How to Train a Cat to Catch Mice

You should have seen the looks my dad and his cat gave the funny guy!

Do cats eat galushka, or how do you teach a cat to catch mice?

Let me tell you right off the bat, we've always fed the cats just fine! But, how can you miss a human dinner? Especially since my dad, who loved cats in general and adored the cat Kuzma in particular, came to the cottage! The cat was called "my son", and used this title to the utmost!

My dad had a great respect for his mother-in-law's borscht. My grandmother always tried to please, and this time she made dumplings to borsch, as it was a custom in the Kuban village, where she and grandfather were born and grew up. The galushki tasted terrific, and Dad, out of kindness, decided to please his favorite cat with them. A piece was stretched out on a fork and Kuzma thought deeply about it. On the one hand, it smells interesting, but on the other hand, it is obviously very unusual. And not the fact that cats eat it! Dad laughed at his musings, Mom and I watched with interest, and Grandpa criticized!

-Slavik! You're a naval officer! You're a naval officer! And you can't train your cattle to order! Where have you ever seen such a thing! All that food for a cat. Give him this and that! He's so fat! And he's sniffing a bun! Leave him to me for a couple of months, he'll eat my bread! Anyway, cats are supposed to catch mice, not show off their buns.

Then the grandmother, fussing around the table, accidentally stepped on the tail of the bewildered Kuzma, and then events developed very quickly! The cat with a short, desperate meow jerked forward, and the galushka was in his mouth, and dad, afraid that Kuzia would hurt himself on the fork, yanked it back. Kuzma frightenedly swallowed the piece that was in his throat and froze stunned. On the one hand, he seemed to have eaten something. On the other hand, he clearly hadn't realized it. Where had what he had just sniffed gone? He looked suspiciously around the table, excluding only Dad. The master is always above suspicion!

-Slavik, Slavik, quick, give him another piece to sniff! And you, Chizhenka, don't go far away, as soon as he smells it, stand on his tail! – the laughing grandfather ordered. – It's more economical to feed him dumplings than to bring him so much cat food!

How to bring up a kitten to be good at catching mice?

Only by taking from the cat who taught him to catch mice. Humans can't do that. No, of course, there is a possibility that the instincts will work, but alas, there is no hope for that.

And the kitten must be from an outdoor cat, which walks freely in the street, and from several generations of domestic cats – no use.

I observed at work: a cat would take a kitten every day to the bins and they would come back at the same time and she would have a mouse in her teeth. Every day. And then I look: the mouse started being carried by a kitten (he was 4 to 6 months old – a teenager by cat standards). And then he was already going without a cat for his daily mouse. That's the kind of feline upbringing.

Of course, the ideal is a baby cat already trained by the mother cat, who at least has an idea how to do it. We had a great mousetrap cat and how diligently she taught it to her kittens!

But you may be lucky to get a feline that has not permanently frozen hunting instincts. And the cat will catch mice and squash rats, and not run away from them in fright, which often happens with pampered pets.

Picked up in the swamp, the still blind kitten grew up to be a real mouse exterminator and no one taught him. Fortunately, he did not eat them, but only caught and played with them, not forgetting to bring and show his prey to the owners, and was very scolded when they took them away from him. It all depends on the nature of the animal, they are so different. Our untrained one not only cleans the apartment from mice, but also moonlights as a guard dog. This cat doesn't let any other creature – birds, other cats, dogs – into his house. It seems that if a horse were to come to our fifth floor, he would let it down the stairs, because size doesn't matter to him at all.

How do you teach a kitten to catch mice?

In the first week for sure he will not catch mice, must first learn everything, adapt, etc.
and then will begin to catch, but do not teach him to catch himself will not cancel the instincts, no one canceled
I have three cats (because I keep goats, and of course there is food)
I do not know about the mothers and fathers of cats, I have all the pick-ups (as kittens) and the parents of cats, I did not know, but all catch,
and you will catch,

Show me your example. )
Well, how will you teach him? His mother should have taught him, and if his mother isn't a "hunter" either, he won't make a mouser.

She must have an instinct, because you are taking a predator into the house. And teach – so it is necessary to become a cat-mother :))

If you live in your own house, and there are mice, not necessarily in the house, may live near voles, then he can learn. But each cat has his own character, if he is not a hunter, he will not catch. It is desirable that he learned it from his mother.

It is more likely that the cat will teach you to catch mice than you will teach her. I think the cat can do it better than you.

A cat should just have less other problems in life than mice. She needs to feel safe and healthy, then she will take care of the mice. Even if her mother did not teach her, she will learn to catch her own mice.

how to teach a cat to catch rats?

1995. Going for mushrooms. In a remote village we decided to buy fresh milk. On the bench left a mark from the can. Kittens swoop in and lick it off, polishing the bench with their tongues. My wife throws them a piece of black bread. I wondered if they would eat it. I was wrong, they asked for more. I look at the older cat next to the kittens. The landlady says the Muscovite neighbors were urgently called back from vacation. They promised to return in a week. They left 4 bouillon cubes for their beloved pet (half a day – thrifty, man). In the capital he (picky) only ate broth. A week after the end of the cubes ate everything on par with the villagers. And he chased them all away from a bowl of sour borscht. Caught rats, mice, neighbor's chickens, sparrows, crows. In general, he ate everything that ran, jumped, moved, or could no longer. Hunger is a bitch. That's how to teach our little brothers to be omnivorous. And then they invented whisky, faggots and so on. Haven't you forgotten what drinking powders are and how they affect the stomach?

Don't feed her. She'll hunt her own food. You probably overfeed her and she won't give a damn about rats. And she's probably too domesticated.

So you take the cat. You go with her where there are rats. You jump on the rat, bang its head against the wall, then poke the cat with its face where its head hit the wall, then on the rat and yell "That's the way to do it, get it! "If that doesn't work, repeat it three times a day for a week. The effect will be in any case, or the cat will understand you and will catch rats, or nurses will take you away where the rats will not bother you. Good luck

Adult cats themselves are sometimes afraid of rats. try with mice first. run a toy one that resembles a regular one. . then on to a real one

Probably neutered? There must be an instinct. If not, it won't be. Buy a cat (boy) – Siberian, black and white color – they are temperamental! My darn cat even jumped out the window for pigeons, and about his poor house rat, who lived in a cage on the fridge do not even want to remember, went out of life thanks to him at two and a half years :((((((((

How do you get a cat to catch a mouse?

I have a Siamese for a MONTH. at night grazing a mouse under the bathroom, a month. And still he caught it. I myself saw how he sat for hours in the dark bathroom and waited for her. So that's it.

I got one. Scarred all over. Came in a little while ago, bloody, his jaw was torn. Looks like he got in a fight with a raccoon because of the deep claw wounds.
But he doesn't catch mice, he just wants to know if there's anything rustling.

Yes, it stinks terrible, it was so) and they eat the poison and then between the walls lie. I do not want that. Already one in the wall digs a hole in my room, I hear scratching, brrr.

Urgently scare her out of there as it were and put poison in her new hideout. If it climbs into the wall – there will be a problem!

Scare it away from there and put poison in its new hiding place. If she climbs the wall, there'll be a problem.

Yes, thank you!
She's not the only one, they're coming from different directions.
It's an infestation.

Quickly scare it away from there somehow and put poison in its new shelter. If it climbs the wall – there will be a problem!

Do you know if she eats the poison, how fast does it work? What if she climbs the wall again?

Do you know if she eats the poison, how fast does it work? She might have time to get back up against the wall.

It's usually written on the package. I had three to five hours on my poison. But I'll tell you, the bigger rats died right away. But the mouse ate so much of it, 200 grams, and died only 2 days later.
I was lucky she came out. So you have to lure her out before she chews a hole. Move the furniture out of the way and take a look. They smell awful dead. If it dies somewhere, you'll know by the smell. Why don't you get some mousetraps?
They also get into electric and gas stoves, dig a nest in the insulation and shit there. Then you can't turn the oven on. Mice urine will heat up and stink all over the apartment. I replaced the insulation in the stove and the soundproofing in the dishwasher.
One mouse was electrocuted in the stove itself. Imagine them creating a short circuit and a fire.
Get rid of immediately, this is no joke at all.

What to do with the kittens?

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how to teach a cat to catch mice? ? cat 2 months old

1. Getting to know the subject of the hunt
Borrow a mouse from a neighbor. You can, of course, catch the mouse yourself, but it will be easier if a neighbor does it.
By letting the mouse go in front of the cat's nose, interest the cat. Let the cat feel that the mouse is not a scary beast. The main purpose of the exercise is to set up the cat's target recognition systems and accompany it (the target).

2. Mock mouse.
As the live mouse is a very quick and unpredictable creature, which has a tendency to mink, it would be difficult to train a young cat on a live mouse. You don't want to have to dig it out from under the couch every five minutes, do you? Therefore, to train the cat's hunting skills you can use a gray and fluffy mouse dummy tied to a very thin thread or fishing line.

3. Learn basic hunting movements
Learn the habits and running movements of the mouse from an encyclopedia. Place the cat in the center of the room and, manipulating the speed and course of the mouse, achieve stable conditioned reflexes of the cat to the mouse. Remember that the basic phases of the hunt are: stalking, sneaking and attacking from different positions. Your task is made easier by the fact that a cat that is not completely full responds well to a small moving object such as a bow, string or ball of hair.

4. Running with obstacles and barriers
Since a natural mouse does not express the desire to run straight, evenly and in an open area, but expresses the desire to run in hard-to-reach places (in holes, under the couch, under the closet), it is necessary to teach the cat to quickly force any obstacles. To do this we bind a piece of appetizing sausage to a string and pull a piece of this sausage through obstacles. Do not forget to periodically give a piece of sausage to the cat to eat. And don't lure the cat into places where you can't get it by hand, in case it gets stuck.

5. Stalking routes
Practice shows that the most successful hunting is when the cat moves along familiar places and routes. In this case, the running speed and the speed of overcoming obstacles will be maximum. Therefore you should calculate all the routes the mouse will follow (and if necessary, lay them yourself) and make some training marches using a plaster.

Why the cat in the country house does not catch mice? 5 important nuances and how to teach it to hunt

Is it worth the hope that your pet will fight the cheeky mice in your dacha? How do you teach a cat to catch mice and should you do it? There are a few nuances.

1. Genetic memory. If your kitty's ancestors were from the countryside or homeless in general, then most likely even a well-fed spoiled cat will be great at catching mice on an instinctive level.

2. Breed doesn't matter. The desire to get food in the form of mice is inherent in any breed of cat. An excellent mousetrap can be both a non-breed murka and Siamese, Bengal and even Maine Coon, but the owner of these aristocrats will hardly be ready for the fact that his pet will watch for mice in dusty and even dirty lurking places.

And what if God forbid he eats a rat or a mouse, because they have such a delicate mental and internal organization. But there are examples of delicate Persians overnight dragged to the doorstep of 10 defeated "enemies.

3. Are cats better? There is an opinion that cats catch mice better than cats. Cats are potential breadwinners and catch mice, as if to feed their young, more often to feed their master (just kidding), because they drag the mice under the bed and put the loot into the master's shoes. Cats catch mice for fun, and they also make excellent hunters. It's a matter of luck.

4. If the cat is a castrate. Neutered and neutered animals can catch mice and here already depends on the character of the animal. Undoubtedly, after such operations the pets become more lazy and if the cat was melancholic from the beginning it will hardly be interested in the story with mice. But a cheerful, curious cat may well go into the garden wilderness for prey even after being deprived of the ability to breed.

5. Cat eating mice. If you notice that your cat or cat uses its prey as lunch, it is better to try to wean the pet from this habit. First, rodents are disease carriers, and second, the rat or mouse can be poisoned and unfortunately, these are frequent causes of your pet's death. Try increasing your pet's diet a bit, and place food in places where the cat hunts more often.

How to teach your cat how to catch mice" tutorial

1. Catch a mouse yourself. Give the pet a dead mouse to learn the smell and for the cat to make sure that the mice are not dangerous.

2. Take artificial mouse from a pet store, tie it to a string. Train the cat in areas where rodents live.

3. a scratching post for the "hunter" and periodically give him dry food, if possible larger pieces of your pet's usual food. This is done so that the teeth and claws are ready to defeat the rodent, if the cat wants to wrestle and bring you a mouse or rat, brrr…

How to let the cat know what is expected of him

If it is important for the owner that the cat fulfill its direct natural purpose, it is worth trying to teach it to be a hunter.

Advices of experienced owners have different sequence of actions. The first ones recommend to start with the development of hunger. After keeping the animal on a "hunger ration" for a while you can provoke it to go in search of food itself.

Other experts recommend starting with the development of agility, agility, attention and tenacity. When the cat feels its strength, it will get interested and want to show it in the hunt. For training you can use an artificial mouse, which you can discreetly pull on the string, teasing and engaging the future hunter. You can pick up a live mouse "not the first freshness", for example, one that was caught by the neighbor's cat.

According to third parties, the instinct to catch mice should be developed by stimulation. For each mouse caught the animal should receive some encouragement (a treat, a favorite pastime, a toy and so on). Then he will have a natural interest in the process promising new pleasures.

Finally, the fifth group of "cat scientists" is of the opinion that the cat is an extremely intelligent animal. It always understands what is expected of it, just doesn't always want to do it. If you praise her, please her in every possible way, point out all her good deeds, but make her understand what is expected of her, she will definitely thank you for your kind attitude by catching mice.

There is an opinion that the instinct to catch mice is easier to develop in cats than in cats. This is due to the inherent nature of the female duty of care for her offspring. The need to feed the kitten will help the cat understand how to get natural food.

Stages of training

Deciding to train, you need to have patience and stamina, prepare the necessary details, and allocate time and place where no one will interfere. The steps are as follows:

1. Prepare a mouse moulage. It is desirable that it was soft, moving, accompanied by sound. When launching it, the goal is to arouse the cat's keen interest in catching it, grabbing it and clawing it firmly. Some cats, tempted by such actions, start to catch real mice, but they do not eat them. They are perceived by them as a positive outcome of their hunt or just a toy. But it doesn't matter. The main thing is to get a taste for the hunt.
2. Develop a training scheme for working out habits and running skills: place the cat in the center of the room and try to arouse its lively interest by various amplitude and speed movements of a tethered mouse. At first the cat's eyes "light up", it focuses its gaze on the target, then it freezes and takes aim. The final step is a jump – sharp and impetuous. The exercise is repeated several times with the location of the bait from different sides and at different distances. The more the cat fails, the angrier it will get and try to reach its goal.
3. If the previous step began to have results, the task should be made more difficult. The cat should understand that the mouse does not run in a straight line. It moves chaotically, turning sharply and changing its trajectory. This also needs to be staged, for which purpose put obstacles and barriers on the way, make hard-to-reach places. At the obstacles themselves it is possible to increase the animal's interest by tying a piece of its favorite treat to the thread. Note: to "help" the cat to catch the mouse, you have to train it in the place of its supposed movement. Movements along familiar routes are always faster, more impetuous and more effective.
4. Sound stimulus training. In training, you can develop the instinct to hunt by sound. By downloading a live mouse squeak from the Internet and turning it on in various corners of the room, you must make the cat perceive this sound as a signal to hunt. When he realizes this, the hunter must be encouraged. Such training is called bearing.
5. An important condition for successful training is the general physical preparation of the cat. It should not be allowed to develop laziness in him. Let him move around more, jumping for food or a toy, sharpening his claws and teeth. He should not be overfed or overweight. Other than digestive and musculoskeletal problems, this will not cause anything.

BREED, DIET AND SKILL

There may be several reasons why the cat does not want to catch mice, explains veterinarian Ekaterina Chernova. For example, the animal is simply fed by the owner, or in childhood the mother cat did not pass the skills of a hunter to the kitten, and he has no idea how to do it. The cause may be in the cat's breed or in its diet.

– One of the main instincts in cats is hunting. It usually develops from childhood and persists throughout life. But poor nutrition can make negative adjustments – the metabolism slows down and the animal gains weight. Then the cat becomes lazy and apathetic, which may be one of the reasons why the animal refuses to catch mice," says the vet.

The mother plays a big role in awakening the kitten's hunting instinct. The cat brings the kittens the caught mice – so the babies get acquainted with their future prey, play with it, try it on the teeth, and then, when they grow up, go hunting together with their mother.

By the way, funny games of kitty with a ball or bow on a string – is a good preparation for its adult hunting life. It trains attention, dexterity and develops in the animal playful excitement, which will come in handy for him in the future.

INTRODUCING HIM TO THE MOUSE

With the help of games and an adult cat can be taught to hunt mice. Experts advise to pick up a toy for the pet that resembles a mouse, sprinkle it with catnip to arouse the animal's interest, and start playing games. The cat should "hunt" for the toy, as in childhood – first at home, then, if necessary, in the yard. Of course, at first one cannot do without small tasty rewards. Then the hardest part is to find a dead mouse and offer it to the cat… This way the owner explains to the cat the principles of hunting instead of the mother cat, and there is a good chance that he will succeed.

To teach the cat to catch mice, you mustn't punish it or put it on bread and crumbs. The animal may be offended and harbor a grudge against the owner.

– It is better to reduce the diet of the animal, not to feed it with cat food and especially fatty food – emphasizes Ekaterina Chernova. – If the cat brings the owner a caught mouse or a bird, it is absolutely impossible to punish it. So the animal wants to show off its skills, to express to the owner its gratitude or care, treating him his prey.