# My cats killed a mouse. What do I do now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842 "2009-08-18T14:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/1 "2009-08-18T14:33:49Z")
One of the Neville kitties killed a mouse last night (Good kitties!), and left part of the carcass for me to find this morning. They are indoor cats. I have seen no other signs of mouse infestation in the house other than this mouse carcass, but now I’m worried that there are mice in my house that I don’t know about. Should I call an exterminator now, or can I wait and see if there are any other signs of mice? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/2 "2009-08-18T14:38:28Z")
Personally, I wouldn’t sweat it unless you see more signs, like lots of mouse poop on shelves. One mouse does not an infestation make. It probably just wandered in from outside. As an aside, we have an outdoor cat and she gets one or two mice (that we find bits of, anyway) a night. There are obviously far more mice around in our city than I would have imagined. It is amazing how she is able to dissect the things and eat the good bits, leaving the guts and heads as presents for us to clean up. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/3 "2009-08-18T14:41:02Z")
When I told Mr. Neville about finding the mouse carcass, he said “I’m glad it was you and not me.” Thanks a _lot_, honey… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/4 "2009-08-18T14:56:15Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > When I told Mr. Neville about finding the mouse carcass, he said “I’m glad it was you and not me.” Thanks a _lot_, honey… You get used to it. I use a small plastic bag. Turn it inside out and use it like a glove to pick up the bits; then bag 'em. The worst thing about the outside corpses is that they are usually covered with busy wasps. Ugggh. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/5 "2009-08-18T15:00:25Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Should I call an exterminator now…? What? Your house is infested with exterminators already, and what a good job they are doing! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/6 "2009-08-18T15:06:40Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > You get used to it. I use a small plastic bag. Turn it inside out and use it like a glove to pick up the bits; then bag 'em. I used a big wad of paper towels, but same principle. Maybe if there’s a next time, I will have the presence of mind to look for a plastic bag. I am not at my theoretical best before I have my coffee in the morning. > [@](#): > > The worst thing about the outside corpses is that they are usually covered with busy wasps. Ugggh. Fortunately, we have a lawn service, and they do outdoor critter-disposal duty. Which makes them worth every cent we pay them. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/7 "2009-08-18T20:54:34Z")
I’d tell my kitty what a good kitty she is (though lacking claws I don’t see her succeeding in mousing) and take the remains of the mouse outside. Simple. My mom’s cat liked to catch mice and leave partial mice outside the bedroom door so in the morning you had to watch out where you stepped in case she’d been hunting again. Bleah. But far better that than a live one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/8 "2009-08-18T22:26:09Z")
Well, if you wanted to be polite, you’d thank her and then eat it in front of her. Then you could try to kill one yourself, to show her you’re learning. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/9 "2009-08-19T01:21:45Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > I’d tell my kitty what a good kitty she is (though lacking claws I don’t see her succeeding in mousing) and take the remains of the mouse outside. Simple. The cat we had when I was growing up was declawed, and she was death to small animals. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/10 "2009-08-19T01:57:08Z")
Don’t put your shoes on without shaking them out first. In my last NYC apartment, a few tiny mice got in through a small gap around a radiator pipe. My maine coon thought it’d be a nice gesture to leave them, still twitching, in my shoes. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/11 "2009-08-19T03:11:31Z")
Wow, **Captain Amazing** , that must have been one determined kitty. I am quite sure that my cat doesn’t really know how to hunt, though. I know they have to be taught how to really do it, and I haven’t seen any signs that she actually knows, but she does like to try to catch flies. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/12 "2009-08-19T03:22:33Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > One of the Neville kitties killed a mouse last night (Good kitties!), and left part of the carcass for me to find this morning. They are indoor cats. I have seen no other signs of mouse infestation in the house other than this mouse carcass, but now I’m worried that there are mice in my house that I don’t know about. > > Should I call an exterminator now, or can I wait and see if there are any other signs of mice? Good luck 🙂 24 hours ago, for the first time in over 14 years at the same place I found a mouse in my flat and I killed it, I went out and bought glue traps. So far I just caught number 10. I am wondering if they are coming in from outside, or is there a nest of them hidden somewhere. How can you not see any sign of a mouse than boom an explosion, but it happens Good for your cats though. My understanding is if you do have more than one wondering mouse that lost its way, mice hate cates and will beat it as soon as they realize there are cats. Why bother is the mouses attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/13 "2009-08-19T03:38:28Z")
Yeah, it kind of seems like the problem is in hand already. I cancelled my cockroach service once I got the third cat. They are remarkably efficient at it, until the neighbors got foreclosed on and were so filthy that the fumigation drove a whole Noah’s Ark of insect life into the house. (I typed “incest life” - thank goodness it wasn’t Google.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/14 "2009-08-19T09:07:54Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > Wow, **Captain Amazing** , that must have been one determined kitty. She was just mean as hell. 🙂 We had a dog, a golden retriever that was about five times her size, and she just terrorized that poor dog. She would walk up to her and just start batting her around the face, and the dog would just cower and whimper. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/15 "2009-08-19T12:13:00Z")
Exterminator seems like major overkill. Expensive and possibly toxic to your pets. Just buy one or two humane mouse traps and put some peanut butter in them. After I caught a a few in my house and released them down the block we never saw any again. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/16 "2009-08-19T13:03:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, if you wanted to be polite, you’d thank her and then eat it in front of her. Then you could try to kill one yourself, to show her you’re learning. this was great for an early morning belly laugh; thx! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/17 "2009-08-19T15:23:06Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > It is amazing how she is able to dissect the things and eat the good bits, leaving the guts and heads as presents for us to clean up. 😛 Our little hunter eats JUST the heads - that’s way less icky! Sort of, I guess… ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cats-killed-a-mouse-what-do-i-do-now/506842/18 "2009-08-19T15:42:51Z")
We had homemade sushi for dinner last night. The cats got a little bit of ahi sashimi, which we think is Katya’s favorite food. If there are mice in the house, we want them to catch and kill them- better dead mice in the house than live ones. Even better if they kill a mouse and put the carcass somewhere where we will find it. > [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > Our little hunter eats JUST the heads - that’s way less icky! Sort of, I guess… That’s what Katya did. I wonder if she thinks I ate the mouse for breakfast. I threw the mouse in the garbage, then (after washing my hands thoroughly, of course) fixed my breakfast. > [@panache45](#): > > Don’t put your shoes on without shaking them out first. In my last NYC apartment, a few tiny mice got in through a small gap around a radiator pipe. My maine coon thought it’d be a nice gesture to leave them, still twitching, in my shoes. We were worried about this, since the cats used to sometimes put their toys in my shoes. I warned Mr. Neville to shake out his shoes before he put them on yesterday. > [@jackdavinci](#): > > Exterminator seems like major overkill. Expensive and possibly toxic to your pets. We know that if we did call in an exterminator (which isn’t going to happen unless we see more mouse carcasses), we’d have to ask them not to use poisons. I know it’s probably not good if a cat eats a poisoned mouse. I’d be worried about snap traps, too, since I know Katya likes to bat at things with her paw.