Over the past month or so, our cat has seemingly become very adept at hunting. We've had a couple of frogs in from the neighbour's pond, a couple of weeks ago we returned home to a very distressed magpie in the living room, and last night i came in to find a squirrel on the bathroom floor. All of them have been brought in through the cat flap, lord knows how as he barely fits through it by himself!

The thing is, all of the animals have been alive, and physically unhurt (including the cat), and all have been set free by me. Judging by the cat sniffing and looking under the bookcase later in the evening, I think the squirrel must have hidden under it and George couldn't get to it so got bored and wandered off.

I thought the idea of cats hunting was to bring dead presents back to the house, why does mine bring them alive and not hurt them? Not that i'm complaining, i would much rather set them free, but i'm worried that soon he'll just injure something and i will have to kill it. Do other people's cats do this? Is it because he doesn't know how to kill, or he just hasn't got round to it by the time we find him?

my cat brings me all kinds of gifts, dead and alive...I think she likes to 'toy' with the poor beasties to practice their hunting technique, ie throwing a little mousie around, poking it to make it move so she can chase it again...it seems sadistic to me but its just her way I suppose...

that said, magpie + squirrel is pretty amazing! do you have a giant cat?

He's quite big, but not huge. And he's got a pin in his back leg from an accident as a kitten. It doesn't slow him down though! I grew up with cats but only one of them brought things in that i remember, and my mum dealt with them so don't think i saw anything. He had squirrels, a mole, wood pidgeons and all sorts and wasn't that big either. Is it the season for it or something, are they more likely to hunt in spring/summer? There's a lot of grass and big trees outside our house and i keep seeing him parked at the bottom of a tree or hiding under my day lillies etc - he's in constant stalking mode!

I never expected a cat to be able to get a squirrel!!

We have a squirrel that likes to sit in the garden (munching hazelnuts!) and pulls faces at our two cats when they are in the house, I never expect them to be able to catch up with squirrel when they get out.. I might think again now...

At least we don't have a catflap!!

Yep mine bring back animals dead and alive. With the warmer weather it's become more frequent. I try to let mine out later on in the day, then feed them at dusk so they are not out at prime hunting times. Plus when they have been fed early evening they are too busy washing themselves to bother hunting.

Maybe it's something to do with me, my dog (who lives with my parents) has a passion for eating squirrels. He goes in Ecclesall woods every day and when he was a bit younger would regularly catch and kill them, then prance round the rest of the walk with it hanging out of his mouth. Thankfully i have never been party to this. He was very fast and powerful, but is a bit older now so doesn't get them that often.

Maybe squirrels are getting slower?! I suppose if the cat injured one i couldn't take it to a vet as it's classed as vermin so they wouldn't treat it? Oh well, we are infested with magpies as the next door neighbour insists on feeding them, so no songbirds come near - i guess it wouldn't be so bad if George did have a little summer cull of them!

when i was younger and lived with my mum, our old cat brought us a dead mouse and my mum told her off,, 2 days later the cat brought us a big leaf !!!:loopy::D

Oneof my cats brought a rat in :(

Hubby said "babe the cat has a mouse", i went too look and there was a HUGE dead rat on my door step!
I think he thought mice were huge.....

when i was younger and lived with my mum, our old cat brought us a dead mouse and my mum told her off,, 2 days later the cat brought us a big leaf !!!:loopy::D

that's funny! :hihi: my cat brought me a conker once...she sometimes accidentally brings in metallic objects (nails, bottle tops) that stick to her magnetic collar, but its beneath her dignity to let us pull them off...they are funny creatures!

i know my current kitten i have has took a great intreast in practising for hunting for the big world out there ,,,but i have tried to explain my underwear dosnt lurk in the bushes and up trees,,he runs around the house like a mad cat with various items of underwear in his mouth,,not to sure what its all about:loopy::loopy::loopy::roll:

One of mine brings live things in, then the other kills it. Tinks is also a good ratter and like previous post hubby thought the rat was a big mouse, he hates mice but was balistic at the rat...
Solution, close windows during the day if you dont want things in, I put some mesh across my window to stop them hopping in that way. I dont have a cat flap now, but in the other house I had to close it when I wasnt in. That way if any strange beasties arrived I was at home to help them out. Cats now have a cat kennel outside with cat flap for when we are out, so they can entertain whatever friends they like in there!!!!

Aaron kitten brought my OH a Hula Hoops bag from the bin in the kitchen yesterday.

I told him that he should take it as a compliment.

Billy brings worms- lots of them. Thankfully the rest of my lot either eat what they catch (Baby) or are on furry zimmer frames and couldn't keep up with the little things to catch them.

EDIT- my old lad Tetley could get into double figures of small furry or feathered things caught, killed and lined up on the doorstep if I allowed him to stay out overnight. They were all brought in carefully and proudly and put at my feet, even when he was too wary to let me touch him, bless his little white socks.

I had a Cat who would bring his cat friends home including kittens, he would also bring live mice in to play with but he would let them run off and i had to have humane mouse traps!! my hubby finds that funny

my parents had a cat when i was very young which used to chase butterflies, bat them with her paw to kill them and just leave them. there used to be butterflies all over the garden some days. oooh, and the other cat once brought home very large carp from somebody's pond! no idea how he caught it, let alone got it into the living room

my parents had a cat when i was very young which used to chase butterflies, bat them with her paw to kill them and just leave them. there used to be butterflies all over the garden some days. oooh, and the other cat once brought home very large carp from somebody's pond! no idea how he caught it, let alone got it into the living room

ours came up with a pork chop!!!

haha, must have swiped somebody's dinner. at least that was already dead, but heavy... is he a big cat?

I used to work with someone whose cats (brothers who were always getting into trouble together) came home with all sorts of things.

One morning they tried to get a tawny owl through the cat flap. The problem was that it had been dead for some time, with its wings out and it was rather stiff- and the cats were trying to fetch it in by its feet so it got as far as the bird's armpits and then got stuck.

my cats also bring in alive gifts, they are never dead...

mice are the favourite

I've had a live bat :o which was very scary flying round the living room :help:

i've had birds, again alive

one of mine isn't a good hunter bless him so he brings me twigs and leaves! :love:

As far as gifts go, not so often, but Tiggy kitten cat brings his girlfriend into the backroom until they see me and run back outside. Tis weird seeing my little boy in love!
Not seen her in a while though!

My 3 cats have brought us live gifts in the past, but not in the last couple of years - I think they have got too old.

The worst was when someone in the neighbourhood must have stocked their pond - Peggy brought home a koi carp every day for a week, it must have been from somewhere near as they were still gasping, but I never did find out whose they were!

My darling Fudge just brought me a dead mouse and dropped it at my feet. Eughhhhh!!!! I yelled at her until she picked it back up and took it out. I'm so ungrateful! The last few times they've been live ones that have taken up residence in my house for a few days until they are caught again. I feel like I've got a farm here sometimes!
:roll:

Another day, another squirrel.

I got out of the shower this morning, thought i could hear George twittering so opened the door and there he was, making his way across the landing with a mouthful of squirrel. I shouted at him but he just started growling and wandered off into a bedroom and, after much deliberation, placed it under a chair and laid down beside it. I got hold of him and shut him in another room while i inspected the squirrel. Which was very dead - but had open eyes. The horror. I did make sure it was dead before putting in the bin, and checked before i left for work.

I now worry every time i come in from work, and have to do a house inspection to make sure there is no wildlife hiding anywhere. I can't shout at George much because he's only acting on instinct, and looks so wide eyed and pleased with himself afterwards that i can't get mad.

Is this how the mothers of serial killers can still love them............?!

my two cats are soooo crule sometimes they both bring chicks from the nest and they onley look like they are a few days old i get so upset with them both:mad:
the last time they did it
i told them off touch wood they havent done it since .
they just bring really smelly mice:o
home oh and frogs:huh:

saying this mik cat 1 has just snuggeld up on my lap :roll:

emily is a house cat, so she doesnt hunt outside, however she is very mean to the toy mice she plays with, and occassionally brings her favorite mouse to me as a little gift.

My cat has brought THREE field mice in :( eeeeeeekkkk

My cat is a little so and so for bringing me gifts but the one that springs mind is i was ill in bed and heard her come in and jump on the bed.
I turned over to find her on the bed with still wriggling mouse in the mouth then just like in one of thoose films when everything goes slow i said noooooo and she dropped and it ran oall over the bed :hihi:
I have never jumped out of bed so quick and it took me 3 days to catch the little critter.:hihi:
Sadie was most perturbed why i was not pleased with her gift :loopy:, now if im in bed the bedroom door is always shut and just get greeted with them in the morning.:(

My cat is a little so and so for bringing me gifts but the one that springs mind is i was ill in bed and heard her come in and jump on the bed.
I turned over to find her on the bed with still wriggling mouse in the mouth then just like in one of thoose films when everything goes slow i said noooooo and she dropped and it ran oall over the bed :hihi:
I have never jumped out of bed so quick and it took me 3 days to catch the little critter.:hihi:
Sadie was most perturbed why i was not pleased with her gift :loopy:, now if im in bed the bedroom door is always shut and just get greeted with them in the morning.:(

That is my biggest fear! They have started bringing frogs in now, keep having to get up at 3 in the morning to catch them - never knew before that frogs could scream!! I just dread the time i wake up thinking one of my beautiful cuddly cats is gently tapping me awake and realise its actually a frog or a mouse on my face! Urghhhhh!

My cat is a little so and so for bringing me gifts but the one that springs mind is i was ill in bed and heard her come in and jump on the bed.
I turned over to find her on the bed with still wriggling mouse in the mouth then just like in one of thoose films when everything goes slow i said noooooo and she dropped and it ran oall over the bed :hihi:
I have never jumped out of bed so quick and it took me 3 days to catch the little critter.:hihi:
Sadie was most perturbed why i was not pleased with her gift :loopy:, now if im in bed the bedroom door is always shut and just get greeted with them in the morning.:(

yes i know mine had me in tears a few week back
he had got a baby blackbird i think it had fell out of a tree
or he may of cought it i dont know :suspect:
all i could hear when was in bed with a migraine
was this terrible screeching & i then knew one off my cats had got a bird
i went outside to look for him and yes he had got a lovley baby blackbird .
i managed to get the bird off him it seemed ok :thumbsup:
i had tried to get help for this bird then found someone who rescues them
the night before i was going to take it to him it died
i was so upset it looked like it was going to make it :(
cats youve got to love em cos if you dident youed bloodey kill them with the things they do:suspect: