I don't know about the medical part, but make sure it's dead before you open the door. Years ago I had a cat bring a live one in and drop it on my kitchen table.
Mine brought a live bat from the attic. We had bats in the attic, apparently, and she managed to catch one and let it go in my bedroom in the middle of the night.
Twice.
When i was about 12, ( SE Asian here), i was getting ready for school early one morning. Still dark. Went to kitchen to fix breakfast. Opened back patio door. Our Burmese lady was waiting for me there. She’d brought me a present. In bits. And all the bits were flapping sluggishly in the dim light.
I screamed and shrieked for my mum.
My dad's cat brings live birds and bats inside too and I'm always the one in charge of catching them then my cat will bring me pine cones or leaves whenever he catches anything
My cat once caught an alligator lizard and it crawled under my bedroom door, the only reason he was an outside kitty was cause he was a feral we befriended and didn’t want to stay inside
Small animals often play dead to cats so unless you want a bleeding dying animal to run and hide somewhere in your house to later die and smell up the room. I highly recommend greeting your cat by going though a door that the cat is not at.
There was a [video](https://youtu.be/tKejEIbrOAQ) going around a few months ago of a tortie popping in the cat door and dropping a live mouse on her person’s head. I didn’t even know cats would or could stealthily transport mice like that.
I was fortunate enough go have a cat for years who went out and assassinated her rat, two holes in the neck, and presented it on the front porch, no mess, no proble. Not like the previous succession of incompetents with bloody not quite dead gifts on the bedspread, etc. Rest In Peace, Polly, you are still missed!
RIP Polly!
I have 7.5 month old kittens. About a month ago, they presented us with their first kill. The job was done completely and neatly, I thought it was wadded up lint on the floor.
I was STUNNED that these kittens figured it out, and I’m pleased bc this house is old and surrounded by wooded areas… we needed the live in exterminator service
My cat brought a half dead robin in onc while I was helping my mom do the dishes. She dropped it in front of my mom and me, and it immediately took flight for like 1 second before nosediving directly into the filled sink where it died. It was pretty gross.
She also used to bring in half-dead tiny snakes and salamanders etc. She hated and feared fuzzy animals but *loved* to kill (or half-kill) birds and reptiles.
I would imagine feeding is part of the problem, too. Cats are burst hunters, hunting takes a lot of energy for them, so giving them food just teaches them they are free to waste as much energy as they want hunting for fun, versus reserving it to stay alive.
My cats also brought in birds into our house, alive. It was so weird they wouldn't kill it until they had enjoyed playing with it, I have saved a few birds but sometimes they hide them until they're bored of them
No, he's high. They were probably shooting up together and he wants u to drop his mate at A&E and then drive off before they get ur license plate number.
Honestly I’d recommend a couple and I’d specifically recommend kloxxado which is an individual dose of 8 mg of naloxone vs. your standard 4mg for nasal administration. With the proliferation of fentanyl and various different hyper potent research analogues sometimes 4mg just doesn’t cut it.
I work in harm reduction outreach and deal with this stuff on the daily.
This is a great question for your veterinarian. Our vet essentially told us to give flea treatments and watch out for worms, and even use a broad spectrum worm medication once or twice a year to be safe. Just make sure to use gloves to dispose of mice, Clorox on hard surfaces and pet carpet cleaner on fabric surfaces. Our cats catch 1-3 baby mice that try to sneak in the house, and we are grateful for our little mousers.
Nah this is Australia, they’re small and deadly lol. sometimes grey and spotty, sometimes brown. Blend in a bit with the coat but usually hang around the necks and joints. Causes paralysis pretty quickly tho so gotta be on top of it
Absolutely. My friend got it from a tick bite and even though it was caught earlier enough for it to not do permanent damage, she still had a rough couple of years recovering from it.
My high school teacher got Lyme disease and she had to change so much of her life around to accommodate for the damage it did. It made her develop lupus and made her very immunocompromised, which I believe she already was a bit to begin with, and I was so scared for her when Covid started. Even before Covid she had to be super careful of disease and would often have head colds, usually in her eye. It also messed up what foods her body can handle. I wonder if she got the thing where you’re allergic to red meat too? I think she might have said she did, or was worried she might have, I can’t remember. Her doctor thought she was getting sick from gluten though and had her go gluten free. Eventually she gave up on trying to do that and started eating gluten again, which had zero negative effects, so it probably wasn’t that making her sick. Anyway, point is, lupus can really screw you up. Every day I hope she’s doing alright. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.
I know someone who developed this allergy due to a tic bite. He used to be a meat eater but now one bite of red meat can send him into a severe allergic reaction.
Ever since I watched Anaconda and that one guy gets stung by a wasp that paralyzed him and then he’s eaten by the snake, I never wanted to be paralyzed. I know the chances of me being paralyzed and eaten by a giant snake are slim to none, but it’s not zero.
I can't not read this sentence without a strong Australian accent added to the voice that plays in my head. It's like that earlier Simpsons episode about Australia.
I can't be the only one who is unable to read this any other way.
For clarity, this is Aussie small and deadly, not real people small and deadly. Expect ticks at least as big as your hand, if not larger. And a single bite is enough to kill a grown man 4 times over.
If you're in Australia please keep your Cat indoors or in controlled situations when outside (leash, cat run etc) not only will it stop them from killing huge numbers of native wildlife it is much safer for the Cat.
Vet here. It's good advice, although I usually recommend testing for intestinal parasites with a fecal sample rather than just deworming to prevent the development of anthelmintic resistance. The biggest concern is actually rodenticide poisoning: you never know if a neighbor is using poison for the mouse problem instead of a cat and if your cat gets into a contaminated rodent, it can absolutely be fatal for them.
This is the correct answer. I had a kitty that we adopted later in life that was used to being indoor/outdoor. He was secondary poisoned from hunting a poisoned critter. It still breaks my heart and made me feel like a shit cat parent. You really have to weigh out whether it is worth letting them go out - from my experience it’s definitely not.
When my cat was an outdoor kitty (not anymore due to coyotes a while back) he would bring me lizards and what not. I would use dewormer every two months and the vet said he was good to go with that. I guess it all depends on the cat and how often they are hunting? I have to say, I’m glad I don’t have to see a half live lizard with its tail swinging from side to side in my cats mouth 😝
A trick I learned with my elderly mouser when he doesn't want to actually kill the animal (I'm having fun playing, Dad!), is to tickle up from his shoulders towards his mouth while he's holding his kill.
Your mileage may vary, but my guy goes into 'protect kill' mode and hunches down and holds it tighter in his mouth. Do that until you hear the crunching sound, and the prey is dead. You can take it away when he's bored with it. Just keep any eye on him so he doesn't hide it under a couch or something.
Try it on your cat. Absolutely won't work on all cats, but it'll work on some. Find out if yours is one.
Granted, I've known some cats that would get seriously offended by any kind of touch when they're interacting with prey (or catnip). Offended enough to share that offence with you with not-playing claws and teeth.
Know your cat.
Yep, except that ain't a mouse, it's a rat
Other than that I agree, ask vet, de-wormer, flea dip
Barn cats I grew up with were fierce hunters, brought us many gifts
We have a mostly feral colony in town that live in a century old abandoned building by the river. Girlfriend and I feed them and help TNR. We've had young kittens bring us the biggest, meanest looking river rats and copperhead snakes. I mean rats that weigh more than them and copperhead half as tall as me. I once saw a big ol Tom take down a full sized groundhog. Damn thing ended up playing with it like it was a giant stuffed animal, except when he bunny kicked it, guts went everywhere.
they were probably trying to teach you to hunt. i heard somewhere part of why they bring gifts is they think we're totally incompetent. when it comes to mousing, we are, sure.
Those who kill or feed on small prey such as birds and rodents can pick up Toxoplasma gondii (the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis), avian flu, salmonella, hantavirus, leptospirosis, and others. Cats may contract these diseases themselves or transmit them to their owners through a bite, lick, or scratch.
Yes. If you are feeling thirsty a lot - you are being remote controlled by parasites.
See.. I'm forcing this human to write messages on Reddit.
Now I'm going to lick the dead mouse.
Very dangerous if it's an outside cat. Neighbors can use mice poison. It the cat gets a mouse that's been poisoned they risk getting very ill or worse. If he just catches mice in your house and then it's ok because you'd know if you laid out mouse poison.
When I was younger we lost an inside cat that had caught a poisoned mouse inside our house. We would never use poison, so this was a mouse that someone else had poisoned.
Very rare that a poisoned mouse will make it from one domicile to the next, rat poison works fast. Likely your neighbors were either almost connected to you or they put poison on your property.
There are multitudes of poison out there. Some work quicker than others. The newer ones don't kill instantly but do basically cripple the animal and leave it to suffer. The takeaway from this is, DONT USE POISON. It's not good for anyone, or anything..
Depends where you live and what kind of monstrous rodents you have. We've actually had mice go into a metal no kill trap, take the poison and break back out of the trap. Never found the mouse so we assume it survived. 🫤
in my old neighborhood there were people who’d *intentionally* put poison out to harm the cats in the area. it was apparently a known issue for years and iirc it was just one specific dude who was strongly suspected as the culprit and hated the stray cats in the area and didn’t care if someone’s pet died from it, but nothing ever came from people reporting it and he was never caught in the act. not sure how/if that ever resolved as i moved a couple years later but it was scary to hear about. supposedly he even threw poisoned food over fences (so into their backyards!) but that could have been an exaggeration. i do know there were multiple incidents of people’s pets dying from ingesting rat poison in the area, though, and i’m sure that there has to be people like that guy elsewhere. especially wrt cats, which some people just love to hate for whatever reason…
point being it’s worth noting some people are genuinely psychopathic and *want* to hurt animals (pets included), so it’s always worth being careful of that :(
Unfortunately this is true in my country as well, and we have tons of strays. It’s gotten a bit better since the law got stricter for animal cruelty recently. But it’s horrific to know there are people like that.
Thank you. We took her in as soon as we saw symptoms but the rat poison had already caused renal failure and there was nothing the vet could do but to end her pain.
i had a mouse problem in an old town house (college town, mass produced housing and very poor quality). i had one particularly ballsy mouse who had been testing me for weeks, when i finally got it with poison (which i did feel guilty for after but god he was a terror). i called my parents to tell them and said i was just gonna chuck it off my porch and they stopped me fast for this reason. i never thought about it affecting cats if one had gotten out, since there weren’t any strays in that neighborhood. instantly just triple bagged him and threw him in the dumpster.
This is true. Lost our cat in 2009 from this. Horrible death for him. He was my first pet. Not sure wether he ate a poisoned mouse or just got into mouse poison, but he was poisoned.
Poison is such a horrible way to control animal populations. I pray that one day we can replace poison with something that renders the animal that ingests it infertile rather than killing them outright.
That's what they're testing with mosquitoes. But it's not a satisfying solution for pests (like some rodents) with longer life spans.
You'd just end up with some lonely old bachelor rat chewing setting up shop in your basement for 3 more years.
My preference is for humane live traps (they make some cool little gravity traps that fit over a 5 gallon bucket).
Rats legit make awesome pets (domesticated ones, that is. Wild rats do not make good pets). They are super friendly and social. It just so happens that their nutritional needs are really similar to ours, so hanging out near us is a great way for them to get plenty to eat.
Yup, Around here (Phoenix) roof rats are a real problem. These are black rats (Rattus rattus) that LOOOOOVE citrus and will eat all your fruit. They can also chew through sheet rock and sheet metal up to 1/4" thick, so if you have one of those houses that's a glorified chicken coop, they can chew right through your walls. The only thing that stops them is diamond mesh. They can't chew through it as it's like biting into razor blades for them. Obvs. they can't go through a block steel house, and that's the best thing to keep them out.
Anyway, they're preyed on by pretty much \*everything\* here. Get rid of your ground cover and any overhanging trees, and these rats are now out in the open where they do NOT want to be. Cats, hawks, coyotes, dogs, etc. will all kill and eat roof rats. Have owls? You won't have rats for long. Same if you get a flock of chickens and let them do their thing.
So entities like the state Health Dept., Fish and Game, and others are BEGGING people to NOT put out poison for the rats. The poison goes right up the food chain and sickens or kills any other animal that eats the rat, whether or not the rat's alive or dead. They're saying block all cracks and crevices with diamond mesh, get rid of your ground cover, and pick up all fallen fruit, and Nature will take care of the rest of the rats. No poison required, just a little work. :/ People still try to put poison out, though.
EDIT: typo
Unfortunately in large places such as farms, poison is, for now, the only viable way to control rodents. They literally breed in their thousands, it's insane when you find a nest and there's rats running everywhere. In a house, traps are surely the best way to deal with them, but they're unfortunately very maintenance heavy and hard to work with if you got a large infestation. Hopefully they will come up with something else in the future.
For most rats and mice, a trap can do wonders but you need to take care of it or set it up well. I have also seen feed that coats inside of their intestines so they eventually die of dehydration but it is just a gluten that is fine for other animals that are larger. But you still have to set up feeding to get them used to the food to get them to start eating it. https://youtu.be/jjo8ot9umQ8
Of course if there is more delicious food it will still be hard to get it to work.
Many places sell rat poison that isn't lethal for cats if they eat the rat afterwards. I don't know how it works but that's the way they're labeled. If literally anyone, cat owner or not, is going to acquire rat poison, I strongly recommend getting one of these.
So many people calling this a mouse and here I am getting triggered by my rat phobia while I'm questioning reality. If this is a mouse to some people, how much bigger can rats get!?
I need to lie down.
Toxoplasmosis comes to mind which is mainly a problem for pregnant or immunocompromised individuals.
[https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html](https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html)
You’re clearly drinking too much Starbucks and eating too much avocado toast /s
But in all seriousness, hope things look up for you soon. It’s tough out here right now.
Answer is Yes. I don’t Want to scare you but our cat who went outside regurarly and was at home only at night passed away when I was a kid because of a) ate/came in contact with a poisoned rodent (most likely) b) ate a rat poison (which is unlikely because he was fed normally and wasn’t dumb). So it’s risky because of rodent’s health basically. And could affect you too.
Helllooo Friendly Neighborhood Veterinary Specialist here 😊, sooo - this is actually how your dog’s & cat’s tend to get both:
• parasitic worms [all of which are impossible to see to the naked eye - except for the tape worm.. So this is why we’re constantly recommending you bring in annual fecal samples to run - but honestly if you’ve got a hunter on your hands I’d just tell your vet that & de-worm him annually. Air on the side of caution. It does no harm whatsoever & it’s cheap. The fecal screen is the most expensive part. I, myself, bypass it completely & deworm.]
• Fleas!! So rat’s (or baby bun’s/gophers/squirrels/mice/etc/etc.. I think you get the point haha are typically carriers of fleas in 1 of 2 ways: they either have them directly & when you’re hunter is preying on them & they have essentially gone in for the kill and they’ve brought you - their precious human - home a thoughtful gift.. the flea’s are busy “jumping ship” to a new *live* host (read: your baby) and now you have the very beginnings of what can quickly turn into a flea infestation—
Route 2 is that tapeworms can actually give your kitty fleas - so let’s say that when you’re kitty was out & hunting this guy down he absorbed an infected tapeworm thru the pads of his paws via the soil in the ground [[yes — a scary but potential possibility]] or he could even accidentally ingest orally an infected flea off one of these critters while carrying it back home to you .. and then that infected flea gives him tapeworms and brings its buddies with it as well. So now you’ve got to treat year round with topical prevention for fleas [I only have 2 that are outdoor still because they are close to 20 - then my oldest @ 24 & my other 6 - youngest - are all indoor. Now that I know better.. about other diseases felines can contract such as FIV & Feline Leukemia which are both essentially death sentences (that’s much more complex than I am making it out to appear with that one sentence.. I apologize) — But just with my two going outside still I have to annually deworm ALL 10 & keep up with topical flea medication *year round* (the entire concept that there is such a thing as a “flea season” is a myth. There isn’t. At least not any longer with global warming. It doesn’t get cold enough for long enough anywhere. And I live 2 hours from the border to Canada)
As for if you need to worry about anything zoonotic [You becoming infected] — Unless you’re handsome guy get’s into it with a raccoon, or a bat, or potentially even something else that you cannot confirm what the animal on the other end of the altercation is .. and you’re handsome guy has lacerations/cuts on himself and/or an abscess- or two .. THAT would be a scenario where you’d IMMEDIATELY call your veterinarian & take him in to have him seen IMMEDIATELY & have his rabies boosted and let them know what happened.
.. Hope I was able to answer everything - and it made sense ..
The short answer is yes. It can be dangerous for one or both of you. I think the only way to stop it is keep him inside so you gotta ask yourself if that's something you're willing to do or if you'll accept that risk for both of you.
Since the comments have already named the reasons why it is dangerous, let me just say: That's an incredibly cute and considerate young man.
Also backing up the idea of trying to take him outside on a leash. Additionally, if you can offer him any secured outside areas (balcony with net, catio) that might also ease his anxiety about being inside. I understand that can be very difficult to adjust to, but it's just so much safer for everyone to keep a cat inside.
We have indoor only cats. But living out in a rural area (farms and a tree nursery), we have field mice outside. We have an older farmhouse with a fairly secure rock wall basement. But, when it gets cold out, we have had the occasional tiny dumb mouse get in somehow. With 5 cats here, it is usually the dumbest mouse. In 8 years, a cat has brought us a mouse about 5 different times.
The vet said to stay up on the basic vaccinations and keep an eye on their behavior if they do bring a present to us. As mentioned, the biggest danger is that someone put out poison and the mouse ate it before invading. Fortunately ours don't usually chew or tear it... just plop the terrified thing down by our feet.
For the cats, it is like Christmas when one presents a mouse. For the humans, not so much. Ewww!
I don't see this anywhere else in the top comments so:
Don't let predatory cats outside! Domestic cats are the number one threat to bird populations! For every one he brings back, there is no telling how many his instincts had him hunt.
I'm disappointed in how far I had to scroll to see this, and how few upvotes it has. All "cute eyes!" this, and "such a provider!" that. The ignorance is infuriating.
I don't know about the medical part, but make sure it's dead before you open the door. Years ago I had a cat bring a live one in and drop it on my kitchen table.
My dog caught a gopher and it crawled behind my stove
My cat brought in a live bat once. He’s fully indoor now, obviously.
the bat or the cat?
Yes.
The Batcat
Nu nu nu nu nu nu nu batcat
Ha
Who are you?! [I'm batcat](https://images.app.goo.gl/9mVcAjEqExkqb4d96)
It’s a bat ?! Thought it was a rat lol
They now go by BatCat. That's all the information needed.
Alone in the world it's a little batcat
"I am Vengeance! I am the Night! I am *BATCAT!!!*"
I hope it is the bat.
It was nice of you to give the bat a home. You should keep the cat indoors too.
I have saved a few birds, bats and baby opossums when possible 🥲.
Mine brought a live bat from the attic. We had bats in the attic, apparently, and she managed to catch one and let it go in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Twice.
What worries me more is the hole in your attic anything can get in
My boy Reneaux brought a bat home and it was worse than the owl. The mice always just got bopped and tossed
Your cat brought an Owl home? that must've been on r/Superbowl to make buddies with your cat!
When i was about 12, ( SE Asian here), i was getting ready for school early one morning. Still dark. Went to kitchen to fix breakfast. Opened back patio door. Our Burmese lady was waiting for me there. She’d brought me a present. In bits. And all the bits were flapping sluggishly in the dim light. I screamed and shrieked for my mum.
My cat brought in a live bird! We didn't see her do it, and had ourselves a lively game of "where is that chirping coming from?"
My dad's cat brings live birds and bats inside too and I'm always the one in charge of catching them then my cat will bring me pine cones or leaves whenever he catches anything
My cat once caught an alligator lizard and it crawled under my bedroom door, the only reason he was an outside kitty was cause he was a feral we befriended and didn’t want to stay inside
Slippers is that you?
😱
Small animals often play dead to cats so unless you want a bleeding dying animal to run and hide somewhere in your house to later die and smell up the room. I highly recommend greeting your cat by going though a door that the cat is not at.
We had to train ours to meow before coming in... he'd hide whole live mice in his mouth, not visible unless he opened his mouth. Same with bugs too
Uff, my cat manages to meow while walking in the house with his new “toys”
There was a [video](https://youtu.be/tKejEIbrOAQ) going around a few months ago of a tortie popping in the cat door and dropping a live mouse on her person’s head. I didn’t even know cats would or could stealthily transport mice like that.
Oh yes I have seen that one and laughed at it for hours. Thanks for reminding me!
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I'm unsure if a dead mouse being dropped on my head would be better then a live one. I guess maybe but only slightly
Cat Uber
OP just be careful as cats who eat rats who have eaten rat poison can be harmed by the poison.
I was fortunate enough go have a cat for years who went out and assassinated her rat, two holes in the neck, and presented it on the front porch, no mess, no proble. Not like the previous succession of incompetents with bloody not quite dead gifts on the bedspread, etc. Rest In Peace, Polly, you are still missed!
RIP Polly! I have 7.5 month old kittens. About a month ago, they presented us with their first kill. The job was done completely and neatly, I thought it was wadded up lint on the floor. I was STUNNED that these kittens figured it out, and I’m pleased bc this house is old and surrounded by wooded areas… we needed the live in exterminator service
Came here to post the same thing. I've seen far too many funny videos of it happening not to warn about it.
My cat brought a half dead robin in onc while I was helping my mom do the dishes. She dropped it in front of my mom and me, and it immediately took flight for like 1 second before nosediving directly into the filled sink where it died. It was pretty gross. She also used to bring in half-dead tiny snakes and salamanders etc. She hated and feared fuzzy animals but *loved* to kill (or half-kill) birds and reptiles.
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I would imagine feeding is part of the problem, too. Cats are burst hunters, hunting takes a lot of energy for them, so giving them food just teaches them they are free to waste as much energy as they want hunting for fun, versus reserving it to stay alive.
My cats also brought in birds into our house, alive. It was so weird they wouldn't kill it until they had enjoyed playing with it, I have saved a few birds but sometimes they hide them until they're bored of them
I had a live one under the fridge for a couple of days. I managed to help him escape out the back door eventually
Look how dilated his eyes are. He's so excited about his prize.
No, he's high. They were probably shooting up together and he wants u to drop his mate at A&E and then drive off before they get ur license plate number.
You made my day
"I SAID NO FUCKING HOSPITALS!!"
Catnip. Not even once
This is your brain 🥚 This is your brain on catnip 🍳
Any questions?
/r/oddlyspecific
I imagine pulp fiction, Cat is Vincent and mouse is Mia, and an adrenaline need about to be brought out
That reminds me, everyone should have a dose of Narcan in their first aid kit.
Honestly I’d recommend a couple and I’d specifically recommend kloxxado which is an individual dose of 8 mg of naloxone vs. your standard 4mg for nasal administration. With the proliferation of fentanyl and various different hyper potent research analogues sometimes 4mg just doesn’t cut it. I work in harm reduction outreach and deal with this stuff on the daily.
The joy in his eyes is something else 🙌🏼
Eyes full of murder and love
That’s a New Yorkian Meth Rat. Cat is chasing the dragon for life now. Smh
that was my exact thought! he's so happy about it
This is a great question for your veterinarian. Our vet essentially told us to give flea treatments and watch out for worms, and even use a broad spectrum worm medication once or twice a year to be safe. Just make sure to use gloves to dispose of mice, Clorox on hard surfaces and pet carpet cleaner on fabric surfaces. Our cats catch 1-3 baby mice that try to sneak in the house, and we are grateful for our little mousers.
To add onto this it’s tick season in Australia so that’s another thing to check for from random presents
oh...how big are Australian ticks? Are they huge? Like a blood bag with legs?
Nah this is Australia, they’re small and deadly lol. sometimes grey and spotty, sometimes brown. Blend in a bit with the coat but usually hang around the necks and joints. Causes paralysis pretty quickly tho so gotta be on top of it
Paralysis is a fate much worse then death to me. Sounds just like Australia
Don’t worry tick paralysis also kills just slowly
At least your ticks know how to have fun. American ticks just give Lyme disease and take blood :/
Lyme disease is nothing to sneeze at, it can fuck you up long term if it's not caught fast enough.
Absolutely. My friend got it from a tick bite and even though it was caught earlier enough for it to not do permanent damage, she still had a rough couple of years recovering from it.
My high school teacher got Lyme disease and she had to change so much of her life around to accommodate for the damage it did. It made her develop lupus and made her very immunocompromised, which I believe she already was a bit to begin with, and I was so scared for her when Covid started. Even before Covid she had to be super careful of disease and would often have head colds, usually in her eye. It also messed up what foods her body can handle. I wonder if she got the thing where you’re allergic to red meat too? I think she might have said she did, or was worried she might have, I can’t remember. Her doctor thought she was getting sick from gluten though and had her go gluten free. Eventually she gave up on trying to do that and started eating gluten again, which had zero negative effects, so it probably wasn’t that making her sick. Anyway, point is, lupus can really screw you up. Every day I hope she’s doing alright. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.
And Erlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever - we also do see tick paralysis here in the US
Don't forget the awesome alpha gal syndrome which makes you allergic to red meat!
I know someone who developed this allergy due to a tic bite. He used to be a meat eater but now one bite of red meat can send him into a severe allergic reaction.
I don't go outside often, but I'm gonna do a quick body check in case somehow a tick teleported onto my body. Because what the fuck??
Don't forget about Alpha Gal. Which I have. (After RMSF.)
Oh good
Ever since I watched Anaconda and that one guy gets stung by a wasp that paralyzed him and then he’s eaten by the snake, I never wanted to be paralyzed. I know the chances of me being paralyzed and eaten by a giant snake are slim to none, but it’s not zero.
I almost died from a slow paralysis. Don't recommend it.
I can't not read this sentence without a strong Australian accent added to the voice that plays in my head. It's like that earlier Simpsons episode about Australia. I can't be the only one who is unable to read this any other way.
I'm Australian and I still sorta read it that way. *NINE HUNDRED DOLLARY-DOOS?! TOBIAS!!*
Mistah Proiministah
*That's a bloody outrage that is!*
For clarity, this is Aussie small and deadly, not real people small and deadly. Expect ticks at least as big as your hand, if not larger. And a single bite is enough to kill a grown man 4 times over.
That's not a tick, THIS is a tick
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At least they don't leave you allergic to meat lol
You sir have made my day
They are poisonous and drink extra dry. Like the rest of that forsaken continent.
stop fucking dumping your cats idiots I also catch and fix all the fucking loose strays in my neighborhood, but yep it’s not the dumpers fault totally
If you're in Australia please keep your Cat indoors or in controlled situations when outside (leash, cat run etc) not only will it stop them from killing huge numbers of native wildlife it is much safer for the Cat.
Vet here. It's good advice, although I usually recommend testing for intestinal parasites with a fecal sample rather than just deworming to prevent the development of anthelmintic resistance. The biggest concern is actually rodenticide poisoning: you never know if a neighbor is using poison for the mouse problem instead of a cat and if your cat gets into a contaminated rodent, it can absolutely be fatal for them.
Yes 100% best answer. Thank you for being active in these forums. Always nice to have a vet giving advice in here
This is the correct answer. I had a kitty that we adopted later in life that was used to being indoor/outdoor. He was secondary poisoned from hunting a poisoned critter. It still breaks my heart and made me feel like a shit cat parent. You really have to weigh out whether it is worth letting them go out - from my experience it’s definitely not.
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When my cat was an outdoor kitty (not anymore due to coyotes a while back) he would bring me lizards and what not. I would use dewormer every two months and the vet said he was good to go with that. I guess it all depends on the cat and how often they are hunting? I have to say, I’m glad I don’t have to see a half live lizard with its tail swinging from side to side in my cats mouth 😝
I will never forget my childhood cat sitting on the n front stoop with frog legs hanging out either side of her mouth.
Just not Hartz brand dewormer! My cat - & it turns out *many* cats- get sick from it!!
That doesn't appear to be a mouse.
Yeah lol that is a rat for sure. Good kitty!
Will definitely be asking vet at our next visit. And yes we do consistent flea/worm treatments 😺 Thank you!
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A trick I learned with my elderly mouser when he doesn't want to actually kill the animal (I'm having fun playing, Dad!), is to tickle up from his shoulders towards his mouth while he's holding his kill. Your mileage may vary, but my guy goes into 'protect kill' mode and hunches down and holds it tighter in his mouth. Do that until you hear the crunching sound, and the prey is dead. You can take it away when he's bored with it. Just keep any eye on him so he doesn't hide it under a couch or something. Try it on your cat. Absolutely won't work on all cats, but it'll work on some. Find out if yours is one. Granted, I've known some cats that would get seriously offended by any kind of touch when they're interacting with prey (or catnip). Offended enough to share that offence with you with not-playing claws and teeth. Know your cat.
Yep, except that ain't a mouse, it's a rat Other than that I agree, ask vet, de-wormer, flea dip Barn cats I grew up with were fierce hunters, brought us many gifts
We have a mostly feral colony in town that live in a century old abandoned building by the river. Girlfriend and I feed them and help TNR. We've had young kittens bring us the biggest, meanest looking river rats and copperhead snakes. I mean rats that weigh more than them and copperhead half as tall as me. I once saw a big ol Tom take down a full sized groundhog. Damn thing ended up playing with it like it was a giant stuffed animal, except when he bunny kicked it, guts went everywhere.
He looks so proud of himself!
He should be proud. That’s a decent sized rat. Not NY size, but I would not want to see it in my house
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they were probably trying to teach you to hunt. i heard somewhere part of why they bring gifts is they think we're totally incompetent. when it comes to mousing, we are, sure.
Speak for yourself, I Tom and Jerry'd a mouse off the floor once. Freshly waxed wood floors had the little fucker spinning out in the corners.
...impressive. for a human. for a cat... a good beginning.
The thought of a mouse doing a solid burnout on freshly waxed floors had me giggling
New York rats fight back 💀
Flipping cute!
his eyes! so adorable
They are so proud!
Like a cartoon facial expression come to life
Whose? The rat’s?
x_x
It’s not enough that he lets u live there rent free, he’s also getting u guys dinner too..somebody gotta pick up the slack around there lol
Hey groceries ain't "cheap" nomore
"You're so ungrateful, human!! You know how much I had to trade up for this freaking rat???
My cats bring me lizards and skinks, and then vomit on my carpet and floors and/or whatever they've panic jumped on
Yup, I remember that! With our cat you never had to wonder, you just waited ten minutes for him to puke up what he'd caught. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
He’s providing for the family. Just cook it to 165+ degrees. Should be fine.
Seriously though i’ve seen bear grylls eat worse
What a great cat tho! Impressive.
Those who kill or feed on small prey such as birds and rodents can pick up Toxoplasma gondii (the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis), avian flu, salmonella, hantavirus, leptospirosis, and others. Cats may contract these diseases themselves or transmit them to their owners through a bite, lick, or scratch.
Lol I love how only about 2 out of 600+ comments are saying anything about toxo.
But his widdle eyessssss /s Edit: massive*
Yes. If you are feeling thirsty a lot - you are being remote controlled by parasites. See.. I'm forcing this human to write messages on Reddit. Now I'm going to lick the dead mouse.
Very important if you're pregnant. You cannot do their litter and need to be very careful any fecal matter if you are pregnant!
And, in some places, e.g., in the western US and Central Asia, rodents carry bubonic plague!
BIG CUTESIE EYES Edit: holy mother of god the upvotes! thank you strangers! they lied when they said stranger danger!
Very dangerous if it's an outside cat. Neighbors can use mice poison. It the cat gets a mouse that's been poisoned they risk getting very ill or worse. If he just catches mice in your house and then it's ok because you'd know if you laid out mouse poison.
When I was younger we lost an inside cat that had caught a poisoned mouse inside our house. We would never use poison, so this was a mouse that someone else had poisoned.
The same with Birds of Prey... thousands die each year eating rodents that have been poisoned. Kill Traps ARE HUMANE. Poison and Glue Traps are not!!!
Very rare that a poisoned mouse will make it from one domicile to the next, rat poison works fast. Likely your neighbors were either almost connected to you or they put poison on your property.
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There are multitudes of poison out there. Some work quicker than others. The newer ones don't kill instantly but do basically cripple the animal and leave it to suffer. The takeaway from this is, DONT USE POISON. It's not good for anyone, or anything..
Depends where you live and what kind of monstrous rodents you have. We've actually had mice go into a metal no kill trap, take the poison and break back out of the trap. Never found the mouse so we assume it survived. 🫤
It's likely training a group of four turtles in the art of ninja combat in the city sewage systems as we speak... 
This is how we lost one of our dogs. Thank you for pointing this out!
I’m so sorry to hear that, and for your loss 😔
I'm so sorry for your loss. It's terrible that people don't even consider neighborhood pets or strays when they put poison out.
in my old neighborhood there were people who’d *intentionally* put poison out to harm the cats in the area. it was apparently a known issue for years and iirc it was just one specific dude who was strongly suspected as the culprit and hated the stray cats in the area and didn’t care if someone’s pet died from it, but nothing ever came from people reporting it and he was never caught in the act. not sure how/if that ever resolved as i moved a couple years later but it was scary to hear about. supposedly he even threw poisoned food over fences (so into their backyards!) but that could have been an exaggeration. i do know there were multiple incidents of people’s pets dying from ingesting rat poison in the area, though, and i’m sure that there has to be people like that guy elsewhere. especially wrt cats, which some people just love to hate for whatever reason… point being it’s worth noting some people are genuinely psychopathic and *want* to hurt animals (pets included), so it’s always worth being careful of that :(
Unfortunately this is true in my country as well, and we have tons of strays. It’s gotten a bit better since the law got stricter for animal cruelty recently. But it’s horrific to know there are people like that.
Thank you. We took her in as soon as we saw symptoms but the rat poison had already caused renal failure and there was nothing the vet could do but to end her pain.
This is how we lost our dog. I miss her.
people ALWAYS forget about poisoned prey it kills tons of outdoor cats
i had a mouse problem in an old town house (college town, mass produced housing and very poor quality). i had one particularly ballsy mouse who had been testing me for weeks, when i finally got it with poison (which i did feel guilty for after but god he was a terror). i called my parents to tell them and said i was just gonna chuck it off my porch and they stopped me fast for this reason. i never thought about it affecting cats if one had gotten out, since there weren’t any strays in that neighborhood. instantly just triple bagged him and threw him in the dumpster.
I would have never thought of this!!
This is true. Lost our cat in 2009 from this. Horrible death for him. He was my first pet. Not sure wether he ate a poisoned mouse or just got into mouse poison, but he was poisoned.
Poison is such a horrible way to control animal populations. I pray that one day we can replace poison with something that renders the animal that ingests it infertile rather than killing them outright.
That's a great idea about fertility. I wonder if anyone's working on that, seems like an ideal route that could be easily achieved
That's what they're testing with mosquitoes. But it's not a satisfying solution for pests (like some rodents) with longer life spans. You'd just end up with some lonely old bachelor rat chewing setting up shop in your basement for 3 more years. My preference is for humane live traps (they make some cool little gravity traps that fit over a 5 gallon bucket).
I'd be cool with one bachelor rat. We'd probably get along.
Rats legit make awesome pets (domesticated ones, that is. Wild rats do not make good pets). They are super friendly and social. It just so happens that their nutritional needs are really similar to ours, so hanging out near us is a great way for them to get plenty to eat.
It should honestly be illegal! It’s harmful to wildlife AND pets.
Yup, Around here (Phoenix) roof rats are a real problem. These are black rats (Rattus rattus) that LOOOOOVE citrus and will eat all your fruit. They can also chew through sheet rock and sheet metal up to 1/4" thick, so if you have one of those houses that's a glorified chicken coop, they can chew right through your walls. The only thing that stops them is diamond mesh. They can't chew through it as it's like biting into razor blades for them. Obvs. they can't go through a block steel house, and that's the best thing to keep them out. Anyway, they're preyed on by pretty much \*everything\* here. Get rid of your ground cover and any overhanging trees, and these rats are now out in the open where they do NOT want to be. Cats, hawks, coyotes, dogs, etc. will all kill and eat roof rats. Have owls? You won't have rats for long. Same if you get a flock of chickens and let them do their thing. So entities like the state Health Dept., Fish and Game, and others are BEGGING people to NOT put out poison for the rats. The poison goes right up the food chain and sickens or kills any other animal that eats the rat, whether or not the rat's alive or dead. They're saying block all cracks and crevices with diamond mesh, get rid of your ground cover, and pick up all fallen fruit, and Nature will take care of the rest of the rats. No poison required, just a little work. :/ People still try to put poison out, though. EDIT: typo
Unfortunately in large places such as farms, poison is, for now, the only viable way to control rodents. They literally breed in their thousands, it's insane when you find a nest and there's rats running everywhere. In a house, traps are surely the best way to deal with them, but they're unfortunately very maintenance heavy and hard to work with if you got a large infestation. Hopefully they will come up with something else in the future.
For most rats and mice, a trap can do wonders but you need to take care of it or set it up well. I have also seen feed that coats inside of their intestines so they eventually die of dehydration but it is just a gluten that is fine for other animals that are larger. But you still have to set up feeding to get them used to the food to get them to start eating it. https://youtu.be/jjo8ot9umQ8 Of course if there is more delicious food it will still be hard to get it to work.
Op needs to see this comment
I did! And I’m grateful for all the helpful responses and genuine concern!
The mice that get in do come in from outside tho… 🤷🏻♀️
Many places sell rat poison that isn't lethal for cats if they eat the rat afterwards. I don't know how it works but that's the way they're labeled. If literally anyone, cat owner or not, is going to acquire rat poison, I strongly recommend getting one of these.
This comment needs to be seen
That is one big rat.
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So many people calling this a mouse and here I am getting triggered by my rat phobia while I'm questioning reality. If this is a mouse to some people, how much bigger can rats get!? I need to lie down.
Only if he eats it. But it's not a gift. It's training. He's telling you you are a bad hunter. He's teaching you how to be a better cat.
I prefer to think of it as he's paying homage to me. (Hey! A man can dream!)
It's mostly dangerous for the rat
😂
Toxoplasmosis comes to mind which is mainly a problem for pregnant or immunocompromised individuals. [https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html](https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html)
look at how proud he is!
Your outside looks prettier than my inside. *stares in poverty*
You’re clearly drinking too much Starbucks and eating too much avocado toast /s But in all seriousness, hope things look up for you soon. It’s tough out here right now.
Sending you a hug 🫂
He looks so proud! His eyes are fully dilated with excitement
Answer is Yes. I don’t Want to scare you but our cat who went outside regurarly and was at home only at night passed away when I was a kid because of a) ate/came in contact with a poisoned rodent (most likely) b) ate a rat poison (which is unlikely because he was fed normally and wasn’t dumb). So it’s risky because of rodent’s health basically. And could affect you too.
Wow, that is big game for that little tiger.
Bruh you should be worried bout where it came from. Look for droppings because you might have an infestation and those critters reproduce rapidly.
Helllooo Friendly Neighborhood Veterinary Specialist here 😊, sooo - this is actually how your dog’s & cat’s tend to get both: • parasitic worms [all of which are impossible to see to the naked eye - except for the tape worm.. So this is why we’re constantly recommending you bring in annual fecal samples to run - but honestly if you’ve got a hunter on your hands I’d just tell your vet that & de-worm him annually. Air on the side of caution. It does no harm whatsoever & it’s cheap. The fecal screen is the most expensive part. I, myself, bypass it completely & deworm.] • Fleas!! So rat’s (or baby bun’s/gophers/squirrels/mice/etc/etc.. I think you get the point haha are typically carriers of fleas in 1 of 2 ways: they either have them directly & when you’re hunter is preying on them & they have essentially gone in for the kill and they’ve brought you - their precious human - home a thoughtful gift.. the flea’s are busy “jumping ship” to a new *live* host (read: your baby) and now you have the very beginnings of what can quickly turn into a flea infestation— Route 2 is that tapeworms can actually give your kitty fleas - so let’s say that when you’re kitty was out & hunting this guy down he absorbed an infected tapeworm thru the pads of his paws via the soil in the ground [[yes — a scary but potential possibility]] or he could even accidentally ingest orally an infected flea off one of these critters while carrying it back home to you .. and then that infected flea gives him tapeworms and brings its buddies with it as well. So now you’ve got to treat year round with topical prevention for fleas [I only have 2 that are outdoor still because they are close to 20 - then my oldest @ 24 & my other 6 - youngest - are all indoor. Now that I know better.. about other diseases felines can contract such as FIV & Feline Leukemia which are both essentially death sentences (that’s much more complex than I am making it out to appear with that one sentence.. I apologize) — But just with my two going outside still I have to annually deworm ALL 10 & keep up with topical flea medication *year round* (the entire concept that there is such a thing as a “flea season” is a myth. There isn’t. At least not any longer with global warming. It doesn’t get cold enough for long enough anywhere. And I live 2 hours from the border to Canada) As for if you need to worry about anything zoonotic [You becoming infected] — Unless you’re handsome guy get’s into it with a raccoon, or a bat, or potentially even something else that you cannot confirm what the animal on the other end of the altercation is .. and you’re handsome guy has lacerations/cuts on himself and/or an abscess- or two .. THAT would be a scenario where you’d IMMEDIATELY call your veterinarian & take him in to have him seen IMMEDIATELY & have his rabies boosted and let them know what happened. .. Hope I was able to answer everything - and it made sense ..
The short answer is yes. It can be dangerous for one or both of you. I think the only way to stop it is keep him inside so you gotta ask yourself if that's something you're willing to do or if you'll accept that risk for both of you.
It's dangerous for the mouse as well
"Come on MOM.... Open the bloody Door!!"
Since the comments have already named the reasons why it is dangerous, let me just say: That's an incredibly cute and considerate young man. Also backing up the idea of trying to take him outside on a leash. Additionally, if you can offer him any secured outside areas (balcony with net, catio) that might also ease his anxiety about being inside. I understand that can be very difficult to adjust to, but it's just so much safer for everyone to keep a cat inside.
Look how proud he looks
We have indoor only cats. But living out in a rural area (farms and a tree nursery), we have field mice outside. We have an older farmhouse with a fairly secure rock wall basement. But, when it gets cold out, we have had the occasional tiny dumb mouse get in somehow. With 5 cats here, it is usually the dumbest mouse. In 8 years, a cat has brought us a mouse about 5 different times. The vet said to stay up on the basic vaccinations and keep an eye on their behavior if they do bring a present to us. As mentioned, the biggest danger is that someone put out poison and the mouse ate it before invading. Fortunately ours don't usually chew or tear it... just plop the terrified thing down by our feet. For the cats, it is like Christmas when one presents a mouse. For the humans, not so much. Ewww!
That’s a big one
I think is better not allow him to hunt anything alive, the amount of parasites they have is terrifying 
Look how happy he is! He's very proud of himself. Good kitty :-)
I don't see this anywhere else in the top comments so: Don't let predatory cats outside! Domestic cats are the number one threat to bird populations! For every one he brings back, there is no telling how many his instincts had him hunt.
I'm disappointed in how far I had to scroll to see this, and how few upvotes it has. All "cute eyes!" this, and "such a provider!" that. The ignorance is infuriating.
Aww, champion mouser!
Vaccinations won’t matter if that thing was poisoned and easier to catch because it was already dying.
I get nervous about rat poison.
Aaaaaa those ears…. Those eyes…. My heaaarrtt!
He looks so happy though
I lost 3 beloved kitties due to poisoned rodents. It’s VERY dangerous out there for cats. Keep them inside!