Killer cat question

My wife and I have never owned a cat and are not really cat people. When we bought our house, the owner's son asked if we wanted to keep the cat since he's pretty much grown up roaming around the yard (the parents died and the kids were selling the house). He said the cat was a good mouser which was good for our avocado grove.

One thing I've noticed is he kills A LOT!!! Birds, rabbits, snakes, gofers, moles, and rats are all fair game. Sometimes a carcass is there and sometimes it's just remnants (intestines or feathers). There's something almost daily. My wife is thinking about changing his name to Dexter

He has this weird howl. My wife and I just recently put together that he does that when he brings a kill to the back door. It's not really a meow and he only seems to do that if he's killed something. I was wondering if that is typical for a cat?

 

Its typical. My cats even do this with fake mice.

 

Just dont piss him off and you'll be fine. If you do, watch your back

 

Cats kill a lot.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

 

Outdoor cats believe it or not are one of the deadliest predators for small game and birds. They kill because its fun and not because they are hungry, so yeah, yours sounds pretty typical. The only natural outdoor cat control I've ever seen is to live in an area with coyotes, cats are actually pretty easy to kill because they are so focused on killing something else.

 

Haha. My cat is definitely in the upper percentile. He averages about 1 per day.

 

There are coyotes in the area (I've seen one hunting something small). Our yard is fenced with chain link. I think that's why he's survived so long.

The birds definitely don't like him. There's a pair of mocking birds that follow him around and try to swoop on him.

We also had a full size rabbit that died behind our wood pile on the back patio. I only found out it was there when I noticed the smell. It had babies which the cat also got (one of the babies died behind the wood pile).

 

My parent's cat kills a LOT. Same thing, rabbits, birds, mice, moles, even a gray squirrel! My parents took down their bird feeder because the cat would stalk around it

 

I'd just let him be. As long as he's not feral or contracting all kinds of worms or diseases, he's doing you a favor and keeping your yard clean of nuisances -- except the occasional carcass cleanup.

I live across the street from a corn field. We used to have a rodent problem. Now, there are a few "neighborhood" cats that roam about. Also have a bald eagle who hangs out. Haven't seen a rat in years...

 

he's just being a cat- just let him have fun. lol

 

He's definitely not feral. I feed him regularly and he'll follow me around the grove when I'm walking around. The neighbor said that the prior owner would walk around the property with him every night before going to bed.

I'm not really concerned him killing things. Gophers are bad for the grove so it's good that he's there. We also put tick and flea medicine on him once a month.

We have an owl and some hawks that patrol the area as well.

 

My cat gets fed normally however he still kills everything in sight, ho got 2 birds yesterday.

And he only gives me that deep growling meow when he wants to be fed, usually at about 6am...

He just wants you to see the kill so he can teach you how to do it, He is just trying to help you, lol. Your next lesson will be "How to properly stalk your prey"

 

Mine meows when he wants to eat. When he's killed something, it sounds like, "ahh-rooo, ahh-rooo" over and over. He did it two nights ago and my wife said, "shall we go see what the cat killed?" It was a mole.

 

can i borrow him? we have killed 6 rats in 2 days

 

x2

I need him for some rabbit control

 

I have read that this kind of behavior is a cats way of proving his worth to the owner. Cats kill and provide evidence to the owner to show them how valuable they are. He's just looking for praise. However, in your case your cat is bad ass. Enjoy a pest free yard (and the few acres around your house).

 

unless you have a broken cat

cats brains are hardwired to track and investigate/kill anything moving
that could be food. period. they are a top predator...only the size of the
housecat prevents it from killing you and your entire family...[also skritchies help]

cats are welcome on any ship, and anywhere food/grain is stored

 

Kitty is doing what kitty is designed to do - nothing more, nothing less. Dogs are technically no better, but they are omnivores, so they don't always have to hunt (i.e. my dog will just as readily steal asparagus as he will kill a squirrel or jackrabbit).

That cat is basically killing pests - birds, squirrels, rabbits, mice, etc. all destroy crops and foodstuffs, spread disease and cause property damage. You should reward the cat with a chunk of dead cow.


P.S. - if one does not think birds are pests, come look at my fig tree in September. They raid the figs worse than the squirrels and rats, crap everywhere, and carry avian influenza.

 

My moms cat keeps bringing us snakes. He came to the front door once and had this weird meow since his mouth was full and the freaking thing was wrapped all around his face but he was content as can be. Keeps bringing them in the house though lol