Why do my cats bring in mice?

[dolly pond]

Why do my two cats bring in mice, play with them and then kill them, they then leave them in their biscuit bowl, water bowl, or by my feet. I have a huge ridiculous fear of mice, and as i type this, there is one under my sofa scaring me. I trod on a dead one on new years day and it squelched. managed to get the mangled body on to a snow shovel to throw it outside. ugh

[divegirl]

It's because they really really love you.....lol. No, honestly apparently that's the truth. I have two kittens, I can't wait 'til they start bringing me presents....not!

Lisa x

[Athley]

You need to really praise your cats when they bring you a 'gift'. They feel as though they are contributing to the household. I read somewhere that if they feel useful they may not bring so many in (!!)

Good luck - I know it can be quite a horrible experience I've spent many a night chasing a poor mouse around the bedroom before Binnie murders it!! and nursing birds back to health too!!! She brought me a robin one morning. It sat on my knee watching Big Brother with me for about an hour, I then took it outside and it flew off. Just stunned fortunately (by the cat not Big Brother).

We do love our cats though!!!!!!

:o)

[dolly pond]

Thanks. How about the one under the sofa? cannot go downstairs, for fear of it running at me :(

[Athley]

If your cats are in chances are it won't be under the sofa anymore!!!

[dolly pond]

One is asleep next to me, the other one is blotto upside down on the sofa, and occasionally hides under the sofa throw making funny noises.
I have never spent so much time on my computer, glad to go back to work tomorrow. Anyone want to buy a house?

[cat woman]

Hi my cat's are always bringing me home pressies, bless them, it could be anything from dried up leaves to live or freshly killed critter's.

Over Christmas nothing could have prepared me to what they brought me home!...... It was a dead bird which had been dead for some time and it was crawling with maggots......... Oh yuk!..... it was awful it made me feel really sick to the stomache.

My husband disposed of the bird and I spent a good hour hoovering every bit of carpet in the house incase the any maggots had dropped out of it. It has made my skin crawl writing about it "UGH"....... x x x )):-/

[dantheman123]

Over the years my cat has brought home dozens of animals. When she does I stroke and praise her then discreetly dispose of the animal, although sometimes she will eat the animal head, feet body and all. Its all only natural.

[B00]

OK- this'll have you all squirming........

A few years ago my now sadly departed cat, Taffy, brought home a headless mouse and dumped it lovingly on my backdoor step unbeknown to me..........

A while later i let my dog outside, and again unbeknown to me he found said mouse, and decided that an awesome place to 'bury' it would be in my bed!

It was found at bed time with much shrieking on my part buried in my duvet...............

[dolly pond]

boo!!! you pooor thing! now i feel better!
just got home and found my dear fluffs blotto on the sofa, no sign of the mouse, so tonights meal will be consumed elsewhere! i feel better knowing its not just my demon cats. x

[gilby]

My cat is a real hunter. She always goes out and catches voles and mice and then eats them . We used to have a trailer tent in the back yard and when we sold it and wheeled it off there were loads of vole and mouse heads under it!!! yuk!!!

[Viz]

I have 3 cats. One, a 5 year old spayed female, has, on occassion, brought in various things & deposited them in her food bowl. There was a dead sparrow, and a lamb chop bone for eg - I believe she is contributing to the household. She is praised & fussed over enormously. It's almost life-threateningly cute!
But when she was younger, her peccadillo was to bring in socks! Don't know from where, they certainly weren't mine! I counted over 20 - always the left socks. lol.
But at least her other custom has ceased - for now. She liked to bring HUGE, live flying bugs when I was reading in bed at night, let them go, then would sit with a half smile on her face watching me recover from my mind snapping & then spraying it with Raid.

[andy-hughes]

Cats are pack animals, and you are 'head' of the pack, and so your cats bring you food as gift to acknowledge your status. It's not nice, but that's why they do it.

Regarding the way mice toy with prey - opinions vary.

One theory is that they get very little chance to hunt live prey, so they have a little 'practice' with something before they kill it, to keep their insticts sharp. Another theory is that a mother cat will toy with prey to show her kittens how to hunt and kill, and that kittens perpetuate this behaviour as mature cats.

Obviously no-one know for sure, but these are the opinions of animal behaviourists.

[jakep]

Another mouse story! Ferdie bought one in during the night and forgot to kill it. Next day there was a hole the size of a 2p in the corner of the leather sofa we had had for 3days, stuffing all over floor, micky had a good sleep.
I pulled out all furniture and the mouse was nowhere to be seen so I assumed it had got out thru the back door.
I made a cuppa and sank back on the sofa - mouse was sitting quietly on the cushion next to me.
That's my boy

[dolly pond]

Thanks for all your fab stories! really funny.

I found the dead animal last nite, under the coffee table mangled, and half eaten, screamed as i walked into the lounge, scared the hell out of the whole town and shovelled it outside still shaking from the trauma.

n night all you cat lovers x