Carbonrocket Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Just wondering. I have been shooting rats at various barns for a while and was wondering if many landowners have tried to 'plant' ferrile cats to help control rat problems? Would cats help to control rats at barns that are away in the wilderness? Carbon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosspot Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Think feral cats may cause more problems than they would cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libs Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 They don't need to be feral. Getting the usual moggies will do the trick. Putting down some food every night will just hold them where you want them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulf Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 I reckon it depends on the actual cat, One of the local farms has a massive unn nuterd tabby cat that seems to keep on top of rat numbers. Ive seen it corner rats up against the wall and literally bludgeon them to death with its front paws It kills a lot of pigeons and starlings as well. Some of the other farm cats though are a waste of space and seem more interested in sleeping than hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinea Fowl Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 We had 2 cats on our farm and they would not eat cat food for weeks until the rats are sorted out, i think it all depends on the cat you have. What was amazing was, when i was little i was given a white rabbit, this is way before we had cats. Everyday we would find dead rats and mice on the lawn with a bite marks, we could not understand what will kill them and then don`t eat them. So the one day one of the game rangers came to the farm to check out the problems we had with otters, He then noticed the dead rats and had a look at them and asked if we have lots of Rabbits, my mother said yes my son got one as a pet. It was then when the ranger explained to us that the rabbits compete for food and territory with the rats and mice and its quite normal for them to kill the rats. Weird or what! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhiannonBW Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 My eldest cat, now sadly past his prime, was a rescue from the local Blue Cross. Unfortunately the policy of the Blue Cross is to neuter all animals. He was such a good ratter and rabbiter that the vet said I could have made a fortune selling his kittens onwards as good ratters are quite rare. One night I came downstairs to find six rats all neatly laid outi n a line. Rats are pretty viscious and it takes a certain type of cat to be willing to go for them, especially when there are soft options such as birds and pet food around. My other cat, a little black rescue cat, hates anything and everything after being badly mistreated in her first home, and she's also brought rats back for us to finish off. My first cat, sadly gone from us, was another good ratter, rabbiter and loved hunting squirrels, regularly bringing us the tails back as trophies. He'd also wait patiently for hours above rabbit holes waiting for his dinner to appear. Did anyone see the programme 'The Tiger in your Kitchen' on many years ago? Apparantly every single inch of a cat is designed to make it the perfect killing machine. Rhiannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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