Why cats do not eat rats

Regarding the possibility of hunting mice (especially rats) in urban apartments, we will not say, of course, that it is absolutely impossible, but it's still rather unlikely. If you already have a cat, the rodents will not come to you because of the instinct of self-preservation – the very smell of the cat will scare them away. More likely, if first there is a problem with mice, and then the man takes the cat. But even in this case, the rodents will try to move to safer territory.

Why cats don't eat sharp-nosed mice

Any cat is a hunter. When a cat comes to the countryside, it becomes an avid hunter. He brings his owners one or another captured animal or bird.

Many owners of cats and cats have noticed that their pets are very selective in their food. They generously give moles to their owners and never eat them. But they don't like to share their birds.

He will proudly carry one mouse past you in his teeth and eat it in solitude, but he will drag the other home, drop it, and walk away.

If you pay your attention to a cat's prey, you will see that they do not eat mice with a long nose. they catch them, play with them, strangle them, but they never eat them.

A mouse with a long snout is a burrowing mouse or shrew. It is small in size with a thin, sharp snout. Frankly speaking, it is not a mouse at all, they are referred to moles.

No one likes or eats shrews. The reason is the presence of the musky smell of these rodents, which is released from two glands on the front legs.

Cats find this smell very unpleasant, so they only hunt and kill shrews, but never eat them.

That's why they leave this "badness" to their owners, like, "Roast it, you don't care what you eat, maybe you'll like it."

Why don't cats catch rats and mice when there are plenty of them around?

Most cats are fed by someone, and as a result they ask for more quality food, preferring not to catch rats – a waste of effort, and hunting for play – dismissed – it's the business of kittens, not of adult cats, and eat more than you can, and cats do not stash.

When they are hungry even people start to hunt for rats, reasonably replacing by them rabbits, and when they are full – they won't even take such rubbish in their hands.

Well, why would they do such nonsense if they are already on full food allowance?

Most likely, they don't know how. For cats to catch mice, they should be taught to do it from childhood. mother cat usually brings her kittens mice, first almost crushed, then just caught and teaches them, teaches them to catch, not to play.

I have a cat that was taken from the street. She is spayed, but is great with mice, rats, moles. And if you tell her that she hasn't caught anything for a long time, you can wait for a "gift" right in her hands. And she will bring just a live one.

Should the cat be allowed to eat mice and rats?

Absolutely all cats, even the most cute and fluffy, by nature – predators. Since ancient times cats have hunted rats, mice and birds, that's why today catching rodents is not a whim, but an echo of their hunting instinct.

Many owners ponder whether cats should be allowed to track and eat rodents. "Murkosha" hastens to enlighten you on this difficult question from all angles.

There are many reasons why cats hunt and eat tailed rodents. All pets are very different, so they have different motives for this behavior. Here are the most basic ones:

Right now, cats are primarily pets. It would seem that the need to hunt them should have disappeared, but sometimes instinct takes over. For a cat, hunting mice or rats is a natural need, a kind of reflex that cannot be restrained. And it is not only the destiny of yard cats. Even a purebred cat will chase a mouse when he sees one.

When hunting rats and mice they try to keep themselves healthy on an instinctive level. The fact is that the rodent brain contains an important substance – taurine. It is very important for the health of the animal, namely:

Please note: if your cat suddenly started hunting mice, it may be a signal that he is not getting enough vitamins. He should talk to his vet and make adjustments to his food allowance if necessary.

However, the harm from rodents for cats is much more than good. Mice and rats carry a whole "bouquet" of infectious diseases, dangerous for both the pets themselves and their owners.

– Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal. If a domestic unvaccinated cat regularly hunts for mice, the possibility of becoming infected is very high.

– Trichinellosis is a disease that affects muscle fibers. This virus is not terrible for humans, because you can't catch it from a pet. But for a cat it is a serious and hard-to-cure disease.

Should the cat be allowed to eat mice and rats?

Absolutely all cats, even the sweetest and fluffiest, are predators by nature. Since ancient times cats have hunted rats, mice and birds, so today catching rodents is not a whim, but an echo of their hunting instinct.

Many owners ponder whether cats should be allowed to track and eat rodents. "Murkosha" hastens to enlighten you on this difficult question from all angles.

There are many reasons why cats hunt and eat tailed rodents. All pets are very different, so they have different motives for this behavior. Here are the most basic ones:

Now cats are primarily pets. It would seem that their need to hunt should have disappeared, but sometimes instinct takes over. For cats hunting mice and rats is a natural need, a kind of reflex that can't be restrained. And it's not only the destiny of outdoor cats. Even a purebred cat will chase a mouse when he sees one.

When hunting rats and mice they try to keep themselves healthy on an instinctive level. The fact is that the rodent brain contains an important substance – taurine. It is very important for the health of the animal, namely:

Please note: if your cat suddenly started hunting mice, it may be a signal that he is not getting enough vitamins. He should talk to his vet and make adjustments to his food allowance if necessary.

Rodents, however, do more harm than good for cats. Mice and rats carry a whole "bouquet" of infectious diseases that are dangerous to both the pets themselves and their owners.

– Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal. If a domestic unvaccinated cat regularly hunts for mice, the possibility of infection is very high.

– Trichinellosis is a disease that affects muscle fibers. This virus is not terrible for humans, because you can't catch it from a pet. But for a cat, it is a severe and difficult to cure disease.

Why cats are bad at catching rats

Your pet is a small, but real predator with an indestructible hunting instinct, laid down in the genes. In the home a cat has no real enemies and no prey, so it can prey on moving objects (sometimes that might be your feet). A running vacuum cleaner or even a blender can also be an enemy. But if a cat walks outside, it can prey on mice, birds, and probably rats. But is this really the case?

Cats and rat hunting
It turns out that cats are not very good at hunting rats. According to recent studies, domestic cats have "contributed" to the extinction of a large number of small vertebrates, but rats alone are not among them.

A team of researchers from Fordham University monitored a colony of rats at a Brooklyn recycling center for a full five months. They noticed an interesting interaction between cats and rats. In two months, the cats made only three attempted attacks on the rats, killing only two. These two rats were ambushed and the chase for a third was unsuccessful.

This is because rats are very large rodents. You've probably seen rats behind garbage cans in the city – sometimes they look bigger than dwarf dogs. A brown or gray rat can weigh up to 330 grams, which is almost 10 times the weight of a mouse or small bird. An adult rat is a very unpleasant and even nasty prey for a cat. If the cat has a choice, it will make it in favor of less impressive prey.

But rats, if there is a large population of street cats nearby, behave very carefully and prudently, trying not to get into the sight of cats. If there are not many stray cats nearby, their mutual relations with rats become almost friendly; they even eat from the same garbage cans. In any case, both rats and cats try to avoid open conflicts.

why my cat won't eat mice. he'll catch them and bring them home under the door, but he won't eat them. he doesn't like them.

It's because you're feeding him a yummy treat. If you stop feeding him, he'll eat the mice.
He strangles them because of his natural instinct, not for food. And brings – because he shares food with his pets (with you), cares. absolutely seriously.

Yes many cats don't eat mice. A cat is a predator, the main thing for him is to hunt and prey. And he'll find something to eat.

It's like a prey man.
He's showing you all, "Look at me! I'm a killer. …and you're me – Guns and Guns ((((

shows he's not useless at home. plus, apparently, he's satisfied with the food you give him. ))))

haha same situation)
My wise grandmother explained it because the cat wants you to be proud of him, he shows you what he caught her and you have to praise him so every time and then he will get used to it and probably start eating them

He is the one who is bragging (like I am good, praise me) and he eats at home. And if he eats a poisoned mouse, he will be poisoned himself.

They usually don't eat mice, they only hunt, like a sport. They chew their throats and boast of their prey to praise the owner.

They don't tear their throats out, just bluntly crush their internal organs with their teeth, strangle them, break their bones. The mice are always dead, but as good as new, wrinkled, but without any holes in their skin.

Why would he eat any nasty stuff? If you didn't feed him, he'd eat a mouse, but he's full.

You should appreciate and praise his "earner", or at least he thinks so))) ) And most likely he's not eating for one of two reasons – either he's full of them and won't eat them anymore, or he's never tried them and takes them as prey but not as food. my advice was to kill and clean the first mouse so he'd understand the smell and associate it with food, and then he'd start eating them himself. but i feel sorry for mice, so we make do with dry food. By the way, the most unpleasant thing was to get a gift from a cat in the morning at the cottage right in bed, I woke up and there was a dead mouse under my side and he was sitting with a satisfied look on his face

Why do cats eat mice but not rats?

I do not know I do not know, at our dacha cat almost every night brought a rat under the bed and ate there. mice did not carry, probably ate on the way.

just mice are stupid, rats are crafty and cats are clever, a mouse is easy and not scary, but a rat. why look for trouble, because the rat itself can attack…

and why did you decide not to eat. :о)
First of all, mice have more delicate meat :o)
and secondly, my neighbor's cat cat catches rats at once :o))))
not at all. i agree. but she often bites into it :o)))

and eat rats. at one time our kitten died that way. rats in a wooden house at the cottage, and in order to get them out, we put poison in the underbelly… a couple of days later, the kitten disappeared. found with a rat (mutilated) in his teeth. kitten and have not saved… probably also poisoned…

i krys ediat,but krysu poborot eto trudno dlia koshki,i koshka doljna byt nu ochen golodnoi.i slyshal,chto krysy voobche iadovity dlia kotov.

A rat once came to our house, but my two cats immediately tore it into two pieces and ate it up. And they didn't even hiccup! I pitied the rat to tears

Answer. Cats don't chew. They don't have teeth like ruminants. They have fangs! They tear the food and swallow it.
And a rat (even a small one) is problematic to swallow. That's it)))).

What kind of cats catch rats and mice?

For many people, cats have long been the epitome of laziness, tranquility. However, these adorable animals can be of considerable benefit. They are rat-catchers , helping to free homes and surrounding areas from a mouse or rat infestation.

Although all members of the feline family are predators, cats that catch mice and rats are not found everywhere. These rodent hunters are characterized by a well-developed musculature, strong bones, and nimble paws. In addition, most of them have a tricolor or striped coat color (although not necessarily), which provides them with a good camouflage.

This is interesting In addition, in the question of which cats are better at catching mice and rats, the gender of the animal is also important. Cat rat-catchers are incredibly rare, rodents are usually hunted by cats that are driven by their maternal instinct, or rather, the need to protect and feed their offspring. When a cat is in the business of catching rats, she will teach this skill to her kittens. So weaning them from their mother before the age of 4-5 months, if there is a desire to get a rat catcher, is not recommended.

The six best cat breeds for rodent catching

So, which breeds of cats catch mice and rats. Some of the most common breeds with active hunting skills are:

• Persian – Persians are highly intelligent, and females of this breed ways to actively get rid of mice, but often today representatives of this species are increasingly called "furry furniture";
• Manx – native to the tiny Isle of Man, located between England and Ireland. These cats are skilled hunters, once popular with sailors who breed them on ships to control ship rats;
• Chartreuse (Cartesian cat) – a born hunter, dropping everything just to play with their prey, while being calm and malleable at other times;
• Maine Coon – one of the largest cats with beautiful fur and a luxurious tail, very effective hunters when developing their skills;
• Siamese – sleek-haired beauties with excellent reaction and an independent disposition, but their small size does not allow them to become an effective rat catcher, although Siamese deal with mice very well;
• The Siberian is a rather large cat with a thick coat that easily adapts to changes in temperature. They are excellent hunters, playfully coping with both mice and rats.

Why in most cases a cat only eats the head of a mouse it has caught

Some owners of cat catchers notice their strange peculiarity when catching rodents.

It happens so that the pet brings to show the man the caught prey, from which he ate the head beforehand.

Well, or just mice under-eaten without mice leaves here and there.

Logically, the meat is more in the rodent's carcass, but it turns out that the cat is not interested in it.

There are several assumptions that could clarify the situation.

Some believe that this way of eating mice is peculiar to cats-catchers.

And after swallowing it, the murky cleanses its stomach in this way. Almost as well as with grass.

Well, the most common and understandable position that explains the fact we are considering is the one in which the cat lacks certain vitamins in the body.

It is known that it is in the head of the mouse that contains such a substance as the amino acid taurine, which is not synthesized by the body.

Or rather, it is in the head of a rodent the greatest concentration of the substance.

House mewing pets that eat special food generally do not suffer from shortages of essential vitamins, because they are all contained in their food.

But those cats that are used to getting their own food, or those whose owners keep their pets in private houses and on organic food, sometimes have to fill up the missing vitamins by mouth.

So a mouse for a cat is quite a valuable product, which can be not only a wonderful meal, but also to replenish the supply of vitamins essential for health.

When our Busya lived a few months in the village, she was also very good at catching mice.

However, she did not eat at all. She only brought mice to grandma and grandpa to show them her catch.

Yes, once she brought a live mouse from the garden and put it on the threshold, accidentally ran into the house.

She always ate our food well, so rodents as dietary supplements do not interest her at all.