My cat keep bringing in Rats dead and alive.

[joannegriff50]

I need help, my cat is toying with my emotions, I am a self confessed crazy cat lady, I have always grown up with cats who have brought gifts of mice, birds, schrews etc. I was therefore expecting my new cat to bring me such gifts, but no, she brings in rats, I am climbing the walls in fear they terrify me!

My new cat who isn't yet a year old drags dead rats through her cat flap I have had 2 large rats left dead on my living room floor and on Monday morning I was awoken to her flinging a live rat around my bedroom. For the short term I have been locking her downstairs to prevent a rat in bedroom incident but i feel cruel i have always been from the school of letting cats come and go as they please.

What can I do?? please help, I know she is trying to be nice but I cant cope.

[bobbys girl]

While I do sympathise, can you not regard them as large mice? A dead one is not going to harm you and If your cat is anything like ours, if you try to take a live rat off her (just look like you want to!) her response will be 'no you can't have it' and make a dash outdoors, taking the problem with her.

I have a (totally illogical) fear of craneflies, after an incident as a small child (they look SO much bigger when you are small). I used to have to ask OH to remove them from the bedroom before I could sleep in there. I don't know if Bob picked up on this but he has become an expert hunter of craneflies and can pluck them out of the air - my hero.

[meriad]

Do you know where she's getting the rats? I'd investigate that and see if you can do something about the source of them... thankfully mine have never bought in a rat; not sure how I'd handle that to be honest (I think it'll depend on their size )

But on the other hand, if it's adult rats she's bringing in then hopefully that'll come to a natural end as they won't be around to breed, if that makes sense?

[Grace56]

My Dave catches rats and he's very good at it. As I love all animals, rats included, I would rather they die in the jaws of a natural predator than be slowly poisoned and suffer.
It's what cats do I'm afraid. You cannot stop them nor suppress their natural instincts.
I thank Dave for his contribution to the larder...lol, and wait for him to get fed up with it ( quite literally sometimes) then I dispose of the little corpse, or what's left of it, into the bin.
I have never been scared of any rodents.

[Galyna Chekan]

Thanks, God your cat is alive and not poisoned by the rat. The best option for you and your cat is to find the place from where these ugly rats are coming, so you can destroy them all for your pet safety. My uncle had a very nice red cat in a village, but she died because the rat that she caught was poisoned! So you have to find a way how to stop them.

[Crewella]

I feel for you, when we first moved to this house my boy Daz took to the new, bigger, garden and surrounding fields like a duck to water and started hunting bunnies and in the spring was bringing home gorgeous, ickle, fluffy .... dead ...... baby bunnies which I found a distressing, though for entirely different reasons! He does at least eat them, but that can make a heck of a mess ...... bleeuuccccch.

I did the same as Bobbys girl and kept picking them up (or trying to) and taking them straight back outside and chasing him out. It required a couple of months of vigilance but he did eventually get the message and now no longer brings them in. I did also lock him in at night (which I still do) to give the local wildlife a break (especially at dawn and dusk) and also so he couldn't bring stuff in when I was asleep and not on alert.

Luckily, Daz does a 'look what I've got' call when he's caught something (he does also share his spoils with the others sometimes) so I had a good chance of hearing him when he was coming home with something, and I still see him occasionally considering heading for the door ...... a quick "Daz, don't you dare bring that in here!" will stop him.

I would also try to find out where the rats are coming from. As has been said, the chance of her getting hold of a poisoned rat is a concern.

[bobbys girl]

We did have rats under our shed - until Purdy arrived. Haven't seen one in years. I'm lucky I don't have to worry about poison as no one around here bothers with it.

[alanc]

Badger and Tilly started their hunting career on New Years day 2011 by depositing a large dead rat on my living room floor. Tilly dumped one last Saturday - fortunately there have not been many in between. The problem appears to be due to nearby gardeners compost heaps, which appear to attract rats. Rather than risk Tilly picking up a poisoned rat, I put up with the odd dead rat on the floor, though I wish the gardeners could employ rat-proof compost bins.

[bobbys girl]

I wish the gardeners could employ rat-proof compost bins.

Or get a cat?

[alanc]

Sadly, the gardener in question is not fond of cats. She tolerates Tilly for the sake of neighborly relations (and dealing with her rat problem). I had some trouble a few months ago to persuade her (the gardener, that is) that it was not Tilly who was burying poo in her vegetable patch. Only time I've been glad that Tilly leaves her poo on the surface!

[kev1949]

My cats bring in birds, mice and frogs. Yes, frogs! Guy couple of doors away has frogs in his garden. So cats know where to get them. But like an earlier reply, try to get the frog/bird/mouse off them, and they run outside with whatever is in their mouth.
Cats bringing home whatever livestock caught is natural. All you can is either lock the cat-flap if you have one, or keep the door closed. Then when you hear the cat trying to get in, look whats in its mouth before letting it inside.

Good luck!

[Lallum]

I also have a rat killer. I decided against a cat flap so I could vet what got brought in. She caught a rat on Saturday night. It was left on the front door step which didn't impress our dinner guests as they left.

The problem I have with Magic fighting rats is that she has occasionally sustained bites particularly to her face. This has caused her pain and we've had to take her to the vet for treatment. The infected bites turn into abscesses which smell and are difficult to find initially.

[Crewella]

Like Kev, I check them on the way back in. I feel like a nightclub bouncer sometimes .... practically patting them down to check they're not 'packing'!

[Grace56]

Like Kev, I check them on the way back in. I feel like a nightclub bouncer sometimes .... practically patting them down to check they're not 'packing'!

[bobbys girl]

Like Kev, I check them on the way back in. I feel like a nightclub bouncer sometimes .... practically patting them down to check they're not 'packing'!

I'd pay good money to see that!