Paco Dennis
SF VIP
- Location
- Mid-Missouri

Posted by
u/sesame_cake
"My gf's cat with last night's kill. She is usually not let in when she comes home with a prey. Hence the eyes."

Gasp
Luckily for everyone, it's difficult to get a Coral Snake to bite. Children are attracted to their colors & often pick them up & play with them without being bitten. Their venom is much like a Cobra's - neurotoxic.In Florida our cat once brought in a live and well coral snake...
Created some real excitement in the house. I'd prefer the mouse.
Yep you are right. My little brother brought a live one home in a can when he was about 5. Really shook my parents up. But as you say they rarely bite, my brother was fine, the snake was not so lucky.Children are attracted to their colors & often pick them up & play with them without being bitten.
"Gerrout, gerrout, y'muckie beggar, don't you dare bring that in here. I'm gunna antisept your mouth when I do let you in."
Which is part of why the cats we've had over the last 38 years have been indoor cats with only couple of walkabouts over the years. They live longer, healthier lives, and now that we live rural they can get their 'hunt' on with the mice that try to come in every fall.Cats are extremely effective predators. They kill billions of song birds every year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-cats-kill-billions-of-animals-a-year
When i was a kid in Florida, we had yard cats. One female was very bright. Asked politely for small fish when we were fishing. Had one litter a year and trained them to hunt, actually trained the other cat's litters too. When she caught and killed a snake, which was a regular occurrence, she would bring it to kitchen door no matter the time of night and yowl till Mama went and praised her. She would cart it off once she had her praise, but only my mother's praise was acceptable.We only had indoor cats and kept their litter box in the garage which also opened into our laundry room. We left that door slightly open so they could come and go. Every once in awhile they proudly would bring me a juicy cricket and plop it at my feet.
They stared at me until I thanked them.
It can work both ways, cats sometimes fall prey to hawks and eagles. When in Florida I came home one day to a bloody and beaten looking cat, but she was excited to see me. She took me to show off a large dead hawk, it appears the hawk attacked her and lost. That hawk was heavier than the cat!Cats are extremely effective predators. They kill billions of song birds every year.
Living in small apt in NYC in 1970 i had a cat that let go a mouse thinking it dead. It jumped up and ran under an appliance in the 'pullman' kitchen that occupied hall between living room and bedroom. i told her, 'That's what happens, they'll play dead then get away'. Next day i'm getting ready for work and she comes running into bathroom mouse in her mouth and jumps in the empty tub. When she drops it, it's desperate to get away but tub walls too slippery. The cat is proud of herself till the mouse discovers the drain and dives for 'safety'. Apt was like 5th or 6th floor, always wondered what exactly happened to it. clearly made it out of my pipes cause never had a problem with it clogging.my cat brought home a mousey for me and dropped it at my feet....funny thing was it was still alive and ran away..of course the kat took umbrage with that and never brought another one.
Not just cats small dogs can be at risk here--Eagles and Hawks mostly tho we have coyotes.It can work both ways, cats sometimes fall prey to hawks and eagles. When in Florida I came home one day to a bloody and beaten looking cat, but she was excited to see me. She took me to show off a large dead hawk, it appears the hawk attacked her and lost. That hawk was heavier than the cat!
Still have the cat, she does a good job of keeping the neighbors dogs away from the house, and does on rare occasions kill a bird, but not too often. She is more interested in larger animals! The vet won't allow her in his office, she is not very friendly to people who might have needles. One vet asked us to sedate her before trying to bring her in, she turned into a real mean drunk. With no inhibitions she attacked any and everyone, we had to lock her in a room until it wore off...
Unfortunately you are right cats do kill lots of birds, and I think its the feral cats that are a bigger problem than pets... I have lived in places where the local authorities tried cat eradication, quite unpopular and not very effective.