Cats have long been relied on to protect our homes and our pantries from rodents. In fact, for many folks, their role as mousers is a given — it’s just “what cats do.”
Looking at the science, however, the picture that emerges is not quite so clear. There are a number of things to consider when it comes to using cats for rodent control.
As kittens, cats learn hunting skills from their mother and, as they grow up, they tend to choose the same prey she did. This means that cats often specialize in certain types of prey, which could include a preference for birds over mice and rats, for example. Moreover, being more skillful in catching one type of prey doesn’t necessarily translate into better hunting skills overall.
At the end of the day, cats display remarkable individuality in how and what they hunt.
Every time they hunt, cats are taking a risk. After all, a bite from a rodent or a peck from a bird could lead to infection or even permanent injury. Furthermore, the larger the prey, the less likely cats are able to make a kill. Because rats are pretty sizeable, cats can actually be fearful of them and reluctant to prey on them.
Rats may learn to avoid cats
Research suggests that rats and cats may actually be able to share the same space. From a human perspective, it can seem like there are fewer rats around when in fact they’re simply shifting their movements in response to a cat’s presence.
Cats are not very humane predators
Cats are known to ‘play’ with their food. This is thought to be related to their fear of being injured by their prey, and is likely terrifying to the animal being toyed with.
Of course, not all predation attempts end in a kill. Many animals escape with injuries, some of which are severe enough to cause death later on. In a study of one wildlife rehabilitation centre, cats were found to be the second greatest cause of bird mortality and fourth greatest cause of mammal mortality.
Cats who hunt rodents may be poisoned
Rodenticides, commonly used for rodent control, cause a slow and painful death. Cats can easily suffer the effects of poison from eating poisoned mice or rats.
Secondary poisoning is not the only risk that outdoor cats face. While it’s true that cats are predators, they’re also a prey species. Being outdoors renders them vulnerable to attacks from wild animals such as coyotes. Other risks they face outdoors include vehicles, fights with other cats, diseases and parasites, and frostbite.
Humane rodent control
Ultimately, humans are the ones responsible for drawing mice and rats in by providing easy-to-access sources of shelter and food. Taking steps to rodent-proof our homes means that we won’t need to rely as much on cats or other lethal methods to keep them at bay.
Ultimately, humans are the ones responsible for drawing mice and rats
mice and rats
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
in by providing easy-to-access sources of shelter and food. Taking steps to rodent-proof our homes means that we won't need to rely as much on cats or other lethal methods to keep them at bay.
Cats may eat rats, but they also deter rats from coming near by, as cats mark their territory, not with urine, but by simply rubbing up against things. Even this scent of a cat can make rats scatter. Neighbors say they haven't seen rats since the cats got to work.
Although the feline participants displayed hunting behaviors more than 259 times, they only exhibited 20 attempts to kill the rats. Of those 20 attempts, only three were successful. That's simply not enough when dealing with an infestation of rodents.
The study did find an indirect impact of cats on rats: the odour of cats deters rats from coming out in the open to search for food and water. This indirectly decreases the chances of successful reproduction for rats, but it's not clear that it's enough to affect the size of the population.
You've probably heard people say, “Why do I need pest control? I have a cat!” Having a cat patrolling your home is an advantage to keeping pest activity low, especially mice and rats. But it's not enough. Think of a large office building: they probably have a security guard, but they also have a security system.
Cats don't actually eat mice—they're hunters, but they'll leave a mouse alone if it's well-fed (and they won't kill prey unless they're hungry). This can actually be helpful: It means that having a cat around doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have fewer mice in your house.
For example, if mice smell cat urine, mice are likely to leave the area to avoid the predator. Stowers discovered that pheromones travel through the mouse nose to the brain, where the pheromones will interact with neurons which stimulate emotions. In this case, it's the smell of cats that sparks fear in mice.
Cats can even help to deter rats, but only to an extent: owning a cat or cats will not guarantee you protection against a rat infestation, and relying on them to do so will likely bring you disappointment.
If they're smart, yes. Mice know cats are in your home because they can smell their predators. The mere whiff of cat urine and litter is often enough to scare the mice away. According to research, mice are conditioned to turn in the opposite direction when they smell cat urine.
Feral cats keep their populations in check and discourage new rodents from moving into the area. While some people feel that cats (feral or domestic) attract rodents because of uneaten cat food, the opposite is true. Rodents prefer to stay clear of cats and other predators.
Whilst catching a mouse or a rat may be a natural activity for cats and in some cases, dogs, eating rodents can have undesirable consequences on our pets. Dangers include infection from intestinal worms and/or toxoplasmosis as well as the possibility of suffering from secondary rat bait poisoning.
Pacing and Pouncing —One of the most obvious ways your cat tells you there is an intruder is when they are trying to hunt them down. For example, if you see your cat sniffing and pacing around your kitchen cabinets you may have a mouse behind them!
Laboratory rats display robust defensive behavior to predator odor, particularly cat odor, and this response has been increasingly studied as an ethologically relevant model of anxiety (Blanchard et al., 2003a, McGregor et al., 2004, Siviy et al., 2006, Staples et al., 2005).
You might think the presence of a cat would keep rats firmly away, but in actuality, they aren't as threatened by cats as you might expect. However, studies have shown that the odour of a cat does act as a deterrent for rats to come out into the open to search for food or water.
The IRS recognizes the use of cats as a valid business expense for pest control purposes. Disneyland's use of cats for pest control in their park is a well-known example of how cats can be effectively utilized for this purpose in a business setting.
Even with a careful introduction, it's risky to expect cats and rodents to get along, so if you have any pet rodents at home alongside your cat, keep them in a cage that's safely out of your cat's reach.
22, 2011— -- While the smell of cat urine is normally a turn-off for rats, a group of Stanford University researchers found a certain group of rats was actually attracted to that same odor. Cat urine is naturally a warning to rats to stay away from an area where their natural predators may be lurking.
Great question! Cats do indeed eat mice, as well as rats, other small mammals, and birds. The act of cats 'playing' with their food is so that they can hone their hunting skills.
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