how do you tell if a cat will be a good mouser?

[gingerbread]

Lost our 19 year old cat last year. We always knew she was a good hunter (along with being a lovely, affectionate friend to us), but now we really know, as the mice have been showing up in ways we never had to deal with before.(we have an old house) Needless to say, our dog has no interest in this type of thing…

Anyone know how to tell if a cat will be/is a good mouser?
True that females are sharper hunters?

Don’t know if we will adopt a young adult or a kitten. This won’t be a barn cat, but our companion in the home.

[Coyoteco]

I don’t know, but I have heard that they learn the skill from their mother.

[Eventer13]

Perhaps look for one that is already confirmed (adopt an older kitty)? Maybe one that used to be feral and had to fend for itself?

Not sure about males vs females, but one of my male cats is a fantastic mouser. The other male has kind of given it up as he’s gotten older (and become more of a house cat) but he used to get rabbits that weighed close to what he did. And then would drag them into the garage. So I certainly have no bias against males!

[Renn_aissance]

mvp had a thread on this recently- “How do you tell if the cat will hunt?” or something like that.

[Sooty_Tats]

I have also heard people say they learn from the mother, but I’m not sure this is true. I have two full sisters who were raised in the exact same environment. One is super-athletic but lacks focus… ultimately, she really doesn’t care that much. The other is my genius huntress, totally committed & obsessed, lives for the chase 24/7. You need a cat like this!

I think playing with kittens with Da Bird or a similar toy might give you a clue about their hunting proclivities. All cats seem to like it, but the really chase-oriented will enjoy it more than the rest. My mouser will chase da Bird until my arms get tired.

I have a vague and totally unscientific speculation that hunting instinct and motherly instinct are related. My great mouser is also the most bossy, motherly creature I’ve ever known. She wants to feed, love, organize, spit-polish and discipline every other person and animal in the house. And she brings me mousie offerings (real or stuffed) on a regular basis. Curious whether anyone else has dealt with a cat personality like this?

[Chall]

My extreme hunter would play with a stuffed toy, but when she caught it, dig her claws in and continue biting.
I caught her recognizing the “head” of a stuffed dinasour and trying to chew it off the dinasour body. It was a pretty blobby toy and I had to look twice to see what was the tail, head and legs, but she homed in on it.

My pacifist cat would catch toys on a string and hold them there, not biting, not back leg shredding, and only enough claw to keep it from being pulled away from her.

Extreme hunter brought in body parts.
Pacifist cat brought in live birds, unwounded (and mad)? birds and butterflies (!)