Sparrows

[tnmommy]

We domesticated cats for just this reason. My cat came from an animal shelter and he has been the best hunting cat I've ever had. He hangs out to watch the coop, he may have discovered that he will find lots of pests to kill.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

We domesticated cats for just this reason. My cat came from an animal shelter and he has been the best hunting cat I've ever had. He hangs out to watch the coop, he may have discovered that he will find lots of pests to kill.

I really want to get a shelter cat to hang around the yard and be a mouser but I have absolutely not experience with cats and live in a pretty urban area. This might sound dumb but how do you get the cat to hang around? Is there are good age/gender/breed to look for? Is there any way to encourage mousing?

 

[Irishhenman]

I really want to get a shelter cat to hang around the yard and be a mouser but I have absolutely not experience with cats and live in a pretty urban area. This might sound dumb but how do you get the cat to hang around? Is there are good age/gender/breed to look for? Is there any way to encourage mousing?

There is only one way to keep a cat hanging around your yard and it is food, if you set up regular feeding times once/twice a day it will stay around (not too much food though or the cat might stop hunting)
Breed isn't too important as long as you don't get some showy house cat, and a hardened off adult that already knows how to hunt is best.
Most cats with a good instinct will hunt if there is suitable prey around them, just don't feed them so much food that they won't need any more, so that they will want to hunt.

 

[tnmommy]

I really want to get a shelter cat to hang around the yard and be a mouser but I have absolutely not experience with cats and live in a pretty urban area. This might sound dumb but how do you get the cat to hang around? Is there are good age/gender/breed to look for? Is there any way to encourage mousing?

Your average short or long haired generic cat is fine. Most of ours "found" us, either by being dumped or when they were born nearby from a feral mom. Can't tame the mom, but you can tame feral kittens if you find them soon enough. Anyway, if you are concerned about the cat roaming and getting hit or attacked, you can make "cat fence" by angling metal or wooden strips inward against a fence, if it is tall enough, and attaching bird netting or other material like that along the fence. They can't get over it very well. It's always a risk having a cat outside, but it's less so if they come home to go inside nightly. I feed mine two meals, one right before dark, so they always come back in at night. Contrary to popular belief, most cats prefer to be in a group and do get lonely.

I have always kept new cats confined for a month at least so they will know where "home" is. Definitely a young or young adult cat, they will be more likely to hang around. And obviously spayed or neutered. That cuts down on the roaming. Sadly, there will always be more kittens at the shelters should you need a new cat. As you can see below, my cat loves to be near the chicken run. Sometimes, he is on top of it.