My cat has turned into a killing machine

He’s well fed etc but every day few days in the morning there are bits of small animals left on the lawn.
Always in the same place – like it’s some sacrificial alter or something!
Sometimes it will be a random kidney or something equally rank that he didn’t fancy…sometimes just a pile of tell-tale feathers. I’ve lost count of the amount of times he’s brought something back that’s barely breathing and I’ve reluctantly had to put it out of it’s misery which is never nice. This evening he strutted to that area with a bird hanging out his jaws, plopped it down for me basking in the glory of his latest achievement – it was gasping it’s final breaths so I sped things up.

I know it’s natural but he’s in slaughter mode at the mo…anyone else’s mog turned into a slayer lately?

You are a well-loved cat owner – isn’t it the case that these are all gifts for you? I get the same (so I too must be worshipped by my cat), but I always get the ‘gifts’ on the same kitchen tile – at leat you don’t need dettol on the lawn…

Headless rabbits started appearing, now only the arse end gets left. Gross!

don’t worry, out cat often puts mice/birds/rabbits/offerings in her food bowl so we can replace it with tinned food. Once she put 2 mice in there, one dead, one alive but cowering with the fear that it would be next!

Ours goes through phases. He’s only a small cat, but he’s had all sorts. Best kill was a huge Magpie, but bizarrely he just left that under the sofa, fully intact. Pigeons he devours. Mice get eaten, except the liver, which apparently cats don’t like

It’s rent.

Let my two youngest out for the first time yesterday. Both a bit bamboozled by the garden. Spent the next couple of hours chasing flies. They have big bells on to prevent any avian carnage. My older two couldn’t catch a slug, they’d rather just loaf, a bit like me really.

And yes, if you look closely you can’t see one of the older ones sitting in the bird table!!!

Forgot to add, my eldest one has never really killed anything, although she was brilliant at killing wasps when she was younger, so instead she steals socks from the washing pile and walks around the house with them in her mouth whilst meowing before bringing them in as a substitute kill/present.

Loddrik – is it just an illusion or do you have massive expansion gaps between your decking boards?

Nope. Just an illusion I think.

My Fell Terrier has just gotten the blood lust. 8 years and he’s never shown the slightest interest in hunting, catching or killing things until a couple of months ago a rat ran too close to him while he was snoozing in the sun. Since then he’s had 3 or 4 a week, always caught the same way; lie near the bird table and let them come to him. He’s had a couple of squirrels too, which pisses off my Jack Russell no end. She lives for hunting and killing and you name it- she’s had it- but she’s never had a squirrel…

I’ve got two house cats.

They bring me patches of super-embedded white fur to whichever bit of furniture they’ve spent the entire day sleeping in/on, and that’s it. And they run away from the guinea pig, so I think hunting is out of the question…

Pathetic as cats go, but they are super friendly.

like it’s some sacrificial alter or something!

We had a stray cat move in with us and he’d arrange each nights kill as a grid, in size order, on our door mat. Shrews and mice at top left corner, through blackbirds and thrushes, then occasionally a duck at bottom right.

When I was growing up, my cat used to put dead/dying things on my bed while I was asleep.

I once had to dispatch a half dead black bird with a shovel, but missed and only managed to scalp it.

Do what loddrick has get a bell on it.
The birds don’t need the hassle while they’ve got chicks in the nest to feed.

We’ve got two cat. One big fat moggy, and another slight, slinky little thing. We assumes it was the big fat biffa that was leaving little gifts for us every morning. Turns out its the other one that is like an angel of death to the local rodent population.

then occasionally a duck at bottom right.

😯 🙂

I read somewhere that the ‘offerings’ aren’t because they worship you but their way of showing they’re a better hunter than you.

We’ve found with our two that they’ll hunt stuff no matter what we feed them, but if we feed them a bit less they actually kill what they catch rather than maiming them.

Sorry about the gratuitous pic, but this shows one of our raptors with a prize. The collar you see has a bell on which apears to do very little to stop the slaughter of birds, mice, and even squirrels. The two of them team up like something from Jurassic park and its carnage

I found that providing raw chicken wings calmed my cats hunting down a lot. He went from pretty much every day to about 1 in 3 now.

donk I can’t see the pic but I think your cats going to need a bigger bell!

This was taken about 6 months ago;

My daughter was following the cat as it darted around the garden saying “PUT IT DOWN! I know it tastes delicious but you have to put it down!”

My dogs sometime bring me a cat they have been tearing apart, I don’t bother putting them out their missery when they’re still alive, **** them! Horrible things.

Cat muzzle is the only way

How lovely. You sound delightful.

Thanks for your contribution though….

When I was a teenager I wandered downstairs, barefoot, one morning and trod on something on the living floor. It was a mouse’s head.

Look on the bright side, if they ever manage to wipe out all the native wildlife within range, they will stop. If they don’t, then that means there is still some native wildlife that they haven’t managed to exterminate.

We have a lot of mice in our garden.
They eat the veg, nibble the shoots from plants and chew stuff in the garage.
And they stink.

Fair enough, we feed birds and grow stuff, we’re asking for it.
As long as they stay out of the house I’m cool with the mouse thing.

Cat (16 years old, bell, thick as mince) still gets the odd one.

I don’t think she’ll be putting anything on the endangered list anytime soon.

Our two cats have bells, doesn’t stop them bringing endless birds / mice.

I don’t think she’ll be putting anything on the endangered list anytime soon.

Not personally, but there’s quite a lot of cats.

And also the issue of all the failed hunts where moggy (or a dog off the lead) gets to go back to the warm where food is, and the wild animal that’s been chased is now in a massive energy debt.

Dogs on leads/cats as house pets is the best thing, although I’m ok with cats on leads and dogs as house pets too.

Jesus, I sound like a dog owner in that post.
Sorry.
😀

Yes, it is a problem.
Bells are a great idea.

But cats chase mice.
It’s in their nature.

And personally, I think keeping them inside or on a lead is cruel.

We have more cats now because we have more people, less space & time for dogs etc.

The only solutions are;
Less people.
Or tax breaks for rabbit owners.
And ferret owners too, to keep the rabbits down, obviously.

Yesterday’s tally was two dead birds, the half chewed arse end of a mouse and a very miffed, but still quite healthy bat. I rescued the bat, it was a little to late for the mouse.

Biggest laugh recently was coming down the stairs in the morning to find the pair of them had been up to some sort of shenanigans in the hallway, knocking over my wee rucksack that I take to work. When I picked my bag up to shift it out the way, the very much still alive rabbit inside made it’s presence known.

It was very nearly the end of me!

I have a story about the cats I had as a kid, but it’s long and disgusting so I’ve put it at the end of this link.

Ours is very small and hopelessly bullied by other local cats, but an absolute ninja when it comes to hunting. Completely self reliant, she got lost once and turned up 6 weeks later at our old house, which is miles away and up a mountain. Wandered through miles and miles of wild forest to get there.

She can happily stay indoors for months at a time when it’s snowing in winter, but is rarely home in summer. At least one kill a day at the moment. Usually mice/rats/shrews so we’re not too fussed about her endangering local wildlife. She has brought home a few moles (and some monster rats) almost as big as she is.

There was a program a while ago which followed nature lovers. One was a guy who had loads of cctv in his garden – one of which he had in a bird box. Anyway several chicks all died when a moggy put his paw in the box and pulled them all out. Multiply this by, and if this thread is anything to go by, the many many thousands of cats hunting birds then is it any wonder why so many garden birds are in decline. Chris Packham has it right too many cats

And personally, I think keeping them inside or on a lead is cruel.

More or less cruel than

Anyway several chicks all died when a moggy put his paw in the box and pulled them all out

?

I don’t know, tbh, it’s a hugely subjective question.
I’m all for reducing the number of badly looked after, unexercised pets.

Packham’s article is very sensible – bells, get them neutered and keep them in at night if you can.

If we’re going to get serious about wildlife preservation the population issue would seem to be paramount.

Along with less pesticides, more hedges, less intensive methods of farming, cutting newbuilds and renovating existing properties instead etc.

And personally, I think keeping them inside or on a lead is cruel.

You could probably argue is both ways, or take the view that no cat, kept inside or kicked out in the yard, is having the proper wild animal experience. It’s possible we’re taking an anthropomorphic view on what makes a cat happy.

My view is that cats are territorial animals, and feel happy and secure when they are occupying, controlling and patrolling that territory. If that territory is a house and a couple of gardens, fine, but it can also be just a house.

It’s quite possible that an ‘outdoor’ cat will be more stressed and unhappy, particularly if there are other rival cats looking to occupy his/her territory. A quick google suggests that hundreds of thousands of cats get run over each year in the UK, too, which is worth taking into consideration alongside wildlife massacres.

As long as a house cat gets opportunities to hunt and exercise through play indoors, I don’t see why they can’t have a good life.

Not sure about leads, though. You’re letting them out but not letting them out, so they’ll be desperate to go out and patrol properly.

Go big or go home!

Rural area so plenty to choose from (although even I will admit that the occasional partridge is pushing it a bit!). And, yes, they all get eaten..

martinhutch – Member

…or take the view that no cat, kept inside or kicked out in the yard, is having the proper wild animal experience…

But they’re not wild animals. They’re cats.
And I don’t think any cat that is kept indoors against it’s will is having the proper cat experience either.
Yes, you can buy a kitten and never let it out, but I think that’s unfair.
Some older cats prefer to live indoors much of the time.
Fine if it’s their choice.

It’s possible we’re taking an anthropomorphic view on what makes a cat happy.

If ours isn’t happy it takes your face off or craps in your slippers.
No anthropomorphism required.
😀