# best mouser cat



## casusbelli (Jan 6, 2009)

Just got a kitty to grow into a barn cat and mouse for me. Vet told me that male cats aren't as good mousers as female, but will "trophy" hunt and display their kills.
Do any of you have experience and know how big a difference in mice-killing 'tween boy and girl cats?
thanks,
s


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

My girls were always better hunters, not just mice, but rats, rabbits, birds, snakes, etc were regularly deposited on the porch for me to admire. I never saw my males catch anything. I think they just laid around waiting for the girls to hunt, then stealing from them (just like lions do!).


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## cjean (May 1, 2007)

We have two neutered male kitties. Our 8 year old guy loves to catch birds and eat them, but rarely mice or moles. The 1 year old boy catches mice and moles nearly every night, and sometimes gophers, and usually eats them. He will often leave a mouse nose or head near his food dish on the porch, so that we will give him much praise.

Sometimes he stuffs them in our shoes, just for fun.

Our female kitties were always awesome hunters, but the males...depends on personality, I think.


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

In my vast childhood experience with barn cats, the girls were ALWAYS far better mousers (mice, voles, moles, rats, snakes, et cetera,) than the boys. I would never again have an outdoor male cat. Even after being neutered, they would spend their time roaming the neighborhoods and getting in fights and have to spend their days on the porch recovering. OR we would have to spend our money to get them fixed up!

The girls, however, were champs.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

My older (2 & 1/2 yrs old) neutered male is a hunting machine...he will bring it to me & play with it but will also defend it fiercely & then eat it.

At a time our neutered female (also 2 & 1/2 yrs old) used to be a good hunter but has slacked off some.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

All my cats are good mousers...male and female.

Well, the female that lives in our bedroom and won't come out isn't very good, but then...she has nothing to hunt up there!


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## Toads tool (Jun 7, 2007)

If they get hungry enough they all mouse well.


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## pookshollow (Aug 22, 2005)

My neutered male barn cat will kill voles and birds. My female barn cats kill rats, rabbits and chipmunks as well. Best thing that ever happened was when someone dumped off a little white cat - I used to have a major rat problem. Now, I haven't seen one in well over a year.

I do have an inside cat that killed a _huuuuuge_ rat in my apartment years ago - but he spent three years living on the street in a rough part of the city.


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## Niamh (Apr 14, 2008)

Our females are much, much more dedicated hunters than our males. The males steal their kills, as does our dog. I see my females coming in from the fields with a mouse probably three times a day - that's a lot when you add in how much I *don't* see.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

We've had better luck with female cats. Males can be good hunters too, but they tend to be more accident-prone when allowed to roam outdoors. Whatever you have, be sure to spay/neuter, it increases their chances of staying alive long enough to make a dent in your rodent population.

So far we've had two female and two male cats outdoors. We lost both males (one hit by a car and one just disappeared). Both girls are still out there hunting rats, gophers, birds, etc.

Having said that, I once had a neutered male that was the most deadly and efficient killer I've ever seen. He regularly caught all kinds of rodents and birds, and had a cache of squirrels under the porch. He was street-smart, too. Lost him at age 13 to kidney failure.


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