Parenting-Furkids

Non Species Specific Furkid Topics => Reaching One Furkid Parent At A Time... => Topic started by: Pookie on April 25, 2014, 09:35:36 AM

Title: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 25, 2014, 09:35:36 AM
When I'm home I leave the basement door open so Pookie can explore and "hunt."  I haven't seen or heard any mice in the house for most of the winter (which shocked me, since we had the Polar Vortex in all it's glory  ::)), and now that it's warming up a little, I figured the mice would be back in the fields and woods.

So I'm getting his "3rd dinner" warmed up and see him walk under the daybed.  Since I've been leaving my bedroom door open when I'm home, I assUmed he'd been up there enjoying the perks of being in Mommy's room.  WRONG.  He didn't come out from under the daybed, like normal, so I lifted the cover and saw something in his mouth.  At first I thought it was one of his toys, because most of it was in his mouth.  Then I got a better look.

Yep.  He caught a mouse.  Greaaattttt . . .

I grabbed a container and lid, thinking I'd wait until he put it down to play, then I'd catch and dispose of it or release it in the woods if it was still alive.  Nope.  He walked around with it (with me following), went back under the daybed, and that was the last I saw of Mr. Mouse because Pookie ate it.    :o

I guess he just couldn't wait for his 3rd dinner.   funny2  Or maybe that was the appetizer?  Because after he ate it, he came out and started asking for his 3rd dinner.   ::) 

I guess Darwin was right.  What mouse is going to be inside when it's spring?  If they think it's safer in my basement, they're in for a surprise.
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 25, 2014, 04:31:21 PM
Congrats?   Bumpurr1

Could you hear crunching sounds? 

Is there anything you have to worry about, with Pookie eating mice?  Worms or... ?
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 25, 2014, 04:45:20 PM
Thanks?   :D

Didn't hear anything, but saw him sort of chewing on it before I quickly dropped the cover and turned away.   :-X

As for worms . . . I have NO idea . . . I'm hoping since cats usually eat mice in the wild, that worms aren't really an issue.  fingerscrossed
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Middle Child on April 25, 2014, 05:58:57 PM
Cats who eat mice in the wild have worms, unless they own humans who de-worm them regularly.  If Pookie has a strong immune system, one mouse might not be too much of an issue, but of course I'm not really an expert.

I know that cats who go out (free roaming) it is recommended that they be de-wormed every three months.

PS I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed the story!

Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: DeeDee on April 25, 2014, 06:03:06 PM
As for worms . . . I have NO idea . . . I'm hoping since cats usually eat mice in the wild, that worms aren't really an issue.  fingerscrossed

Ummmm ... http://cats.about.com/cs/zoonoticdiseases/a/catsandmice.htm

Besides Toxoplasmosis there's the Hantavirus that's quite often fatal to humans:

"The impetus for this research is a 1987 study suggesting that cats, which tested positive for two other hantaviruses-the Hantaan and Seoul types-may help transmit the virus to humans in China."

Yeah. I wore gloves to get rid of our 3 little invaders this winter. Though they tried and tried, thankfully V&B could never catch one. They're the reason we don't use poisons though. IF they caught one they might get secondary poisoning. Sticky pads with chocolate chips all over them on the kitchen cabinet by the sink worked quite well. Then I took them outside and chopped their little heads off with a hoe & threw the bodies into the brush on the hill.

Then I'd get in my kitchen and wipe down my cabinets & counter-tops with Clorox wipes. *shudder* An episode of Ice Road Truckers that I was watching has had me afraid of wild, little mice ever since. http://www.locatetv.com/tv/ice-road-truckers/season-6/7652506
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 25, 2014, 06:47:09 PM
I feel like such a party pooper, BUT I had read (somewhere) that most outdoor cats have worms.  Sooooo that got me to thinking (uh oh).... if an indoor cat eats outdoor "food".... 

Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Middle Child on April 25, 2014, 10:00:03 PM
Yes, rodents (and birds) carry parasites, so cats who go out need to be wormed regularly.  It's one of the things on my list of "why cats should not be let out to roam".  The fact that roaming cats have to be given poisons to deworm them every three months.
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 26, 2014, 04:54:22 PM
Umm . . . thanks?
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 28, 2014, 12:24:43 PM
I didn't know about the possibility of worms, when Arrows ate a fairly large lizard.  Not sure if lizards are as "risky" as mice, but....  he didn't get any worms.  If that helps you any.  :)
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on January 14, 2015, 03:58:57 PM
I guess losing his fangs (and most of his teeth for that matter) didn’t make too much of a difference.  I came down from my shower Monday night and see him come up from the basement with something in his mouth and “that look” in his eyes.  I was able to get it from him when he put it on the floor, but it was already dead.  I think it was a vole – it didn’t look like the field mice he usually catches.  I didn’t know they came indoors!  Don’t they hibernate?  Like, underground???

You should have seen how fast he ran back down there afterwards!  ZOOM! whatimiss

P.S.  In re-reading this thread, I just wanted to update you all that when he went to the vet for his pre-dental, he tested negative for worms.   thumbsup1
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Middle Child on January 14, 2015, 06:03:31 PM
 funny2 funny2 funny2 funny2
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on January 15, 2015, 04:32:17 PM
Can you buy him crickets?  He could "hunt" and eat those... and they are a LOT less gross.  lol
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 07, 2015, 12:23:46 PM
In the "Pookie's Vet Visit" thread, I mentioned that lately he's been stalking the lower kitchen cabinets.  Well, last night I found out why.

I'm in the living room, watching tv and suddenly hear his nails on the kitchen floor and some squeaks.  I look into the kitchen and sure enough, he was walking around with a mouse in his mouth.  Soooooo . . .  I grabbed a container and lid and stalked him.  He went under the daybed, which is his "den," and when I tried to get it from him, he growled at me (as best as he could with the tumor affecting his vocal cords) and walked away.  So I followed him again and waited until he put it down, and managed to trap it in the container.  I wish I had a picture of the look on the mouse's face as it was in Pookie's mouth.  It looked like it was thinking, OMG!  This cat is huge!  It was funny and yet I felt sorry for it at the same time.

I got the lid under it, all the while Pookie watching and probably silently telling me to put it back down, and took the rodent for a long walk down to the wood by the park and released it.  When I got back, Pookie still had that feral, "Mighty Hunter" look in his eyes and was looking at me like, well, where is it?

In case anyone's wondering why I wanted to get it away from him, my primary concern was that he would try to eat it, and with his windpipe/throat 40% compromised by the tumor (and that was over a week ago, so it's probably more than that by now), I didn't dare let him try to swallow something that size.  Granted, these mice are small, but still, I wasn't taking any chances.

Even with cancer, he is still The Mighty Hunter.   :)
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 07, 2015, 12:55:33 PM
That a boy, Pookie!!!! 
Wonderful story.  It brought a smile to my face.  Thanks so much for sharing it.
Hope Pookie doesn't stay mad at you long.  ;)  I can "see" him thinking... "Hey!  What's the deal?! Give it baaaaaaaaack!" 
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: DeeDee on April 07, 2015, 02:11:30 PM
Too bad that April Fool canned mouse food isn't real.
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Middle Child on April 07, 2015, 05:19:34 PM
Love it!
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 07, 2015, 09:27:58 PM
He's still stalking the cabinets tonight.  I reeeeaaaallllllly hope there aren't more mice in there.    fingerscrossed

I think the excitement took some energy out of him.  Either that, or it's the buprenex.  I have to Google the side effects for that.
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: DeeDee on April 07, 2015, 09:36:10 PM
Either that, or it's the buprenex.  I have to Google the side effects for that.



Last I checked, Buprenex is a narcotic. It's going to have all kinds of fun side-effects that usually aren't so fun for animals that don't know why they feel "odd."
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Middle Child on April 08, 2015, 05:08:36 AM
Yes, they get pretty stoned on it. But it is an effective pain reliever. My feeling is, if he is still hunting, he is feeling okay still.  And if he is still stalking the cabinets, there is probably another mouse. A family nest maybe? 'Tis the season.  Mice aren't too bright, LOL!
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 08, 2015, 08:29:02 PM
I'm impressed how Pookie's mom gets a lid and container... catch and release.  No biggie.  You all discuss mice so calmly.   Silly7
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 08, 2015, 09:04:45 PM
I'm impressed how Pookie's mom gets a lid and container... catch and release.  No biggie.  You all discuss mice so calmly.   Silly7

lol, only because I basically got used to it.  That's not the first mouse he's caught.  But the first few times . . . yeah, I did some panicking.  Not about the mouse (they're kinda cute, actually), but because he had it upstairs and it was still alive.  When he started killing them, it got easier, since I didn't have to worry about it getting loose.
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 10, 2015, 03:00:31 AM
Yeah, I guess it makes sense... what a person is used to.  We don't have mice, we have lizards.  A mouse would give me the creeps.  A lizard is the norm.  lol 
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Lola on April 12, 2015, 12:00:01 PM
How is Pookie and Mom doing?
Title: Re: The Mighty Hunter is BACK!
Post by: Pookie on April 12, 2015, 12:41:33 PM
Just to keep things in some sort of order, I replied here:  http://parenting-furkids.com/index.php?topic=3063.new#new
 :)