# Your cat has just caught a mouse. What do you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006 "2015-04-07T00:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/21 "2015-04-07T12:13:54Z")
I tell the cats that mice and chipmunks are outdoor toys, and not allowed in the house… We are down to one outdoor cat. She sometimes does the catch and release thing, but she doesn’t injure her toys until she’s ready to kill them, and then she kills them quickly. So I don’t feel too bad about it. We used to have a young male cat who LOVED to catch chipmunks, and torture them. He discovered that if he injured the neck _just so_ the chipmunk would jump around in fun ways (to the cat). It was quite horrible to see him with his prey. But I grow berries, and the chipmunks are a scourge. I miss him. ---
**Author:** ![NVME702-redux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@NVME702-redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NVME702-redux)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/22 "2015-04-07T14:00:26Z")
We are creating a hobby farm as well, and while only my oldest paranoid son swears he has seen a mouse, I have yet to see one. We begrudgingly let our daughter keep a stray kitten this last December when we knew that we would be moving out to the country and a couple of weeks ago we added another kitty to the crew. The bad part is that they are holed up in dear daughters bedroom the entire day instead of out learning their craft. I’m sure if they were victorious with a catch, that at first I would be celebrating their natural instinct but then almost immediately it would be put out. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/23 "2015-04-07T14:04:48Z")
When we lived in a house that would get mice, “what to do” when the cat caught one was a self-correcting issue. Wait five minutes and the problem went away on its own, into the cat’s belly. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/24 "2015-04-07T14:19:09Z")
I used to have a cat who ate mice, lizards and the rare sparrow. I didn’t have a problem with it, unless she brought it inside to eat. Once I helped her catch a lizard (it was in a pot on the patio and she needed a boost). 😃 I’m not fond of a cat torturing the little things, so if I see that, I’ll rescue the critter. If you guys think that’s bad, one of my greyhounds is a bunny-zapper. He’s got three notches in his hunting belt just from our back yard. He just thinks they’re a wierd kind of toy, though and never eats them. I try to save them but he tends to crunch and shake so they die fairly quickly. That’s kind of sad. I have mixed emotions when he does that: Good boy, mighty hunter dog! and: “awww, poor little bunny!” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/25 "2015-04-07T14:36:32Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The proper behaviour is to praise the cat. Place a Wellington boot along a wall. If the mouse escapes it will hide in the boot, at which point you boil a kettle then pour the boiling water into the boot. This kills the mouse instantly. You can then dispose of the body. It didn’t occur to me until just now that you probably live outside the US (“home of the haggis”, eh?), and “wellington boot” = “wellie” = “rubber boot”. _Nobody_ calls rubber boots in the US “wellington boots” It takes too long to say, and it glorifies a guy not in our hero roster. I was thinking of a leather boot (like the kind the Duke of Wellington actually wore). I could easily see a rubber boot bein used to parboil a mouse and being re-used. Here, someone would be more likely to call it a “Totes”, after one of the brands of lightweight rubber overshoes. Or 'unavailable", since I haven’t seen them in stores in ages. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/26 "2015-04-07T14:50:03Z")
You borrowed a cat to catch mice, and the cat is catching mice. I don’t see a problem. If you chose to take the mouse away from the cat, you’re teaching the cat that they shouldn’t catch mice. They did all the work, and you get the reward. WTH? I’ll suggest that you keep some \*super-treats readily available to reward the cat for catching mice and bringing them to you. Offer the treat in exchange for the mouse. The cat is happy, you’re happy, and the plague-invested, rabies-carrying, mouse-poop-on-your-food-stores, vermin problem will soon be under control. (\*Super-treats are any treat that your cat, or dog, will immediately stop what they are doing and come to you for a little bit of heaven. It’s a training tool. Bits of kidney or liver, chicken jerky, tuna fish chunks, or a toy if that’s what excites the cat. NOT Whiskas Temptations Cat Treats.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/27 "2015-04-07T16:40:32Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > Cheer. > Say “Good kitty!” > When the cat loses interest grab the mousie and throw it outside,where many feral cats will enjoy a meal. Well, when [Banzai](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/Miscellaneous/bonzer_zpsabcaf8d2.jpg)was still alive, he was trained to take his mice into the bath tub for a snack - beat that crunch-squish of finding a mouse corpse in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom! He trained [Jezabel](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/littlemissgreeneyes.jpg) to take any mice into the tub, and she trained [Five](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/998610_523438147703675_305261154_n_zps9c3ed6fa.jpg) to take his mice to the tub. If they didn’t/don’t eat the mice, it is a quick fling out of the bathroom window to the outside kitties. One can usually tell when they have a mouse in the tub, there is a definite thud squeek scrabble soundtrack going on. Very gladiatorial. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/28 "2015-04-07T17:07:49Z")
I check what he’s got as he comes inside. Once I know it’s a mouse, I stand by to make sure it doesn’t get away before he eats it. The hard part is when he catches something that isn’t a mouse. I like little bunny rabbits more than I like mice, so there I was more inclined to let it go again even though they’re still feral animals. Another time I had to run all over the room trying to catch a bird he brought home. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/29 "2015-04-07T17:55:14Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > You borrowed a cat to catch mice, and the cat is catching mice. I don’t see a problem. I realize that in the OP I said that I borrowed my daughter’s cat and it’s true, I did. However, it’s not like I said, “Hey daughter, can I borrow your cat to get rid of these GD mice.” She (the daughter) spent the weekend with us and happened to bring her cat with her. When Breezy (the cat) proved herself a worthy mouse adversary, I asked Chelsea (the daughter) if she wouldn’t mind leaving Breezy with us for a couple of weeks. For you “circle of life” responders, I would agree with that assessment if Breezy were actually eating the mice. That would complete the circle. As it is, she’s mostly killing them and then I’m completing the job outside with a rubber mallet. (The mice are wrapped in a paper towel so I don’t have to see the nastiness.) I then throw the carcass into the tall grass. I do live in the country so I suppose that a scavenger might wander by and have mouse hors d’oeuvres and that would complete the cycle. It would also encourage scavengers to root through my tall grass looking for mouse hors d’oeuvres. If nothing comes by, I’m sure that the body will decompose eventually and again, the circle will be complete. (I searched for a Straight Dope article that I swear I read that said that a well fed cat makes a better mouser than one that is hunting just for food but I couldn’t find it.) It’s just that I don’t like to see creatures suffer, not even ones that I can’t stand. However, given my wife’s intense hatred of the vermin, I will not be releasing them alive and giving them the opportunity to get back in. Even grabbing them when they are just slightly wounded runs the risk that they might survive so I’ve decided to let Breezy have her fun. As for the mice, I guess it sucks to be that close to the bottom of the food chain. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/30 "2015-04-07T18:00:22Z")
Sounds like you need to better insulate your house if the cat is catching up to 4 mice per day. Can you say infestation? At our farm, the barn cats can eat all the mice they want. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/31 "2015-04-07T19:43:03Z")
Last winter, Mina caught two mice and two…well, what I choose to call _very large_ mice. With caudal alopecia. I never saw her kill them, so I don’t know if she played with them first. But the were never torn or bloody, so probably not. The very first one, one of the Mice Of Unusual Size, was still in her jaws when I saw her, and she resisted my attempt to take it away from her. I got it when she set it down. Much praising, much petting, much “that’s-my-good-girl”-ing. When it happened again, treats and praise. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/32 "2015-04-07T20:08:52Z")
Shoot the hostage. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/33 "2015-04-07T23:11:05Z")
An unfed cat is HUNGRY,which makes them much less patient,so they jump too soon,miss the mouse and then are even hungrier… A fed cat still operates on the hunt instinct,and will catch more mice ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/34 "2015-04-07T23:26:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Your cat has just caught a mouse. What do you do? Congratulate it and tell it to get another. We have two (outdoor-only) barn cats. They’re not pets. They’re tools; their job is to kill small rodents. They seem to like their job. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/35 "2015-04-08T02:46:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, when Banzai was still alive, he was trained to take his mice into the bath tub for a snack Well, FINALLY someone remembered the rules about pictures! ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/36 "2015-04-08T15:09:29Z")
Cattius Maximus is a fierce predator, but he’s not a torturer. If he catches a mouse, he kills it immediately. Apparently he’s not fond of mouse sushi, though, as he never eats them. He brings them upstairs and deposits them in one of the slippers I keep near the bed. I have learned the hard way to shake my slippers before putting them on in the morning. :eek: He expects, and gets, praise for his rodent-dispatching prowess. We seldom get one in the house (I think word of Max has spread among the neighborhood rodent population), but we’ll occasionally get some in the attached garage. They don’t last long. lol ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/37 "2015-04-08T17:08:31Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Say a prayer that the mouse soul finds it’s way to a happier place, this way God thinks you care about the mouse and will grant it, but you are really fooling the big G into getting Him not to put any more mice in your house. Does tricking God like this work in other instances? Like, can I rob a bank and then pray that the souls of the police chasing me find their way to a happier place like a doughnut shop? And then will God stop the police from chasing me when I rob the other banks? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/38 "2015-04-08T19:05:20Z")
Smile big, say “good girl!”, pet her and reward her a lot. Pick up the mouse, look it over, offer it back to her. Throw it away when she’s not looking. (I’ve had barn cats, I know how this works) ---
**Author:** ![liontamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b487fb/32.png) [@liontamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liontamer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/39 "2015-04-08T23:41:13Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I take it as the mouse is in the wrong place, a place where a mouse was not meant to be, and that is not your fault. A place where the mouses end will be of pain and suffering. > > Say a prayer that the mouse soul finds it’s way to a happier place, this way God thinks you care about the mouse and will grant it, but you are really fooling the big G into getting Him not to put any more mice in your house. Wait. If we pray for the mice won’t we have mice in heaven. Fuck that. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006/40 "2015-04-09T03:51:54Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > I used to have a cat who ate mice, lizards and the rare sparrow.\ My cat prefers his birds cooked well-done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-cat-has-just-caught-a-mouse-what-do-you-do/717006.md?page=1)