help a bit but haven’t stopped our cat from killing lizards. To really reduce killings by your pets, indoor only or confining them to an outdoor cat run is probably best. I see there’s a product called a cat bib that might work better than a bell and has the added benefit of making the cat look amusingly dorky. If you have a rodent problem, poison is more effective than owning a cat. Even if cats were as good as people claim at wiping out mice and rats, that’s not entirely a point in their favor. Hawks, owls, foxes, snakes and other species prey on mice and rats. Of course, that’s only beneficial if we’re talking native species-- the fox is a pest in Australia. Even if your well-fed pet merely torments wildlife, cats carry diseases that may kill animals that escape them. The Victoria site is worth a read and counters many of the claims made in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/17 "2013-05-02T00:08:06Z")
**Anyone know of a way to prevent outdoor cats from catching game?** Yeah. Drown them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/18 "2013-05-02T00:17:48Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > it’s possible to put bells like [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=cat+bell&newwindow=1&safe=off&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9ZSBUeuMNIPuiQLXtIGACQ&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=635) on a cat’s collar, but they’ll hate you for it and try to get free of the bell. My observation is that a bell just means the rodent hears a tinkle about 150 milliseconds before it dies. Cats are sneaky, and can keep their heads totally stable while walking. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/19 "2013-05-02T03:00:43Z")
We had a cat that we tried the bell system on. That cat, in about 30 seconds, learned how to move absolutely silently without the slightest tinkle coming from the bell. Cats are very smart, adaptable, and stubborn. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258/20 "2013-05-02T03:45:58Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > keep the cat indoors or deal with it. Cats are carnivores and they’re meant to hunt. why doesn’t your friend feed the cat a vegan diet while he/she is at it? More than that, even. Cats are obligatory carnivores. They would, literally, die on a pure vegetarian diet. I prefer cats indoors, having lost three cats to diseases they caught from neighborhood feral cats. If it is completely impossible to keep the cat indoors, consider its hunting as improving the breed of its prey; it will kill the slowest and the stupidest mice and birds, leaving more food for the fast and clever ones. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-a-way-to-prevent-outdoor-cats-from-catching-game/657258.md?page=2)