If you have the keen senses and pouncing skills of the typical cat, Whack-A-Mole is something you do well at.
They don’t come out. They live in tunnels.
My parents have a problem with moles in the yard, and a neighbor has an outdoor cat who seems to be an effective hunter of other critters.
However they push excavated soil out to form their little mole mounds. I’ve seen little mole faces and forelimbs on the surface more than once. A cat observing a mound in formation could easily pounce and pin one through an inch or two of loose soil. My guess is that is how they are usually taken ( by cats at least, as noted dogs can dig them out ).
Just an fyi on keeping the claws. Your sofa need not be harmed, as long as you keep a post covered in fresh carpet at all times. Cats are easily trained to use them. And yes, they are great hunters of moles, need not be outdoor cats. I had a 12 year old indoor Maine Coone who caught one in our house (the floor was open due to remodelling). My only fear was that she would bring it to me as a gift into my bed. She didnt, we found it under the dining room table the next morning. Good girl! And she never stepped a foot outdoors in her life.
Says you. They do so come out.
See how good a job your cat did at getting rid of them!
If you use Frontline or one of the other liquid flea and tick prevention medications every month, which is highly advisable, you won’t have any flea problems. If your cat is eating prey, it would be a good idea to take a fecal sample with you when your cat goes to the vet (regularly), to deal with potential worm infestations.
My cats, who do not go outdoors, caught a mole out on the back porch. I’d think a cat with a hunter’s instinct would catch moles if they were plentiful. When you go to the animal shelter, ask the people who work there to recommend a good mouser. I bet they will be able to direct you to one.
If you do adopt a cat as a hunter, it’s probably best to get a female- neutered males tend to get fat and lazy more easily. And you should definitely try to find a cat with a history of mole-killing; as noted above, cats ave individual preferences on what they like to kill. Some love birds, others mice, others lizards, and my own cat is death on squirrels and rabbits.
My male cats are the hunters. The ladies are not as good, so YMMV.
You could test the cats before choosing. My cat Shadow is great at catching ground critters, like snakes, chipmunks, mice, moles, etc. He is completely uninterested in birds. If you play with him with a string toy, he will go for it if it’s on the ground but won’t leap for it if it’s in the air. That could be a way to test for a cat who is more interested in moles than birds, or just not interested in chasing at all.
Terrible. The British tried replacing their counterintelligence service with cats in the 1940’s and look where it got them.
Have two indoor/outdoor cats that kill birds, squirrels, mice, and rabbits, but have yet to challenge the many moles that reside in the backyard.
I am trying gas bombs today.
My brother had an outdoor cat for several years. Very soon after the cat died he began having a significant mole problem. It’s been 3 years or so, moles remain.
Hardly scientific proof, I know, but still.
mmm
Welcome to the SDMB, Ed179. this is an older thread, so the original poster might not be around to respond.
We have* a spayed female outdoor-only cat who loves to hunt for gophers. She will stand or sit for what seems like a long time staring at the ground, the tip of her tail flicking back and forth. I’ve never seen her catch one, but she has left several prizes for us on the steps to the deck. Anyway, I suppose catching moles would be similar to catching gophers.
I think she does it because she’s bored, since the toms don’t come around any more and she hasn’t any friends.
*Have in the sense of feed, apply flea collars, and socialize with as she allows.
I rescued a black baby wildcat at my old factory job, and gave it to my parents. Despite being a baby, it still bit through two pairs of cotton gloves and drew blood on me. It took months, but it finally came around. Out on the Red River we had a major problem with gophers because of the soft, sandy, loam soil. And like your cat, it would wait hours waiting for a gopher to appear. My brother seen him catch quite a few, he said he would reach his paw in as far down in the hole he could get at times, and somehow, I guess with his claws out, was able to bring the gophers up to the top. Over a period of time, the gopher population, at least around the house wasn’t near as bad. He didn’t get rid of all of them, but slowed them down.
My parents had a cat that loved to catch moles. But, instead of killing them, he would bring them in the house and let them go in the tub. Then, he would watch them run around panicked trying to get out. He always seemed pissed when we would catch the mole and release it outside.
My little cat and her cat pal from next door liked to catch voles and leave them on the back step, but that’s a few letters down in the alphabet from your issue, sadly.