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Oh my gosh, he looks SO much like one of my kitties!
I don't have any good answers about the "presents" he's bringing in, because I have that same problem.
But for the collar, is it a breakaway collar he keeps losing? I had that same problem, I think I bought about 7 new collars in a 2 month period! But when I asked the vet, his recommendation was to get a stretchy collar. They can still get the collar off if they get stuck on a branch or something, but it doesn't come off if they paw at it!
ETA: this is my Rascal at about 10 weeks (he's 4 now). Your Bear and Rascal could have been brothers, they look so alike!
What a cutie! Unfortunately, domestic cats were bred to take care of "vermin", so I doubt your kitty will stop trying to hunt anytime soon. You might be able to convince him to leave his prizes outside, or find a collar with bells that he can't remove...
Awww! Hey Buddy! He is super cute! I would say it is almost impossible to break them of the habit of bringing home "presents". Because thats what they think they are! My cat comes prancing up onto our deck with the most beautiful birds so proud as he drops it at my feet. ( and i scream & run) YUCK! But its instinct to them so I just make FI clean up the poor little furry or feathered gifts he brings me.
I'm sorry - I don't have any practical advice to give. I just wanted to say that Bear is an absolutely beautiful cat! :)
He is so handsome! I definitely agree with Cola - a stretchy collar might be your best bet. Ours are indoor cats, and they still manage to find mice and bring them to us as presents. Yuck. So, you probably won't be able to stop his hunting!
It's hard to change. It's instinct. Cats are natural born hunters though some don't really have the drive for it and some do. That’s why they play with toys/string; they are “hunting”. My cat doesn't really catch birds (they’re a little too fast for him) but he does bring lizards, snakes, and mice etc as "gifts" (he leaves them by the door).
Only thing I would suggest, whenever he goes outside make sure he has his collar on and the collar has bells (I suggest the snap aways with the rubber band connecting the two sides; cats figure out quickly how to snap off the clip ones). It'll at least give the other animals a hint that he's there and will give them a chance to run. Keeping him in doors might be hard after he’s been out. My cat is indoor/outdoor cat and whenever he wants to go outside and we don’t let him, he does anything he can to be put outside.
So. CUTE! I agree with the PPs that you probably can't curb his natural hunting instinct. He's bringing the "presents" home because he's trying to please (and take care) of his family--you! I've read that sometimes scolding a cat for depositing dead animals on your stoop can even lead to them bringing more home because they think they aren't doing enough. Silly fuzzies.
Unfortunately, I have no advice for you. That said... I'm feeling a bit like I'm in the twilight zone right now because I have a cat, who is essentially your cat - both in appearance and hunting prowess.
Exhibit A:
Aw. He is adorable.
My two kitties are masters at taking off their collars. If we put any breakaway style collars on them, they shove their back paws into them and pop them right off. We ended up with collars that have D ring buckles. There is some safety elastic underneath the buckle which will let the collar slide off if they get stuck on something. Do not get a straight elastic collar without a buckle, because the same leg trick will work to get it off. Also, replace your collar every year or so. The elastic will get loose, even with the buckle and the cat will be able to get it off.
Here is one:
OMG your cat is beautiful!! I don't think you can help with him killing animals, its just what cats do.. I don't let mine outside so its not an issue though-- maybe spray him with water everytime he brings one in?? as for the collar, i'm not sure, only one of my cats wears a collar and she doesn't mind it
ps- you've never met a slow cat until you've met my cat Frank.. he came from a farm and we just say he's a hill billy
@forforever: Another twin cat! Such a cutie too!
But yeah, like others have said, I don't think there's much you can do to stop them from bringing in the animals.
Just be glad that the animals are dead. On more than one occasion, my other cat has brought in live mice, and then my husband and I have to chase it around and put it ouside. Even worse, one time a live bird was brought inside late at night, and we heard chirping from our bed. When we went out to investigate, a poor little bird with it's tail missing and wings half chewed off was flapping around our living room. Yeah...my husband had to deal with that one, because birds freak me out!
Don't have any advice to give (we keep our cat indoors since we live in a highrise) but just wanted to say all of these furbabies are ADORABLE!!
Thanks so much everyone! I will hunt down a stretchy collar and see how that works!
@cola: They look SO much alike, that's crazy!!!
awww yeah I know EXACTLY what you're going through. My cat use to bring home squirrels, birds, chipmucks, mice and lizards. It was awful waking up in the morning and stepping out onto the porch to a squirrel staring blankly at the world.
There wasn't anything I could do about it though. My cat could catch just about anything regardless of the bell on his color. haha.
OH! and my SIL's cat chases lizards so we find lizarrd tales in the house (you know how they will make their tale fall off if someone catches it).. its disgusting
He is so adorable :-)
I suggest getting him a harness and having him wear that. It will be harder, if not impossible, for him to take off. You can attach the bells to that to warn the birds and other animals that he is approaching. It may not stop it all together, but it will probably cut down his activity.
One possible option to end his killing spree is building him an outdoor enclosure, so he can still be outside without being able to get his "paws" on the little critters. I've seen some really nice ones on various shows on Animal Planet...not sure if they have kits you can buy or if you have to buy the materials yourself. Anyway, this would not only keep the birds and lizards safe, and keep you from having to clean them up after her delivers his gift, but would also afford him some protection too...I know a couple of people who love songbirds and shoot anything that comes in their yard with the intent to do them harm, be it squirrels or even cats, sadly.
What a gorgeous cat! And thank you for not declawing! It is illegal to do so in several European countries and it should be illegal here too! I can't stand when people declaw cats or "debark" dogs! If your furniture is more important than your pet's health and happiness, then you shouldn't get that kind of a pet. Period.
Hunting in cats is instinctual, they are obligate carnivores. However, they must be taught by their kitty moms to consume the prey or they do not recognize it as food. I make no attempt what-so-ever to keep our cats from hunting. It is habitat loss that is affecting wildlife populations, not cats catching a few critters! We have over 40 cats here at the sanctuary and wonderful wildlife diversity despite the hunting!
I would keep him inside and get him tons of toys. My cat is an indoor cat now and she loves all of her toys.
I have to totally agree with Miss Apricot- you should find a way to keep your cat from roaming free for it's own protection, and the protection of other animals. I have 2 kitties of my own (I'm in love with all the ones posted here too, btw! And poor Frank! Heehee! My kitties would have a blast in that too tho!!) that spend lots of time on our screened porch, and this last summer there was a cat that was roaming our neighborhood and causing so much trouble (including endlessly harassing my cats) that I had to call animal control. They never caught the cat, but it did disappear after a few months. I'm praying the owners just decided to keep it indoors (it had a collar so it definitely had a home)... You never know what your cat is up to out there though.
Awww - he is so cute! Ours are indoor kitties, too, so we haven't had this problem. One of ours is the evil genius and the other is a little slow, but the cuteness makes up for it!
I swear I'm not intending to threadjack, but how did you guys go about letting your kitties run around outside? I feel I would worry CONSTANTLY when they were outside. We live in a suburban neighborhood, so I'm sure they'd be okay, but I worry about them getting used to cars, fighting other cats, knowing to come home...etc. Do you let them in at night and let them out during the day or what??
I might suggest a full body harness and hooking a bell on the back of it.
http://crazykfarm.mybigcommerce.com/products/Kitty-Holster%C2%AE-cat-harness.html
Thanks everyone! So many good ideas :) I've bought him a stretchy collar and it's still on so far (2 days and counting!)
@bananarama: I'm in a suburban neighbourhood too. I had a cat before these two (who unfortunately passed away quite young) who was strictly an indoor cat as I was so scared of him getting hit by a car, etc.
Bear (our lovely slow man) could never quite understand how to use his litter tray- in fact he was OK with going to the toilet anywhere except in the tray (on my bed, laptop, etc... so gross) We tried every kind of litter known to man (plus sand from the garden, etc), tried having a tray in each room with no avail. One weekend we decided to let him outside with us while we were gardening and there were no indoor accidents! We decided to put in a cat door & he hasn't been to the toilet indoors since.
I didn't think I would ever be OK with my cats being outdoors but it seems to work better for them- they are happier and my house smells much nicer too!!
They are allowed indoors/outdoors as they please but do sleep indoors most of the time :)
Okay - so I just did some serious internet browsing about outdoor kitty enclosures, and this idea is awesome. It allows kitties a safe place to play outside!
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My special man, Bear, is a little slow mentally (we think he was dropped as a kitten, etc- we adopted him & his sister from a shelter when he was 7 weeks old), so we have never worried too much about him catching birds!
BUT the over the last couple of weeks he has been bringing in birds, lizards, etc.
He wears a collar with 2 bells normally, but has figured out how to take it off now- I'm buying him a new collar every week or so!
Has anyone got any suggestions of how I can:
1. Keep his collar on
2. Stop him preying on beautiful little animals
He gets very distressed when he is locked in the house & I won't have him declawed as I think it's cruel (sorry if this offends anyone, that's not my intention)
Here's a picture for some cuteness overload: