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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
 
Location: Oklahoma | So, my mice population is out of control! I adopted a cat on Saturday and have her locked into my chicken coop. It's empty and I put her in there so she would be protected from my Dachshund and Lab. Problem is.... She stays in the very back and won't come out of the laying boxes!! From what I can tell all she does is sleep.
Is is there any hope she will stop being so timid and become a mouser? |
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Location: Texas | How old is she?
We have always gotten our barn cats as kittens, so they generally like us and learn their "job" from the older cats. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | EqualRanch - 2015-03-11 11:41 PM How old is she?
We have always gotten our barn cats as kittens, so they generally like us and learn their "job" from the older cats.
Her documents say that she's a year old.
Help!
I just went down to the barn to check on her and I saw a mouse scurry out of a crack.. and it even sat there for a few seconds before it completely went out of sight. That's how unafraid these mice are! Then, when I went to get MK's (named her MK for Mouse Killer... obviously too optimistic of a name!) food bowl (which is in another part of the coop to encourage her to get out and about) another mouse ran from behind her water bowl!! What the heck?!? I'm not even sure that she's been the one eating her food since I've seen mice there. I wound up moving her food bowl back up above ground by the hen's laying boxes to encourage her to eat.
Would having another cat (wanting a proven mouser this time!) help her move about and maybe teach her to catch them?
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
 
Location: Kansas | You need a few kittens. I have 6 barn kitties......mousing machines. Kill everything that move, including birds. They are great for the moles as well. The younger they are, the easier they are to be friendly. She might just be scared because it's a new place, allow her some time to adjust. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | I would get her a friend. I have multiple barn cats....8 in fact...all neutered and spayed. Love having the cat herd and we don't have many mice, only in the buildings where the cats can't get in. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | Thanks everyone! I have asked a few friends about some kittens, but I'll start checking the papers! She loves to be loved on, but I know that my horses scare her and it doesn't help my that lab and dachshund are chomping at the bit to see her. She doesn't see them and they don't see her when she's in the back room. I wish I could let her roam free, but I'm afraid she would be a goner this soon. |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | We have two barn kittens. Got them when they were teeny tiny. I think they're around 6 months now... I'd like to call them mousers, but they seem to chase the chickens feathers more than any mice. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | You might want to cut back on her food a bit so she gets hungry enough to go after mice. Another thing to try is locking your dachshund in there and letting the cat run free. Dachshunds make great mousers. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1273
Location: South Dakota | Oh I wish you were closer. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | komet. - 2015-03-12 2:32 PM You might want to cut back on her food a bit so she gets hungry enough to go after mice. Another thing to try is locking your dachshund in there and letting the cat run free. Dachshunds make great mousers.
She's amazing! lol
I always say that a lot more people would get where they want in life if they had her determination and perseverance!
I think I'll put the cat in her crate for a few hours and turn the dachshund loose. It's bad when you can actually get pictures of the mice because they don't run far!
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | We always get a set of litter mates 3-4 at a time, and get them young. The single young adult we tried bringing in ran away. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | I hope mine don't run away! I picked up another female this evening. She moves about a lot more than MK and she's even gotten MK to walk around. Hope it works out! |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | We will peruse Craigslist for older cats that are inside/outside. Found us a pair of mousers that were getting on their neighbor's nerves because they kept eating the birds by their bird feeders. They were perfect for us. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | oija - 2015-03-12 10:33 PM We will peruse Craigslist for older cats that are inside/outside. Found us a pair of mousers that were getting on their neighbor's nerves because they kept eating the birds by their bird feeders. They were perfect for us.
That would have been perfect! Lol. I checked CL before I called the shelter today and it came up with nothing around me! |
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 Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | Longneck - 2015-03-12 2:44 PM komet. - 2015-03-12 2:32 PM You might want to cut back on her food a bit so she gets hungry enough to go after mice. Another thing to try is locking your dachshund in there and letting the cat run free. Dachshunds make great mousers. She's amazing! lol
I always say that a lot more people would get where they want in life if they had her determination and perseverance!
I think I'll put the cat in her crate for a few hours and turn the dachshund loose. It's bad when you can actually get pictures of the mice because they don't run far!
Ain't it the truth! Ahhh the determination of a wiener dog!
Longneck, you need to talk to LQRHS or Canchasr1. They raise some awesome kitties. I got one from Jen in Sept and two tiny ones from Canchasr1 in Oct. I have seen Myrtle corner a huge mouse back in January and I think the little boys will be great mousers. They love to play and chase anything on the ground that moves.
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 Myrtle03-10-15.jpg (57KB - 131 downloads)
The boys.jpg (48KB - 130 downloads)
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