- Thread starter Unruh
- Start date
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
female
Hal/ Eastern WA
Member
In my experience, momma cats nursing kittens are the most aggressive hunters. That said, I also had a fixed male cat that was always hunting and who would bring me the caught animals to show me, before he ate them.
We had poor luck ever keeping intact tomcats. When they got about half or two thirds grown, they would go out and fight with other tomcats. Some never came home, but a few came back horribly injured, so I had to put them down. If I had tomcats fixed when they were kittens, a couple of times they lived to be more than about 3 years old, but most disappeared or got run over or something.
We have had several female cats that lived to be 10 years old or more. One had been spayed, but all the others were not. But with unspayed cats you end up with kittens, sometimes as many as 4 litters a year, so you have to do something with the excess kittens. If the kittens are found very early in their lives, they usually can be tamed and possibly given away. If barn cats hide their kittens until they can no longer feed them, I have had no luck at all trying to tame the kittens. They end up needing to be destroyed--a very distasteful job for me.
Although other cats I have had have been good mousers, I think the momma cats are far and away the best hunters. But you have to deal with the kitten population. Good luck!
We had poor luck ever keeping intact tomcats. When they got about half or two thirds grown, they would go out and fight with other tomcats. Some never came home, but a few came back horribly injured, so I had to put them down. If I had tomcats fixed when they were kittens, a couple of times they lived to be more than about 3 years old, but most disappeared or got run over or something.
We have had several female cats that lived to be 10 years old or more. One had been spayed, but all the others were not. But with unspayed cats you end up with kittens, sometimes as many as 4 litters a year, so you have to do something with the excess kittens. If the kittens are found very early in their lives, they usually can be tamed and possibly given away. If barn cats hide their kittens until they can no longer feed them, I have had no luck at all trying to tame the kittens. They end up needing to be destroyed--a very distasteful job for me.
Although other cats I have had have been good mousers, I think the momma cats are far and away the best hunters. But you have to deal with the kitten population. Good luck!
Jim in Ma.
Well-known Member
Any hungry cat. Don't feed them.
All of the momma cats hunted here. We had a string of calico females that even when spayed were accomplished hunters. I think whatever genes made them calico gave them excellent hunters AND good dispositions with humans, a rare combination IMO. Also had a fixed male tiger coon cat who was good at picking squirrels off the corn crib. He was BIIIG.
MarkB_MI
Well-known Member
- Location
- Motown USA
We had two Maine Coon housecats. The female would catch mice. One day the male comes out of the basement with a mouse in his mouth and growling like he was really something. Closer inspection revealed that the mouse's head was caught in a trap.
I think any hungry cat is a good mouser. I remember on our farm as a kid all the cats would take off in the spring of the year than return in the fall. When they returned they were fat from eating birds, mice and gophers. Cats eat more song birds then anything else out there.
Lead poising works good on feral cats.
Lead poising works good on feral cats.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Most mama cats are usually the best mousers. Also over the years the calico cats have been the best mousers, maybe just concidence I don't know. Have also found that a well fed, not over fed were the best mouser's. A hungry cat just seems to lay around begging for food and does not want to hunt. Year's ago my father-in-law told me this and I didn't believe it, but have found it to be true watching them over the year's.
Brian G. NY
Well-known Member
I would have to agree that females, especially those that have or have had kittens are the best hunters.
However, I have two neutered males that catch many, many mice.
The way I see it, the males are like most men, they like to hunt for the sport of it!
However, I have two neutered males that catch many, many mice.
The way I see it, the males are like most men, they like to hunt for the sport of it!
Female, hands down. We have a Siamese that appeared one day many years ago. She has had lots of kittens and she hunts mice and rats and brings them back alive to the kittens to train them. We have kept several of her kittens including males that learned well from momma.
Any cat will hunt if not fed as they are hungry. But they will also move on once there isn"t much to eat. Many say not to feed them, but we feed ours once per day and they still hunt and catch and have no reason to go somewhere else.
Any cat will hunt if not fed as they are hungry. But they will also move on once there isn"t much to eat. Many say not to feed them, but we feed ours once per day and they still hunt and catch and have no reason to go somewhere else.
Unruh, you're absolutely right about keeping your cats fed. Our neutered stray male cat gets his evening supper and usually within an hour he'll come back with something he's caught and drop it at the back door just to show me he's on the job. We live in town and haven't had a mouse in the house since he's been here.
Irv
Irv
Bill Radford
Member
My female is by far the best hunter. Watch the animal shows: the female lion does the hunting while the male lays around, then he gets to eat.
Not that much difference between behavior of house-cats and lions...
Not that much difference between behavior of house-cats and lions...
Indiana Ken
Well-known Member
Typically the consensus is that female cats are better. I have observed that to be true when they have a littter to feed however, I am not sure at other times. I recently had male (minus accouterments) that liked a mouse before breakfast most everyday. If he could score a rabbit sometimes he would skip the mouse for few days. Pretty handy fellow, he got co-opted by my girl friend and does not get out much any more.
See attached picture: GreyFellow's last mouse before he moved to the city.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Pappy always called a tomcat a "ball-bearing mousetrap"...
notjustair
Well-known Member
Everything here is fixed. The females are always on the prowl and keep the place clean.
The toms are fat worthless slugs. They are only around because they have a good personality. They are a huge waste of food, though. Both of the ones we have are over 20 pounds. They look like twins but are separated by about 12 years. Imagine my shock when the young one turned out just like his buddy.
The toms are fat worthless slugs. They are only around because they have a good personality. They are a huge waste of food, though. Both of the ones we have are over 20 pounds. They look like twins but are separated by about 12 years. Imagine my shock when the young one turned out just like his buddy.
Ronnie Graves
Member
had a tom cat was the best HI SPEED BALL BEARING RAT TRAP EVER , and the more I fed him the more he caught , yes big boned yellow tabby
he could be sound asleep and hear a mouse teet and his nap was over till the mouse was DEAD
he could be sound asleep and hear a mouse teet and his nap was over till the mouse was DEAD
THEkyroastnear
Member
we had a solid black tom for a while that caught anything that moved not just the rodent family, young rabbits and small snakes . wife made a flapjack of him one day on carport, she also got to clean it up
730 virgil
Well-known Member
- Location
- IL Wis state line near Monroe Wi
we had a female calley cat and a tom ot that would fight over who sat at which gopher hole they cleaned those varmits out of here.
after calley cat was gone ot would catch mice birds whatever and carry them to kittens of our female named popcorn.
after calley cat was gone ot would catch mice birds whatever and carry them to kittens of our female named popcorn.
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