Cats Can Get Rid Of Your Rodent Problem: Myth
Cat versus mouse, an age-old rivalry we’ve seen played out in everything from cartoons to television shows. But is there any credence to the belief that the best defense against household rodents is our feline friends? Let’s find out in this month’s fact or fake.
Domesticated cats have a long-standing history of bringing their owners “presents” in the form of dead animals, mostly rats and birds. While these “gifts” are promptly disposed of, it begs the question of why your pet does this? Through thousands of years of evolution, cats still retain their natural animal instinct for hunting. While some are more adept that others, this need to hunt, kill and bring home gory spoils of war are simply your cat’s way displaying its natural ability. Rodents also hate the smell of cats and studies have shown that this chemical signal produces fear in mice.
So does this mean if you have rodents at home, you can let your cat be your trusted exterminator? That’s a definite no. Rodents reproduce at an alarming rate and often make their nests inside walls and hard-to-reach areas of you home. Given this fact, it highly unlikely “Whiskers” will be able combat an active rodent infestation no matter how cunning he/she is.
The only way to help get rid of your rodent problem is to contact a local pest professional to perform a complete inspection and show these pests where the door is.
Sources:
“Why Do Cats Bring Home Dead Animals?” LiveScience
“Why mice fear the smell of cats” BBC News
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