We've done a scary thing. Pics too.

[Imp]

Doesn't it take mama cat to teach kittens how to hunt?

Imp

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Quote:
I think so.

I had a Persian that was an amazing mouser, but I got her as an adult cat. Go figure.

I've never had a cat that I got that young that was any good for mouse catching...






If I had a rodent problem as bad as Debi is describing though I'd want it taken care of TODAY. RIGHT NOW. I'm definitely not gonna wait for a couple kittens to grow.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Generally around the age of 4 to 6 weeks the mama is teaching them how to hunt; also teaching them how to use a litter box. I always laugh when people say "oh my kitty is already housebroken!" No duh if they've been with their mama and she uses a litter box, she taught them.

 

[breezy]

Until your 2 new cuties are up and mousing try scattering cotton balls saturated with peppermint oil across the surface of your counters at night before you go to bed. Peppermint oil can be had pretty cheaply at the health food store. Try the brand called NOW. Should be able to get a good sized bottle for less than 5 bucks. You dont need an expensive grade oil for this application. It wont get rid of your mice but it might keep them off your counters at least. I feel badly for you with the mouse situation amd the FIP. Good Luck

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I think so.

I had a Persian that was an amazing mouser, but I got her as an adult cat. Go figure.

I've never had a cat that I got that young that was any good for mouse catching...






If I had a rodent problem as bad as Debi is describing though I'd want it taken care of TODAY. RIGHT NOW. I'm definitely not gonna wait for a couple kittens to grow.

Being a former feral, Kitty was an excellent mouser UNTIL we brought her in the house full time. Now she just lays around. She survived 11 days locked in an outbuilding when she was young. The only thing she could have eaten in the building was rats and water condesation on the well pipes.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Thank you for that suggestion. And Em, we have tried everything we know of and just tired of spending money we don't really have. Not to mention the amount of food that gets tossed because they have chewed through the packaging.

What made the decision easier was reading several reports that just the scent of a cat in the house will minimize the problem. I would never have believed it, but last night I did not hear a single mouse and my counters were MUCH cleaner this morning.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Quote:
Which is honestly why I think it'd be cheaper to go the route of an exterminator.

Like I said, no idea of the cost, but I know for just my one cat, I have over 500.00 in vet care bills this year alone...I would think an exterminator couldn't possibly cost that much? Does anyone know for sure? I would check into it Debi...rodents are a horribly nasty problem...just the disease from the feces and urine is putting your health at risk...I know I'm a little OCD, but I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I had ONE mouse in the house...I wish you luck in getting it taken care of.


I also hope your new kitties don't catch the illness that killed your other cats...Your vet said they had a 20% chance? I still wouldn't like those odds.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Which is honestly why I think it'd be cheaper to go the route of an exterminator.

Like I said, no idea of the cost, but I know for just my one cat, I have over 500.00 in vet care bills this year alone...I would think an exterminator couldn't possibly cost that much? Does anyone know for sure? I would check into it Debi...rodents are a horribly nasty problem...just the disease from the feces and urine is putting your health at risk...I know I'm a little OCD, but I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I had ONE mouse in the house...I wish you luck in getting it taken care of.


I also hope your new kitties don't catch the illness that killed your other cats...Your vet said they had a 20% chance? I still wouldn't like those odds.

I don't like those odds either, but I like the mice even less. We have been told that an exterminator would only remove them until they find their way back, the cost is $175, which is WAY beyond what we can come up with.

I'm just gonna keep praying.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

175.00 seems cheap to me.

I guess your vet is less expensive though? I know mine, for a checkup, shots, and spaying of two cats I'd be well over the 175.00. Of course, I know my vet is also not the least expensive in the area either.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

I wonder why you havent tried bait stations? Use the inexpensive blocks of poison, in a container that the cats cant get into, place it where you know the rodents travel, they will eat in the station and take it back to the colony, and in 2 weeks everybody is dead for about $10.00 in rodenticide. Most poisons these days no longer have a secondary capability to kill a dog or cat or chicken that eats the corpse, (and most dogs and cats wont eat something already dead, most chickens avoid them too.)

We have these bait stations in our coops, under our house, and I renew them each year when I hear that irritating scritching sound in the ceiling or walls, and it goes away, slick as can be. No smell, no traps, peace.

Worth a try, and worth every penny, compared to having them running on your counters and food surfaces.... eck.

You can buy bait stations already made, or do what I do, a locking tupperware container, cut a hole in the side, and make sure the bait cant be pulled out by a paw. I tape it to the far end, so they have to crawl in and chew on the block. Cheap, disposable, clean.