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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 13 2009 at 8:37am | IP Logged
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We had an indoor cat for 2 yrs, and never had problems with mice. But that cat was not the best with little kids and had to be moved to the barn for scratching my 1 yr old near the eye.  As is sometimes the case in my area, cats don't always live to a ripe old age. 
I have two new kittens in my garage right now, kenneled for the moment. My plan was to have them as exclusively outdoor cats. But...sigh...it seems that a mouse has found its way inside (I discovered this at 3am, btw...  ). I know this is just "how it is" in the country, but I'm not that countrified yet. I am *beyond* bothered by the whole thing. I have a clean house and I am mortified. I am no Cinderella when it comes to rodents. 
So now I'm debating having my two kitties be indoor/outdoor, because laying down poison is not an option with littles in the house. But I'm worried about kitties scratching my babies/toddlers. If you live in the country and see your cats as both family pets but also "farm cats" doing their job as mousers, please tell me what to do? Is it worth it to make the cats indoor/outdoor, or is there another option to get rid of the nighttime visitor that is safe?
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: June 13 2009 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Our cats were family pets (one still is, the other passed away recently) inside until they decided to be indoor/outdoor and eventually fully outdoor. They are excellent "mousers" (as well as "birders" and "bunny-ers" ), and we've never had a problem with mice in the house. I'm not sure if it's because they do such a good job outside or if it's just not a problem with our house. We live in the middle of a 12 acre farm, surrounded by lots of other similar properties, and we see lots of mice outside. But we also have lots of snakes and hawks, so the cats aren't solely responsible for mousing.
Our "barn" (really dh's work-shop/business) has had mice and he's been successful getting them with that mice tape. Sort of like flypaper for mice, but it lays on the floor of course. A slow death for the mouse--dh usually "finishes the job"--but not poisonous for the kiddos.
Doesn't seem like this is going to help you at all...
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Molly Smith in VA
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Taffy
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| Posted: June 13 2009 at 9:40am | IP Logged
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The cat we have now was a stray that had been injured. I think he may have been about six weeks old at the time as he was quite small.
Anyway, our cat convinced my husband to keep him by catching a mouse the second day he was with us. (We lived in a pretty run-down home).
He is essentially a house cat who enjoys roaming the yard as well. He still is an excellent mouser (he's now 12). And he's very good with the kids.
When we'd decided to keep him, I worked to make him "kid-friendly". He was neutered as soon as possible and played with daily. We've had very few problems with him. I had clipped his nails when he was younger but I don't anymore since I know I can trust him now.
I think you will just have to watch for a cat with a good personality. Good mousers can be very friendly. We also have to be vigilant with teaching our children the right way to behave with cats. If your kittens haven't been handled very much with care and affection, they may end up too wild to keep indoors. Don't let your children handle them (unless you can trust them to be very gentle) and play with them for a few minutes a day. If they prove themselves to be friendly, bring them inside but keep the children away from them at first until they've learned how to be nice to them (I'm thinking of toddlers here mainly).
Good luck!
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Susan
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 8:24am | IP Logged
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These kittens came from a homeschool mom with a 2 and a 3 yr old. They've been handled *a lot* and are getting a lot of handling here as well. I am trying hard to make them family friendly. Ideally, I'd like to have them outside but hanging around the house most of the time, coming in when the weather's bad and maybe at night? Are there any tricks to training them?
I may give the sticky paper a try, Molly.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Taffy
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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I would try and keep them inside all the time until they are litter trained (or trained to ask to go out). Spaying/neutering will reduce a lot of problems with wandering, spraying, etc.
Some cats are more trainable than others. I had one who would play fetch! Training is just as with dogs but the rewards are more toned down, some cats will like the rough housing but I wouldn't encourage it when sharing a home with children. Food is a great reward of course.
In my experience, if you want a cat to come inside willingly, you have to be prepared to have it in whenever it asks. Otherwise, you'll have a cat who yowls to be let in or simply will choose to stay outside.
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Susan
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lilac hill
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 8:54am | IP Logged
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We have 7 cats outside with the old one coming in in the winter and DD#2's favorite in when she needs to cuddle and the young one in occasionally to sun on the windowsill.
We do not have a rodent problem in the barns, in spite of alot of feed for different farm dwellers.
I keep the inside rodent population under control with poison on the basement rafters. It seems to be the only way for us. I put it on the basement rafters and in the attic in the spring and fall.
I avoided poison as long as I could but nothing else worked. We have had serious issues a couple of times. Rats when we moved in and mice who made a seasonal mess of the kitchen until poison. The children did not play in the basement or attic.
It must work becasue each time I set out the bait, the previous season's bait is gone.
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 10:22am | IP Logged
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No help with cats, my dogs would eat them. Really. 
We deal with mice a lot. We use two different kinds of traps. The one I like is a little round black container that you put cheese in and the door closes on the mouse. You just throw the whole thing away and don't have to see the mouse.
The other one is reusable. It is also a black box but it has an electrical charge which zaps the mouse, killing it instantly. Someone does need to dispose of the mouse though. I think you can get both at Home Depot.
I hate killing them, but if we put them outside they will just come back. I can't stand when they get into the kitchen, so we always have traps set under the sink and in the storage room where they seem to be getting in.
Good luck!
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Molly
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 10:32am | IP Logged
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As the owner of an inside cat (who is totally useless), my suggestion is to get a small rat terrier as an inside pet. They're amazing and highly durable. Our rat terrier has lived through three of the five children (neck hugs and everything  ). She just turned 15 yrs old...and is still faster than the cat. 
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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Well, now I'm wondering if we should continue with our plan for kitties to live outside and get some better traps/sticky paper/poison for inside the house? Maybe if they stick around the yard, that will discourage the mouse population in general? I can't decide if I really want animals in the house...
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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JodieLyn
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start hunting for the way they're getting in.. I won't go into details about how I discovered it.. but we had a space at the end of one of the door plates that was big enough for them to get in.. I pulled it off stuffed steel wool into the ends and put it back on.. no more mice in the house.
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Stephanie_Q
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| Posted: June 23 2009 at 5:56pm | IP Logged
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Catching up, here. I'm not a fan of animals in the house. We have 1 cat who is a great mouser - this one has even caught a squirrel and a rabbit! She is definitely an outdoor cat. We have not been entirely without incident. My 2yo fell on her hard and got clawed & bitten - but she has otherwise been and still is really good with all the kids handling her. Other cats that we have had that were not good with kids died from "lead poisoning". We have the most problems with cats who are not handled by kids - gently and under close supervision - as kittens.
My friends who had outdoor cats and "lost" them to highway traffic are getting more because with cats, they didn't have mice - without cats, they do. My friends who have always had outdoor cats have only seen 2 mice in their house in 3 years. You definitely don't need cats inside to control mice. We set a live trap in our kitchen in the fall - during harvest. I release them outside in yard with the cat at my heels for her to catch & eat. We keep a poison log under a seat in the old truck and out in an old storage building, where mice like to nest when winter comes around.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 24 2009 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Stephanie, this is very helpful. I think cats are just going to have to be a part of our mini homestead here, but I don't know that that has to include them being in the house. I am going to find some safe places to keep poison as well, I think...
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Topic: country moms, please advise???
