When my husband moved into his apt. in MI last Nov. there was a mouse/mice. It wasn't until I visited for the first time last January that I took action and caught three of the little critters. The lady downstairs said she doesn't have any because of her dogs. Well, our "old" cat has no claws so I don't think she could catch mice, but our two new little kittens seem like they'd be willing and capable hunters. I'm just wondering, do dogs and cats do an equally good job of detering mice?
I have always had cats and dogs growing up. I never saw a dog catch a mouse. My cat caught a few. I have yet to see a mouse in our current house (which was built right next to where the old one was) I would say cats are better than dogs
Cats have a better reputation for mice than dogs. And I'm guessing that just having a cat around, even without claws, can be a deterrent to the mice.
My cat cought a lizzard the other day (in the house) she sure had something to tell me that morning when I woke up to make coffee, it didn't dawn on me what she was "saying" until the kids wanted to show me the dead critter......... (while I was going pee!) by the way the cat "asked for a reward" that night too....... so I gave her some slices of deli ham.
I have two dogs, and we still get mice every fall. In fact, the mice were bold enough to take dog food out of the very room in which the dogs slept in the basement and store it in my husband's boots in another basement room. I think perhaps the presence of the dog just prevents the lady from seeing the mice; they probably just take a more concealed route through her apartment. If she moves her stove out , I bet she'll find droppings under it. I put my money on the cat for catching the mice, but I'd put even more faith in lots of traps baited with peanut butter. We bend the trigger wire slightly to make it more sensitive. (Apologies to anyone who believes in catch and release for rodents. If they are in my house, their option for relocation is to get out the way they entered -- and stay out.)
It depends on the breed of dog whether they are "into" cathing mice or not. I think I read somewhere that terriers were bred for catching rats and badgers. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/ratterrier.htm
Our cat brings in mice alive (the only way they come in now - We managed to find and block their entry)...The dog hunts them and eats them. I'd always vouch for bait and traps being more effective then either though.
My dog caught a bird. I think RoadRunner is probably right about it depending on the breed. DH feels this little girl would be a great hunting dog. We think she's mostly Pointer.
Pointers are so cute! The way they point at the flies and the little birds and stuff. Our cats are inside cats so they only catch flies if any come in.
Roadrunner, here's a picture of her: http://www.homeschoolspot.com/showthread.php?t=11813&highlight=pointer
My cat found a mouse once. She just played with it, didn't try to kill it. When I discovered her with her new little friend the mouse looked up at me as if he was saying, "Just kill me already"!
We have brought home cats just to catch mice and have had luck with it. They weren't house cats because of Handsome's asthma so they were always out and about catching things. Our last cat was great at catching squirrels as well. He would always leave his leftovers on the front porch.LOL Our Taco Terrior is awesome at catching squirrels. She gets her mind set on going after them and we have to pick her up in order to get her mind away from them. Our Lab has caught one and little Tilly has caught a few in her days but Handsome has never caught any. I assume if they will catch squirrels, they might catch mice as well.
My old lab caught baby groundhog at camp once. I was quite upset about that! It was down at the pool, and we couldn't just dispose of it in the trash can. We didn't want some 8yo going to throw away trash and find it lying on top!
We had a mini Schnauzer that thought she was a cat she once caught a baby bunny and brought it in the house amazingly she didn't kill it. We now have cats and one of our cats looks at mice and such as "not worth her time" and the other one will catch anything that moves including the scorpion that somehow got in our house (she even ate it and I was paranoid that it would kill her until the vet told me that cats are immune to scorpion venom) I definately think it depends on the dog and cat some cats are great mousers others don't care some dogs are great at catching stuff others would rather lick your face.
We have a golden retriever, and a red bone, st bernard mix, as well as three cats. They team up on the rodents. When they are all outside it is so funny to watch them all stalking a gopher from different directions. Once they get it caught they turn it into a ball and play. Needless to say we don't have many rodents around our house.
That is nice to know, we have 4 cats and are moving to the desert with lots of scorpions in the area.
My cats are pretty good hunters at least the younger ones are the old ones just sit all day long on the porch waiting for their next meal. Our dog loves to hunt mice but he is a hunting dog so he sniffs them out really good. He is a "Black Cur" you know the Old Yellar dog from the movie Sam
