this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2024
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[โ€“] wander1236 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I'm not really sure how long housecats have been around in this area. I think historically there were a lot of farms here (in the 1800s) so they may have had cats, but I don't have historical data.

We didn't get cats to hunt down mice, but it's pretty rare that we see them, and it's an old farmhouse, so maybe we're relying on their hunting implicitly? I've occasionally seen them catch and eat mice around the yard, and sometimes they bring one to the door to show off.

There are supposedly coyotes around, but I don't think I've ever seen one here, and we've only ever had cats just disappear a couple times, and they were already 17-19. The bigger danger seems to be other outdoor cats (not sure if they're feral or not) that one of ours occasionally fights with, but the vet knows they go outdoors, and they're up-to-date on all their shots.

[โ€“] emergencyfood 1 points 7 months ago

Should be fine then.

but it's pretty rare that we see them, and it's an old farmhouse, so maybe we're relying on their hunting implicitly?

The presence of your cats is probably keeping the mice away.

The bigger danger seems to be other outdoor cats

Cats have their territories and defend them aggressively. Make sure your cats are spayed, but from what I've seen even this doesn't reduce aggression in females.