Jobs & Education3 mins ago
Cat Deterrent? Mouse Deterrent?
15 Answers
We have just moved into a new house. A neighbour's cat keeps killing the wild birds in our garden. It isn't eating any of them, or taking them home as a "present" for its owner. Any ABer any suggestions or know of a proven deterrent to keep the cat away?
We also have a problem with mice in the garage. Anyone know if those ultra-sonic devices that you plug in to keep the mice away work? We have an aviary in the garage, and don't want anything that will harm the birds. Many thanks for any advice or suggestions.
We also have a problem with mice in the garage. Anyone know if those ultra-sonic devices that you plug in to keep the mice away work? We have an aviary in the garage, and don't want anything that will harm the birds. Many thanks for any advice or suggestions.
Answers
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Just terrorise the cat whenever you see it, just don't harm it!!
With regards the mice, place small trays of mouse poison at every entrance where a mouse could possibly gain entry. keep the garage as clean as is possible, try to avoid any nesting places where a mouse could lie up unseen, cardboard boxes, suitcases, bags or clothing old toys etc, cleanliness and tidiness really is the key here, also keep an eye out in cupboards you don't use very often.
The sonic devices are a total wast of time and money, they soon get used to the sound and realize that it does them no harm. If they worked they would have put me out of business many years ago!!
With regards the mice, place small trays of mouse poison at every entrance where a mouse could possibly gain entry. keep the garage as clean as is possible, try to avoid any nesting places where a mouse could lie up unseen, cardboard boxes, suitcases, bags or clothing old toys etc, cleanliness and tidiness really is the key here, also keep an eye out in cupboards you don't use very often.
The sonic devices are a total wast of time and money, they soon get used to the sound and realize that it does them no harm. If they worked they would have put me out of business many years ago!!
Hi chappie one of our cats used to kill a lot of birds and we bought her a liberater coller from pets at home, for �9.99. Which works very well she went from killing birds twice a week to once every four months or so with the coller on! Maybe you could suggest this to your neighbour, if you get on ok with them! If they are a responsable pet owner they should not take any offence. As for the mice i am not sure on that one, sorry. Honey xXx
Many thanks for replies.
Ratter, we don't want to use poison if we can avoid it, as we think the mice probably die a slow and painful death, and we are both animal lovers, although we accept that the mice have got to go! My husband favours snap traps (if that is the correct word). He says the mouse dies instantly and he thinks this is the kindest method.
Also, a friend's dog died of poisoning after eating a mouse or small rodent-like animal that had been poisoned. My friend took the dog to the vet but nothing could be done to save it, it was tragic. After this experience, we are worried about taking the risk of something like this happening again.
Honey, I mentioned a collar for the cat to my husband, but he is not keen on approaching the neighbour with this suggestion, he says the neighbour might then say to us, "so you are the ones who keep feeding the birds that are messing up our paths etc ........" I am sure you know what I mean. The street we have moved to is very cat-orientated, the previous owners of our house told us he was always getting upset about the neighbourhood cats killing the birds, it has apparently been a problem for a long time, and I am sure he would have already approached the neighbours with a suggestion about the cats wearing collars, to no avail.
Most pet owners would be sympathetic to the birds' problem with cats, but I guess in truth, not all cat owners are as passionate about wildlife as us! (No offence meant to cat owners who are passionate about wildlife, I am sure there are lots of them around).
I think Ratter's suggestion about terrorising the cat without actually harming it is a good idea, and hubby has suggested we buy a water pistol to shoot at it every time we see it in the garden. Don't want to do it any permanent harm, just give it a short, sharp shock. Just hope the neighbours don't spot us doing it or we could be in for a rough ride!
Ratter, we don't want to use poison if we can avoid it, as we think the mice probably die a slow and painful death, and we are both animal lovers, although we accept that the mice have got to go! My husband favours snap traps (if that is the correct word). He says the mouse dies instantly and he thinks this is the kindest method.
Also, a friend's dog died of poisoning after eating a mouse or small rodent-like animal that had been poisoned. My friend took the dog to the vet but nothing could be done to save it, it was tragic. After this experience, we are worried about taking the risk of something like this happening again.
Honey, I mentioned a collar for the cat to my husband, but he is not keen on approaching the neighbour with this suggestion, he says the neighbour might then say to us, "so you are the ones who keep feeding the birds that are messing up our paths etc ........" I am sure you know what I mean. The street we have moved to is very cat-orientated, the previous owners of our house told us he was always getting upset about the neighbourhood cats killing the birds, it has apparently been a problem for a long time, and I am sure he would have already approached the neighbours with a suggestion about the cats wearing collars, to no avail.
Most pet owners would be sympathetic to the birds' problem with cats, but I guess in truth, not all cat owners are as passionate about wildlife as us! (No offence meant to cat owners who are passionate about wildlife, I am sure there are lots of them around).
I think Ratter's suggestion about terrorising the cat without actually harming it is a good idea, and hubby has suggested we buy a water pistol to shoot at it every time we see it in the garden. Don't want to do it any permanent harm, just give it a short, sharp shock. Just hope the neighbours don't spot us doing it or we could be in for a rough ride!
Chappie, poisons these days do not cause suffering to mice and rats!!! It is an impossibility for a dog to be poisoned by eating a poisoned mouse or rat, for a start few, dogs will actually eat a mouse or a rat and if they did a mouse or a rat could not possibly contain enough poison to kill a dog, that's an old wives tail I'm afraid, also modern poisons do not affect anything that would harm any creature that eats the target, this is a measure to help prevent the secondary killing of owls and other birds of prey. Modern poisons are very high tech!! Its down to being responsible with the placement of poisons so no other animal or children can get to it.
Break back traps are OK but not overly effective.
Break back traps are OK but not overly effective.
Hi Ratter and thanks for your reply.
The dog in question had definitely been poisoned according to the vet who tried to save it. I don't know if the theory about the poisoned mouse/rat came from the vet, but I know that the owner was told the dog died from poisoning and the only explanation that my friend could conclude, was that it had eaten something that had already been poisoned, as no-one would have deliberately poisoned the dog.
What made it even more sad, was that the dog had belonged to my friend's son who died of Leukaemia at 14 years old, so the dog was even more special than most.
This was several years ago, and perhaps poisons have changed since?
There is a website called yourpethealthmatters.com, I looked it up after reading your reply, Ratter. There is a sub-heading on this site entitled "Could a Mouse Kill Your Cat?" This site says that a poisoned mouse or rat can kill your pet cat or dog, if your pet eats it. It is an American website. It says that the poisons used cause internal bleeding.
I can't remember the full details, and I don't feel I could ask the dog's mum, but it does ring a bell with me about internal bleeding and the dog's death. Ratter, do they use different poisons in America? This website seems to be up-to-date, but I know Americans have different practices to us, with different rules and regulations. Does the poison we use in England kill the mice quickly and painlessly? Many thanks for your help, I will look forward to your reply.
The dog in question had definitely been poisoned according to the vet who tried to save it. I don't know if the theory about the poisoned mouse/rat came from the vet, but I know that the owner was told the dog died from poisoning and the only explanation that my friend could conclude, was that it had eaten something that had already been poisoned, as no-one would have deliberately poisoned the dog.
What made it even more sad, was that the dog had belonged to my friend's son who died of Leukaemia at 14 years old, so the dog was even more special than most.
This was several years ago, and perhaps poisons have changed since?
There is a website called yourpethealthmatters.com, I looked it up after reading your reply, Ratter. There is a sub-heading on this site entitled "Could a Mouse Kill Your Cat?" This site says that a poisoned mouse or rat can kill your pet cat or dog, if your pet eats it. It is an American website. It says that the poisons used cause internal bleeding.
I can't remember the full details, and I don't feel I could ask the dog's mum, but it does ring a bell with me about internal bleeding and the dog's death. Ratter, do they use different poisons in America? This website seems to be up-to-date, but I know Americans have different practices to us, with different rules and regulations. Does the poison we use in England kill the mice quickly and painlessly? Many thanks for your help, I will look forward to your reply.
Hi garner,
I have already thought of that, but my husband says we have a whole colony of mice in the garage, he is worried they will start coming into the house. In fact, we have already seen one in the house, and I am told they can do a lot of damage, gnawing through wires and such like. It is a real problem to know what to do. We both do not like the idea of killing them, but many people say it's the only way to keep the numbers down.
It's a real headache for me, I am told that very nearly everyone has mice in their garage, but I never saw any evidence of this in my old house.
Plus, being a bird lover and finding dead birds all the time on the garden is horrible. I hope the water pistol works on the cat. Thanks for your reply.
I have already thought of that, but my husband says we have a whole colony of mice in the garage, he is worried they will start coming into the house. In fact, we have already seen one in the house, and I am told they can do a lot of damage, gnawing through wires and such like. It is a real problem to know what to do. We both do not like the idea of killing them, but many people say it's the only way to keep the numbers down.
It's a real headache for me, I am told that very nearly everyone has mice in their garage, but I never saw any evidence of this in my old house.
Plus, being a bird lover and finding dead birds all the time on the garden is horrible. I hope the water pistol works on the cat. Thanks for your reply.
I have done all the pest control courses and was a Pest Control Officer for 13 years and never had a case of secondary poisoning, I reckon a small dog would probably need to eat about 50 rats to be poisoned!! a rat has a very small stomach and will contain very little poison. Its it highly possible that a dog eating the poison directly would be killed if not treated promptly, that is why I say it must be placed responsibly. I have no idea what they use for poison in the states but I would be very sceptical about a dog being killed from eating a poisoned mouse, seems highly unlikely if conventional poisons are being used and we are talking about conventional poisons!!
The poison causes internal bleeding, this is not painful for the mouse/rat it just becomes very tired and falls asleep and usually dies in its sleep.
The poison causes internal bleeding, this is not painful for the mouse/rat it just becomes very tired and falls asleep and usually dies in its sleep.
I had mice. Which is why I now have cats. Which kill birds. But no more mice. Should say though I wouldn't be offended or upset if neighbours suggested a collar or sprayed water at them. I might point out that a collar doesn't usually last very long on some cats as they can get the collar hooked on something and wriggle out of it. Rather you spray water than air gun pellets (happens round here). The thing is - cats kill small creatures, they can't help it. It's the happy, caring face of nature!
Good luck!
Good luck!
Hi Ratter and thanks for your reply. It is reassuring to know that the creature becomes very tired and usually dies in its sleep - if you've gotta go this sounds like the ideal way to go!
I hope you will understand why I am concerned though - there are UK websites as well as American, which state that secondary poisoning can happen - you will have seen some of them. Perhaps my friend's dog ate some poison directly - we will never know.
You obviously know a lot about this sort of thing because it is your job to know, and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us.
Thanks again for your replies.
I hope you will understand why I am concerned though - there are UK websites as well as American, which state that secondary poisoning can happen - you will have seen some of them. Perhaps my friend's dog ate some poison directly - we will never know.
You obviously know a lot about this sort of thing because it is your job to know, and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us.
Thanks again for your replies.
If you have a fence round your garden you can make this cat unfriendly. My fence is wooden and has pointed tops which cats don't like, but you could add trellis which would not bear the cat's weight or green plastic netting to grow plants up. I suppose there are strong smelling substances too which cats wouldn't like, don't know any though except maybe creosote. On the other hand you could get a Jack Russell - that would defintely solve both problems!
Only last week my Mum's cat got poisoned by mouse poison - don't know how he ingested it , or where, but somehow he did and was very very sick - couldn't walk, was shaking and had to spend a night at the vets where they nearly lost him. So I will never ever advise anyone to use poison - imagine if that was your child. It's all very well to say use it responsibly but surely we all know that children and pets can be rather nosy and eat things they aren't supposed to?
In our garage we use an ultrasonic device to deal with the mice (who used to feast on our rabbits food!), it also has electromagnetic features which vibrate the electromagnetic field around the wires in the house walls - sounds scary but apparently not! Well it works for us, no mice to be seen. I was just finding the link to paste on here and have seen the same company does cat repellers - looks like you stick them to a tree or something outside. It's solved all your probems!! This is the one we got:
http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/mouse-repelle r-whole-house-p-36.html?cPath=24_25
In our garage we use an ultrasonic device to deal with the mice (who used to feast on our rabbits food!), it also has electromagnetic features which vibrate the electromagnetic field around the wires in the house walls - sounds scary but apparently not! Well it works for us, no mice to be seen. I was just finding the link to paste on here and have seen the same company does cat repellers - looks like you stick them to a tree or something outside. It's solved all your probems!! This is the one we got:
http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/mouse-repelle r-whole-house-p-36.html?cPath=24_25
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