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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / August 2004Stinky's progress, or: URRRK! (long)
As I reported this past week, Stinky has been on a veritable killing spree, the likes of which he has never experenced before. It's like he's having a late awakening of his hunting instincts, and he's making the most of it. Despite being 14 years old-- he is a very inexperienced hunter-- and he seemed to make no connection between *catching mice* and *eating* them. For the most part, his procedure was: 1) Catch a mouse; 2)Run or walk around rather bewilderedly with the live little thing wiggling around in his mouth, saying "RRRRRRRR??? RRRRRRRR???"; 3) Put the mouse down, and watch it run away again; 4) Flip it in the air with his paw; 5) Pounce and repeat from #1, infinite times, or until the mousie stops moving, and is no fun anymore; 6) Bring it to Mommy with a pleading look, or put it in Mommy's shoe, or: 7) Lie down near the little body and go to sleep. Mommy hustles the evidence out of the house, with many grimaces and groans. But now I have it on good authority that the little goofball has moved a step up in the kitty hunting brotherhood. He has actually ingested a mousie. I did not see him do it. So how do I know? Because of the little partly-digested, black, slimy revolting mess I just avoided stepping into this morning. I could not imagine what it could be, and had visions of some hideous digestive ailment that was carrying my little buddy off before my unknowing eyes. As disgusting as it was, I took a closer look at it, to determine if I wanted to pack it up (eeeerrrrrrkk!) and take it to the vet, and I saw the tiny, undigested feet and tail. I was amazed that my little fella had finally made the leap. But he clearly had urked the prize up again. What can I say? BTW, catslaves who are more experinced with mousers: It is OK for them to eat the mousies (presumably not to urk them up again)? Are you concerned about parasites, germs and insecticides that your kitty could ingest with the critter? Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ >BTW, catslaves who are more experinced with mousers: It is OK for >them to eat the mousies (presumably not to urk them up again)? Are >you concerned about parasites, germs and insecticides that your kitty >could ingest with the critter? Well, gee. Nutritionally, yeah, it's perfectly okay for them to eat mousies. But yeah, I am concerned about parasites and disease. I hate it. Especailly the way Bootsie leaves the butt with tail attached on the front step. I can't figure out if it's the best part and she's saved it for me as a gift, or she doesn't like mouse butt/tail. I worm Bootsie a couple times a year at least. The others don't hunt. We have lots of hunters on the group. Maybe someone else could pass along stories about whether or not their kitty actually ever got sick from eating mousie. I don't worry so much about mousies, as much as I do rats and gophers. They're big enough to bite her and for some reason just seem nastier. Stink-Man sure is frisky for his age. He must be in excellent health. Yoda is younger than him, but acts very much like an old cat. I wonder why. Sherry Sherry (snip) >We have lots of hunters on the group. Maybe someone else could pass along >stories about whether or not their kitty actually ever got sick from eating [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Sherry Dear Sherry, I am so sorry to hear that Yoda is not so perky-- he is one of my favorite rcpa cats (not to play favorites ;)). I think cats must be widely different at the rates that they age. Stinky must have some damn good genes, but I am still very vigilant. 14 is the age when I lost little Mimi to renal failure, and I still wonder if I missed something I should have caught. But Mimi was perceptibly slowing down a bit at 14-- she just ran around the house and terrorized us somewhat more stiffly than in the past. Stinky (knock wood) doesn't seem an awful lot different than he was at 10-- or 8-- or 6. I was pretty impressed at his reflexes. He goes for his annual TED checkup this coming month. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ > We have lots of hunters on the group. Maybe someone else could pass along > stories about whether or not their kitty actually ever got sick from eating > mousie. Merlin regularly brings in mice, and occasionally a vole or shrew. He always eats them (not the shrews though) and leaves just the tail and stomach - yuk!! The only things I would worry about here would be if the mice had eaten poison - unlikely as he gets them from the local nature reserve - and worms, so all my 4 get wormed 2-3 times a year. Deb.  Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > As I reported this past week, Stinky has been on a veritable killing > spree, the likes of which he has never experenced before. It's like [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > 7) Lie down near the little body and go to sleep. Mommy hustles the > evidence out of the house, with many grimaces and groans. This is pretty much the routine with Cali, who is an avid hunter. It's the thrill of the hunt, more than the food. She will stay awake for days when there's a mouse to be had. > But now I have it on good authority that the little goofball has moved > a step up in the kitty hunting brotherhood. He has actually ingested > a mousie. I did not see him do it. So how do I know? Cali rarely eats them, she's only done it a few times. The first time she hacked it up on the kitchen floor. Seemed to cure her hairball problem for a while though. Other times I'll find the rear axle (feet and tail) of the mouse and one just the head. > Because of the little partly-digested, black, slimy revolting mess I > just avoided stepping into this morning. I could not imagine what it > could be, and had visions of some hideous digestive ailment that was > carrying my little buddy off before my unknowing eyes. One morning I got up to go to the Loo and saw a toy on the mat beside the bed, so I picked it up to see which toy Smokey had brought me now. Well it was not a mousey toy, Smokey had brought me Cali's well chewed prize. I don't pick up cat toys in the dark without my glasses anymore. > As disgusting as it was, I took a closer look at it, to determine if I > wanted to pack it up (eeeerrrrrrkk!) and take it to the vet, and I saw [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > you concerned about parasites, germs and insecticides that your kitty > could ingest with the critter? The vet said they are the primary source of worms. > Theresa > Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh > My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ "Kreisleriana" <kreisleriana2@yahoo.com> wrote <snip of hunting prowess> > BTW, catslaves who are more experinced with mousers: It is OK for > them to eat the mousies (presumably not to urk them up again)? Are > you concerned about parasites, germs and insecticides that your kitty > could ingest with the critter? Well, Nikki has been eating voles for her whole life, she is now 16 and still going strong. She's never even had worms, but I do deworm her every year after our stay on the island. I don't have to worry about insecticides on the island, because we don't use any though we grow some vegetables there. Maybe Stinky was just overwhelmed with all the 'roughage' in a mouse, if this was the first one he's ever eaten. As Sherry said, mice are nutritionally perfect for cats, since that is what they're supposed to eat, of course. But maybe it's not so easy for a cat who has lived the easy life and had all his meals from a can or bag. SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki > "Kreisleriana" <kreisleriana2@yahoo.com> wrote > <snip of hunting prowess> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > on the island, because we don't use any though we grow some vegetables > there. We had a hunter par excellence when I was growing up. She had the best teeth of everyone. She also stayed very strong. I attributed it to the many mousie bones she probably ate. Could have been genetic too. Hard to say. I don't think it is necessarily uncommon for cats to throw up what they have eaten in the wild. Nature's way of getting rid of the bits that don't help the system. > As I reported this past week, Stinky has been on a veritable killing > spree, the likes of which he has never experenced before. It's like [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > he seemed to make no connection between *catching mice* and *eating* > them. I think it would be a good idea to have Stinky checked by the vet. Rosie (RB) started catching a lot of birds before she died. The vet said she may have been diabetic, apparently this can make them feel very hungry. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. > I think it would be a good idea to have Stinky checked by the vet. Rosie > (RB) started catching a lot of birds before she died. The vet said she > may have been diabetic, apparently this can make them feel very hungry. On the other hand, they may just fancy a little fresh meat! Cats are, after all, hunters (and have not been domesticated nearly so long as dogs have). > BTW, catslaves who are more experinced with mousers: It is OK for > them to eat the mousies (presumably not to urk them up again)? Are > you concerned about parasites, germs and insecticides that your kitty > could ingest with the critter? Well, when mine were indoor-outdoor, they survived any number of mice, tree rats, lizards, and whatever, with no apparent ill-effects! Patches was on his own for about three years before I realized he was homeless (he was wearing a flea collar, when he first appeared, and was always on the somewhat obese side, until the assurance of regular meals persuaded him to stop eating everything in sight.) > Theresa > Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh > My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ My cats are both hunters, but I'm not sure I can help you if you're not in the UK. Things will be different, parasites especially, if you are in another country. No, I don't worry that they catch and eat them. I think it's a good thing, but I make sure they are wormed regularly. Apart from the worm thing, saves me a bit on food;-) Cats *should* eat mice. Oh, while I think about it, shrews will make them vomit. You said the mousie was black. Shrews are black. When Boyfriend was learning to hunt, I saw him heaving his heart up in the garden. Shrew. Not too clever of him but he was a learner at the time and has never touched one since. Tweed > As I reported this past week, Stinky has been on a veritable killing > spree, the likes of which he has never experenced before. It's like [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ |
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