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tggzzz wrote: ↑Thu Jan 22, 2026 12:16 am
Warfarin is the other method. When people become too sanctimonious for my taste, I tend to ask whether they would prefer to die from internal haemorrhages, being drowned in a strong acid, or having their neck snapped.
I wouldn't use poison partly because it is slow and partly because the animal will die in a place that is only accessible by drafts. Not sure cats are any better in that respect.
Poison is expensive and should be laid in bait stations, so other animals can't get at it. A length of pipe will do. It disappears but you don't have direct evidence of the results. The poisons on the market are certified humane.
Not sure what that might mean. Clearly they cannot be instantaneous!
I believe they drop into a stupor from which they don't return. More humane than Rodine (white phosphorus) or ratsbane (arsenious oxide) etc where the victims would show obvious signs of dying in agony. Since rats have developed resistance to Warfarin, older poisons can be licensed for persistent infestations.
tggzzz wrote: ↑Thu Jan 22, 2026 12:16 am
Charlie indicated one at my house, which I duly caught. Rat catchers and their large "humane" traps have been seen in my road. Charlie has never had the opportunity to earn his keep that way.
Rats are a different and altogether nastier thing. Fortunately I've never lived in a place plagued by them. The last one I disposed of was ten years back. I shot it with an air rifle. Ten years before that I came across one in a barn. I shot it with a 12 bore at about 15 yards. It took off. People who live in rural areas often find they have rats in the garden when the cereals are harvested at the end of summer. Even if they don't get into the house they are a damned nuisance.
Years ago, I had a tortoiseshell cat who was an excellent hunter. She would bring prey into the front room and let it run around a bit for me to see. Then, she would quickly catch it, kill it and eat it whole. Crunch, crunch. The whole demonstration would take, ooh, 30s.
Next pair of cats also included a torty. One morning, I woke up to find a fully working large rat in the bedroom, but the tabby didn't really know what to do with it. Fortunately, the torty came in shortly after, but also seemed at a loss. I made a spear and despatched the rat. The cats were a bit alarmed by that and clearly thought, "What if he does that to us?"
The cats we have now are rubbish hunters; they bring stuff in then forget about it, leading to a nasty niff from behind the fridge or wherever. The younger cat really doesn't like pigeons and has so far dragged three live pigeons through the cat flap. If we spot a rodent then the vacuum is very effective and usually kills them when they hit the bend into the cyclone.
When he was young we gave Charlie a pig's rib. It disappeared down is gullet in 30s. So did a few more.
A few years later he realised he ought to bury them. I don't object if he is in the garden, but I do if he is in the house.
So we got him dried animal bits; feet, salmon skin chews and similar. He does bury those in the house, rather comically, putting them near something on the floor and ineffectually using his snout to push the thing over his treasure. If he realises you have seen him doing that, he moves it somewhere else so we can't deprive him.
EC8010 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 22, 2026 10:49 pm
Years ago, I had a tortoiseshell cat who was an excellent hunter. She would bring prey into the front room and let it run around a bit for me to see. Then, she would quickly catch it, kill it and eat it whole. Crunch, crunch. The whole demonstration would take, ooh, 30s.
Next pair of cats also included a torty. One morning, I woke up to find a fully working large rat in the bedroom, but the tabby didn't really know what to do with it. Fortunately, the torty came in shortly after, but also seemed at a loss. I made a spear and despatched the rat. The cats were a bit alarmed by that and clearly thought, "What if he does that to us?"
The cats we have now are rubbish hunters; they bring stuff in then forget about it, leading to a nasty niff from behind the fridge or wherever. The younger cat really doesn't like pigeons and has so far dragged three live pigeons through the cat flap. If we spot a rodent then the vacuum is very effective and usually kills them when they hit the bend into the cyclone.
This is why I'm glad Harley is an indoor cat. I can just imagine what he might drag home.
An old gray beard with an attitude. I don't bite.....sometimes
MED6753 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 23, 2026 3:35 pm
And I believe cats can hear the ultrasonic noises that mice make.
Sound certainly alerts Charlie, for mice and squirrels. Except when I say "squirrel" and point, I presume the sounds are ultrasonic - either scratches or screams. After that he then uses scent to track them.
He has a high prey instinct, and has only backed down once - for a swan spreading its wings and hissing.
There are ultrasonic pest repellers. They are sold on Amazon and some are claimed to discourage mice.
I built one from a magazine design years back. It uses a resonant circuit to create regular pulses of 20kHz into a transducer. Cats took no notice and it had no effect on the demented Golden Retriever which lived net door. I'm inclined to class them with electronic water softeners. They may not be a total con but In my experience, don't have an immediate and obvious effect.
Years ago there was a fashion for bat detectors, which picked up bat sounds and converted them to sounds in the human hearing range. I never tried one, but I suppose they could pick up mouse squeaks.
Cats have absolutely phenomenal hearing. Harley could be in the lab with me and will go rushing to the front door because there's a delivery that us humans don't even hear.
And he could be sound asleep anywhere and as soon as I crack that can of cat food he's there before I even get the lid fully off.
An old gray beard with an attitude. I don't bite.....sometimes
MED6753 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 23, 2026 6:36 pm
Cats have absolutely phenomenal hearing. Harley could be in the lab with me and will go rushing to the front door because there's a delivery that us humans don't even hear.
And he could be sound asleep anywhere and as soon as I crack that can of cat food he's there before I even get the lid fully off.
There are white cats, usually with one blue eye and the other orange, which are stone deaf. It's a genetic thing but they are not albino. You can walk up to them from behind, then they notice you and react with shock. It's strange.
A friend had one. It was run over on a sharp bend outside his house.
