will cats stop killing rats when they get fed every day and live a happy life??

I have a question for those who think all cats should be kept indoors (and this is from someone who now keeps her house cats inside 100% of the time but still has a couple of barn cats):

Just where do you think felis silvestris catus lived before they adapted to life with humans? And what do you think they ate? And why do you think humans decided they were good for civilization? (They may now be “domestic” but not very. They basically exhibit all of the characteristics of any wild cat.)

Good grief, get a grip!

[QUOTE=kmwines;8156819]
Cats will just hunt which is why they should be kept inside. They will kill birds and other small mammals that are part of the natural landscape in addition to your “problem” rats.

Feral/outside cats are one of the biggest threats to endangered small animals. Check out beach mice and Key Largo Woodrats to name a few.[/QUOTE]

Well if they are any Key Largo Woodrats (I don’t think there are though) in my barn, I am sorry I have no problems if the cat kills them. They can go somewhere else…

[QUOTE=Kimstar;8156843]
I have a question for those who think all cats should be kept indoors (and this is from someone who now keeps her house cats inside 100% of the time but still has a couple of barn cats):

Just where do you think felis silvestris catus lived before they adapted to life with humans? And what do you think they ate? And why do you think humans decided they were good for civilization? (They may now be “domestic” but not very. They basically exhibit all of the characteristics of any wild cat.)

Good grief, get a grip![/QUOTE]

While I certainly understand your point…the world’s a much different place now from when the cats were domesticated, I’d say. The majority of songbirds (at least in this area) are protected species and I’d have to think as with a lot of species, their numbers are suffering due to declining habitat, etc. Also, all kinds of thing kill and eat birds; I don’t see a need to supplement that, particularly not with my clearly-not-hurting-for-a-meal fatties :lol:
Beyond that, it’s not entirely safe to have cats outside for the CAT’S sake. Where I live currently, any of my three would likely be run over by a car dang near immediately.

[QUOTE=Manni01;8156697]
Yes I am very happy about the cat :slight_smile: and the best is really that I did nothing to get her. She just came. She is totally cute, but she does not have a tail :frowning: Obviously she lost at in an accident… And even though I think I still have rats the number has really gone down. I had many in the beginning :frowning: And we do have a Jack Russel terrier, but he is not really a killer. He is an Australian JRT and those are bred only for shows and to be nice… I think the cat is much better!!![/QUOTE]

Actually she may be a manx or a manx-cross - they have either no tail or bobtails. My grandmother used to raise those - they are very cool cats!

A little update… She will be spayed tomorrow… I don’t really think that I can live with the fear that she might have kittens any time. I had a vet appointment today and we all agreed on that (except maybe for the cat).

Ok, she was spayed today and is doing great… But I found out that she gained 2 pounds in 6 weeks. So I really think that I do need to cut down on my food. She was basically living besides her bowl and eating whenever she felt like it. And now she will probably eat even more… So I guess she really got too lazy and too fat to catch rats anymore… So it is possible…

For my barn cats, I only put food out for them in the mornings now, after having nighttime visits from racoons and possums eating their food. I went the first few years without these unwanted visitors, but they finally figured it out. Feeding them in the morning makes it more likely that the cats eat the food instead of something else. All three are siblings born in my barn by their feral mother. The two females are excellent hunters, and the male mostly likes to hang around the barn all day.

As everyone said, you should definitely feed her to encourage hunting around the barn, but there really is no reason to keep free choice food around if you can set out 2 meals a day.

First of all, free choice food attracts more than cats, if you get where I am going… :wink: In other words, you may be more responsible for your increased rodent population than the cat. It’s not her fault if you double the rodent population with free meals. :smiley:

Secondly, cats actually need far less than we human sized portion eyes imagine!

Third thing to consider is wet versus dry. For two reasons - one that is how cats ingest most water, by evolution they are not big drinkers, so dry food comes with potential health problems and also dry food is a lot of calories in a not so filling package, so it leads to overeating.

So if you can put out two wet meals a day, or even one small can and a small amount of dry, chances are you will do your barn and your cat a big favor.

Yes cats will still hunt even if they are well fed. My barn cat who is locked up at night within a minute of being released this morning had himself a mouse. Now one of my farm dogs did not let him keep it long, quietly took it away from him which I prefer since the dogs will kill pretty quickly while my cat will just torture them sometimes even letting the go, sigh. He will kill birds as well but stupid birds build their nests way to accessible to him! Mocking birds especially. I do regularly rescue the babies as they leave the nest before they are ready, both from the cat and the dogs.

[QUOTE=Manni01;8171464]
Ok, she was spayed today and is doing great… But I found out that she gained 2 pounds in 6 weeks. So I really think that I do need to cut down on my food. She was basically living besides her bowl and eating whenever she felt like it. And now she will probably eat even more… So I guess she really got too lazy and too fat to catch rats anymore… So it is possible…[/QUOTE]

All my cats are fixed. Non of them are fat even though they are not missing any meals (unless they don’t eat the last one, then we skip one, keeps them honest)
So spaying her should not make her fat.

but I do agree with not leaving food out.
You might attract all kinds of critters other than rats. And racoons are not pleasant neighbors…

Fun cat hunting “facts” I’ve read :slight_smile: To be taken with a pound of salt

Cats bring you dead animals because they think you’re a helpless horrible hunter that can’t provide for themselves.

Animal Planet says that house cats are the most furious cat in existences because even though they get fed, they continue to hunt for fun :slight_smile:

:slight_smile: Thank you for all your great advice… She gets a mixture of dry and wet food. and she basically lives on the Garagedoor so I think raccoons will not get to the food. She is probably guarding it :slight_smile:

And I have to apologize to her :slight_smile: this morning I found a nice dead rat in my barn and the cat was there and looked proud :slight_smile: So she is still a good hunter :slight_smile: !!!

[QUOTE=Manni01;8155357]
Ok, Thats what I figured too… But still, is it possible that now that she knows that she is part of my family, she stopped killing rats??[/QUOTE]

I swear you are just begging someone to agree with you that you should stop feeding her or feed her minimally.

Was she pregnant, did the vet say? Was her weight gain too much that she was over weight?

I doubt she got too lazy to hunt.

My previously feral barn cats (caught thru a TNR program) have dry food available all the time and are given wet food every morning. They still hunt. Sometimes I find lots of dead bodies, sometimes there are no dead bodies just parts, sometimes I do not see any of that stuff. But I know they hunt just fine.

A healthy happy cat will gleefully hunt.
A cat afraid of the dogs will not gleefully hunt.

No for sure not… I usually feed all my animals too good :slight_smile: But I was wondering why she was getting so lazy… And no she was not pregnant when they spayed her :slight_smile: I was a little scared that she might be because of the weight gain, but on the other hand, she was just a tiny little thing when I started to feed her, so I guess the weight right now is just normal…
And as I found a dead rat this morning I assume, she is doing fine :slight_smile:

My neighbor is just about ready to pay me an extermination fee. One of our barn cats (we have two) is a 2 year old, fixed, vaccinated, shaved (he’s a long haired cat) and very well fed cat(think, he hears a bag rattling and comes flying for treats)- he has every comfort. He trots back home every single day, about five times a day, with a shrew/mole/vole from their yard. They are thrilled, we- not so much lol.

As everybody else has said, cats will hunt, no matter what. Feeding them in the barn ensures they stay and hunt around the barn. A hungry cat will go where it’s easier to hunt for food - fields, etc - somewhere it’s open and there aren’t a zillion places for mice to hide.

If I were you, I’d just stick to the dry kibble once a day if your kitty is getting fat.

This is what happened when we started letting my “indoor only” cat outside for a few hours each day.

So yes, they will hunt even when well fed. This particular cat was picked up as stray kitten in the middle of a big city. Then lived indoors only for about 7 years. Moved to a large parcel of land (no risk of getting hit by cars, or neighbors dogs etc) - and quickly learned she can HUNT. Cleared the fields around our house of rodents.

Oh, and I will attest that terriers can be good ratters as well.

Looking at your pics… (eeek…) what am I going to do with all these dead rats??? Found another one this morning and my cat looked very proud !! I think my complain in this thread was totally wrong… I am not sure whether I like dead rats in the morning (and some of them are still a little alive, so I have to kill them :frowning: ) So far I had a nice renter who found all these rats and disposed of them but now she is gone for the summer and I am left with all these rats…

My cat is very well fed and it does not impact his prey drive. He genuinely enjoys the “hunt”.