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Old 06-16-2012, 08:56 PM
 
Location: Longwood, FL
288 posts, read 732,221 times
Reputation: 156

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Two years ago I adopted a stray cat that had been hanging around the neighborhood and sleeping mostly on my patio. We have a cat door so that he can get in and out of the screened pool area, and a cat door in the laundry room so that he can come and go. He likes to bring me presents every so often, rats and mice. He will lay them at the patio door or even bring one into the living room and set it by the couch! He has brought me quite a few in fact. My house is clean and uncluttered, the yard is well kept, and the neighborhood is very nice too, except for a couple of foreclosed houses.

For the ones that I find (dead) in the house, I'm wondering if he caught them in the house or brought them in from the outside. I've never seen evidence of them in the house. Like tonight I went to play with the dog, she likes to run into the other room, grab a toy, and then let me try to get it from her. I ran after her into the tv room, turned on the light and she grabbed the first toy she saw, a dead rat!! I said noooooooo! And took it outside. Believe me, I won't let her kiss me tonight!

So my question is why are there so many rodents around here that the cat finds? I just don't see any visible food source that would attract them. Any ideas?
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Old 06-16-2012, 11:53 PM
 
1,599 posts, read 2,941,984 times
Reputation: 702
I think you have a great cat that loves you. It sounds like you can feel pretty confident that your cat is catching prey outside and bringing it home as a present. I'm a certifiable cat lady so I've been in your position before. I had one female cat who, without fail, would bring home a dead rodent every day. I'm not sure how far her territory extended, but she never ran out of victims and we never once saw any live rodents in or near the house. She had been a stray too, before we took her in, so her wild instincts were strong.

I doubt that you have more rodents around your property than anyone else. You just have an expert hunter who is doing what he/she was born to do.

An added bonus, you should have less snakes around, since your kitty is eliminating most of the rodents in the area
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Old 06-17-2012, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Finally, home sweet home Orlando
511 posts, read 851,984 times
Reputation: 308
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alyzza View Post
Two years ago I adopted a stray cat that had been hanging around the neighborhood and sleeping mostly on my patio. We have a cat door so that he can get in and out of the screened pool area, and a cat door in the laundry room so that he can come and go. He likes to bring me presents every so often, rats and mice. He will lay them at the patio door or even bring one into the living room and set it by the couch! He has brought me quite a few in fact. My house is clean and uncluttered, the yard is well kept, and the neighborhood is very nice too, except for a couple of foreclosed houses.

For the ones that I find (dead) in the house, I'm wondering if he caught them in the house or brought them in from the outside. I've never seen evidence of them in the house. Like tonight I went to play with the dog, she likes to run into the other room, grab a toy, and then let me try to get it from her. I ran after her into the tv room, turned on the light and she grabbed the first toy she saw, a dead rat!! I said noooooooo! And took it outside. Believe me, I won't let her kiss me tonight!

So my question is why are there so many rodents around here that the cat finds? I just don't see any visible food source that would attract them. Any ideas?
Not a Floridian are you? And please be a considerate neighbor and don't selfishly impose your cat on other neighbors and keep it indoors for the sake of your cats health and safety too..

BTW on another note and another reason to keep your cats restrained is the multitude of nasty diseases that rodents carry and your cats are bringing them into your house. Don't believe me? Google "The plague" and I don't mean the big one back when, but the most recent case stories..

I'd take the snakes anytime over an unrestrained, nuisance, roaming cat who also kills thousands of native birds as well and just for the thrill of the kill, not for food as they're already well fed.. I love it when people move to Florida that is natural and then arrogantly recoil at all the beauty that nature has to offer as IF humans are more important in the grand scheme of things and everything else is a major inconvenience to their lifestyle..

As for visible food sources? You're not paying attention very well, they're actually all around you including massive numbers of fruit and citrus tress etc. rodents I.E rats and mice climb as good as squirrels do, I wonder why? They'll eat the fruit right on the tree before it even drops and leave a nice stripped out peal with no fruit left inside just a perfectly round whole for access..

So simple solution, keep them restrained inside your house or screen.. The reality is it's lazy as you avoid keeping and cleaning a kitty litter tray that way and the neighbors child can also get a parasite referred to as "cat worm" if they come into contact with the animals feces's which they will eventually, be a responsible cat owner not a lazy one. BTW I own 3 cats and they're all happy and healthy and know no different and we have no fleas either all of them adopted feral cats, so that's no excuse either..

Last edited by HomesickFloridian; 06-17-2012 at 12:26 AM..
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Old 06-17-2012, 06:36 AM
 
Location: Finally, home sweet home Orlando
511 posts, read 851,984 times
Reputation: 308
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomesickFloridian View Post
Not a Floridian are you? And please be a considerate neighbor and don't selfishly impose your cat on other neighbors and keep it indoors for the sake of your cats health and safety too..

BTW on another note and another reason to keep your cats restrained is the multitude of nasty diseases that rodents carry and your cats are bringing them into your house. Don't believe me? Google "The plague" and I don't mean the big one back when, but the most recent case stories..

I'd take the snakes anytime over an unrestrained, nuisance, roaming cat who also kills thousands of native birds as well and just for the thrill of the kill, not for food as they're already well fed.. I love it when people move to Florida that is natural and then arrogantly recoil at all the beauty that nature has to offer as IF humans are more important in the grand scheme of things and everything else is a major inconvenience to their lifestyle..

As for visible food sources? You're not paying attention very well, they're actually all around you including massive numbers of fruit and citrus tress etc. rodents I.E rats and mice climb as good as squirrels do, I wonder why? They'll eat the fruit right on the tree before it even drops and leave a nice stripped out peal with no fruit left inside just a perfectly round whole for access..

So simple solution, keep them restrained inside your house or screen.. The reality is it's lazy as you avoid keeping and cleaning a kitty litter tray that way and the neighbors child can also get a parasite referred to as "cat worm" if they come into contact with the animals feces's which they will eventually, be a responsible cat owner not a lazy one. BTW I own 3 cats and they're all happy and healthy and know no different and we have no fleas either all of them adopted feral cats, so that's no excuse either..
Geezz, misspells I don't usually have.. "peel", "hole"
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Old 06-17-2012, 03:18 PM
 
26,982 posts, read 43,527,133 times
Reputation: 31807
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomesickFloridian View Post
Not a Floridian are you? And please be a considerate neighbor and don't selfishly impose your cat on other neighbors and keep it indoors for the sake of your cats health and safety too..

BTW on another note and another reason to keep your cats restrained is the multitude of nasty diseases that rodents carry and your cats are bringing them into your house. Don't believe me? Google "The plague" and I don't mean the big one back when, but the most recent case stories..

I'd take the snakes anytime over an unrestrained, nuisance, roaming cat who also kills thousands of native birds as well and just for the thrill of the kill, not for food as they're already well fed.. I love it when people move to Florida that is natural and then arrogantly recoil at all the beauty that nature has to offer as IF humans are more important in the grand scheme of things and everything else is a major inconvenience to their lifestyle..

As for visible food sources? You're not paying attention very well, they're actually all around you including massive numbers of fruit and citrus tress etc. rodents I.E rats and mice climb as good as squirrels do, I wonder why? They'll eat the fruit right on the tree before it even drops and leave a nice stripped out peal with no fruit left inside just a perfectly round whole for access..

So simple solution, keep them restrained inside your house or screen.. The reality is it's lazy as you avoid keeping and cleaning a kitty litter tray that way and the neighbors child can also get a parasite referred to as "cat worm" if they come into contact with the animals feces's which they will eventually, be a responsible cat owner not a lazy one. BTW I own 3 cats and they're all happy and healthy and know no different and we have no fleas either all of them adopted feral cats, so that's no excuse either..
Not to mention if one has any affection at all for their cat(s), they're placing them at sizable risk for Feline HIV or Feline Leukemia which are easily transmittable through sneezing/saliva (in the case of Leukemia) or if scratched or bitten by another cat, particularly one of the many in the feral cat population living here. Both are extremely painful ways to die (like they are in humans) and completely avoidable if one pays any attention to their pet/pet's health as cats can be vaccinated for both, but need a verified clean bill of health from a vet before they can receive the shots.
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Old 06-17-2012, 03:48 PM
 
1,599 posts, read 2,941,984 times
Reputation: 702
I do agree that there are many reasons cats should be kept indoors. The two cats I have currently are indoor only, except for once a day when they go for their daily walk on a leash. Seriously, it's not that difficult.

However, feral cats are different. Many can't adjust to a life indoors. The OP has been feeding this kitty, who now comes inside at times, but keeping him in can present some difficulties. Using a litter box being just one of them. Caterwauling constantly being another. If her kitty has been spayed/neutered and receives vet care as needed, then I won't be judgmental. I had a barn kitty once who could not be kept inside all the time. She lived a long, healthy life.

I would recommend, however, that the OP consider blocking off the cat doors to the outside. That solves the problem of kitty bringing dead animals in the house.
I
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Old 06-17-2012, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Orlando
257 posts, read 822,281 times
Reputation: 79
I keep my cat indoors but I've never had a neighbor cat annoy me. I can see why someone would let a stray outside. They weren't used to being kept inside. And as for the diseases aren't their vaccines for feline leukemia? And you'd be a lot safer too if you never left your house.
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Old 06-17-2012, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Longwood, FL
288 posts, read 732,221 times
Reputation: 156
What I've decided to do with this cat is basically let him live out his life as he has been, but I don't want to keep him confined indoors. After all the years being outside he would go nuts. He doesn't go far though and stays mainly in the screened pool area. We live on a half acre lot with lots of bushes so he hangs out in a few favorite places around the yard and never goes far away from us. I've never seen him leave the yard except for one time. I took my dog for a walk one night and happened to turn around, and cat was happily trotting along right behind us. He does not like to leave the home base. During the day he seeks the shelter of our guest bedroom and sleeps there or on the patio window ledge since those places are safe.

He gets his cat checkups twice a year and all his shots and gets tested for all those diseases. I also give him Revolution which takes care of fleas and heartworms. If he should happen to get sick or start acting strange I'd take him to the vet immediately. There are several cats in the neighborhood but they don't rove or bother each other, they stay close to their home territories. We live in a very animal friendly neighborhood and everyone looks out for everyone else's animals as well as each other. If someone's dog gets loose, we all get out and go looking. I'm very thankful to have found such a good and friendly place to live where all the neighbors get along and are nice.

One of our neighbors has some big fruit trees which are right on the line between our house and theirs so maybe the rats are attracted to that and then skitter into the yard. But I don't know where they would come from in the first place. I once heard that every person is never more than 6 feet away from the closest rat. What a thought. A any rate I'd rather have cat keep down the rodents that get near the house, and not use traps or poisons.
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Old 06-17-2012, 10:19 PM
 
Location: Finally, home sweet home Orlando
511 posts, read 851,984 times
Reputation: 308
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125 View Post
Not to mention if one has any affection at all for their cat(s), they're placing them at sizable risk for Feline HIV or Feline Leukemia which are easily transmittable through sneezing/saliva (in the case of Leukemia) or if scratched or bitten by another cat, particularly one of the many in the feral cat population living here. Both are extremely painful ways to die (like they are in humans) and completely avoidable if one pays any attention to their pet/pet's health as cats can be vaccinated for both, but need a verified clean bill of health from a vet before they can receive the shots.
Agreed, which is the intention behind mentioning their health and safety too.. Most neighbors including myself also do not appreciate them scratching my car, crapping in my garden, loudly meowing outside my windows or doors & scenting my doorstep or other places we frequent, at night because they are trying to challenge my cats and marking territory.

In the past I know of neighbors who've had their pets poisoned by people and in one such instance a neighbor that was already a royal pain in my !@# had the brass to accuse me when I had nothing whatsoever to do with it as in spite of the irresponsible and inconsiderate neighbor I love animals and don't blame the animal doing it's thing only the neighbor not taking responsibility for them.
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Old 06-17-2012, 10:42 PM
 
Location: Finally, home sweet home Orlando
511 posts, read 851,984 times
Reputation: 308
Quote:
Originally Posted by songgirl View Post
I do agree that there are many reasons cats should be kept indoors. The two cats I have currently are indoor only, except for once a day when they go for their daily walk on a leash. Seriously, it's not that difficult.

However, feral cats are different. Many can't adjust to a life indoors. The OP has been feeding this kitty, who now comes inside at times, but keeping him in can present some difficulties. Using a litter box being just one of them. Caterwauling constantly being another. If her kitty has been spayed/neutered and receives vet care as needed, then I won't be judgmental. I had a barn kitty once who could not be kept inside all the time. She lived a long, healthy life.

I would recommend, however, that the OP consider blocking off the cat doors to the outside. That solves the problem of kitty bringing dead animals in the house.
I
I'm glad you won't be judgmental why am I not surprised? That's the major problem with our society these days is all that PC thinking, "oh! Don't be judgmental" nonsense! No matter if her cat is running a muck all over the neighbors cars and property and getting their families sick, while were at it let's let the kids do the same thing like so many already think is appropriate now.

"My children are sooo cute everyone will just love them" reality is though, no they don't! They're YOUR children or cats in this case (speaking generally not specifically) just like this cat she has half adopted is now HER cat.. I'll definitely be judgmental and honest and tell you how it is, something people have problems with dealing with these days, open and direct honesty.. But seriously has it been tried?? You're just doing what is commonly known as putting the cart before the horse and ASS/U/MEing it can't adjust to justify the OP's not even trying...

I guess you completely missed or intentionally overlooked the part of my post that qualifies the fact that ALL of my 3 cats were feral and now live quite comfortably in the house exclusively..

That's really just an excuse, they most certainly can adjust but it takes care, time and patience and if one doesn't have the inclination to even clean a litter tray how are they going to apply themselves to actually "training" their cat (and yes they can be trained, mine are, including using the toilet without litter) Feral cat or not if the OP is taking responsibility for the cat then she should go all the way not part of the way.
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