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[Wula]

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[Lady Serpent]

Good of you to end the mouse's life.  I do agree; there's a certain fascination in watching predator-prey relationships.

Cats hunt because it's their instinct to do so, and I hold no grudges against them for it. 

That being said, cats are one of the biggest killers of native wildlife, and it's a HUGE problem in some areas.  Certain kinds of rodents are common enough that it's not a big deal, and obviously people don't want mice in their garages and homes, but when they start killing songbirds, reptiles, frogs, toads, turtles, rare or endangered rodents, etc.. they do a lot of damage.  A hell of a lot.

You can't tell people what to do, though, so there's not much that can be done.  Outdoor cats do a hell of a lot of damage.  On the flipside, it can be unkind to keep a cat confined indoors if it's an outdoor-loving cat, so there really isn't a practical solution that works for everybody.

Just, honestly, if you see your cat harassing a snake or something of the sort, interfere.  At very least, you're teaching it to stay away from a situation that might be dangerous to the cat itself if it turns out to be a venemous one.  More importantly in my opinion, we have tonnes of threatened and endangered reptiles/amphibians.. let's not make it any worse, shall we?

Your environmentally concerned catrabbit;
-Lady Serpent

[Kesarra]

My mother had two cats where she's at. A coyote was successful in hunting one of them. Now the survivor doesn't go too far from home, but she is an active lizard and grasshopper hunter. I don't think she's eaten too many, mostly just bringing them home and letting them go in the living room.

[Calypso]

My cat..  Hunter by blood.  We got him when he was about 6 weeks old, he was a stray and he came onto our porch and was cuddling with the dog.  Anyways, he started hunting after we moved from that house.  We moved into a house that was practically infested with mice, and it was incredibly disgusting.  So he started hunting them and killing them and eating them..  And I guess he wanted to show us to make us proud..  so he would leave them on my dad and stepmoms bed... generally on the pillow... but yeah it was gross.  Then there was the ever-common birds..  Yes he would kill birds..  And I was not in any position to tell him not to, on account of I'm scared SHITLESS of them!  I had a pigeon peck at my back when I was younger so yeah I don't like birds.

So he'll kill 'big' game..  but not the tiny stuff he drags into the house.  I swear, he goes out, finds the hugest, nastiest bug he can, and bring it in the house.  Then he proceeds to drop it on the kitchen floor, and he and my dads cat will play soccer with the damn thing!  Never kill it, never eat it, no...  He has to creep me out apparently xD

On another note, I was outside a couple weeks ago and we live in the middle of nowhere (literally...) and there are a lot of deer around our place, so anyways, my cat was outside with me, eyeing up a deer O.O  Then he snuck up behind it and swatted at its leg!  

PSYCHO CAT!

anyways, I'm done

[Temperance]

Yeah, back when I lived out in the country, my cats would hunt.  If they do it outside and don't bring live mice in the house, I have no problem with it.  Cats hunt, they are taught as kittens to do so. Both of my cats were strays, so they were clever hunters, however often they didn't know what to do with the carcass once they killed it, so they would bat it around for a few hours, then leave it for the dog to eat or to play with again later.

The only time I've ever begrudged my cats for hunting is when they catch bats in the house... then play with them in my room... at 2 in the morning.  Bats make this horrible screaming noise when they are hurt or afraid. I've had to save 2 of them from my cats.  I STILL don't know how they caught them.

[Orcus]

I have had many cats over the years, when I lived at my parents two were avid hunters, one was a farm cat though and through even though we lived in the city. She always caught mice till she was too old. And left half of it on the front pourch for us I guess.

The other was a bit deranged. She loved birds. We had her confined to rope but she was smart and wait or she would escape and hide for hours playing hide and seek. Any ways a few occasion she had brought in a live bird, took it down stairs and gave it to mom. Funniest thing ever. She did get right pissed off at me on time though where she had caught a bird out side had yet to kill and I brought her in. I don;t think she ever let that one go.

The most recent cats we have, have no clue what to do, The stalk the birds but I doubt they would have any idea what to do after,

[Rainer Fenixhart]

I just  wish I had a pet 

[PyroVulpes]

Apparently, back when I was still in diapers, our pet cats would bring their kills straight to me! O.o (Actually, that might explain a lot now... xD)

[Fenris]

My cat is not an outdoor cat... he hates other cats too much. So he'd either kill other cats or get severly injured trying to take out a bigger cat.

One of my foster Rotties (long time ago when I was still living with my mother) on the other hand, loved to hunt small birds. I felt sorry for one of them... a sparrow chick. She was playing with it and the poor chick was still alive. I couldn't help but smack Darbie (the rottie). She never preyed on the really small ones after that. Mainly fully grown sparrows oh... and the occasional crow. Poor girl died of unknown causes shortly after we adopted her out. (The vet checked for everything and couldn't find a damn thing)

[Aaeden]

Our cat is totally an indoor animal. Would I let my cat hunt if I got a kitten and had brought her up myself? Hell yes.

I second Fenris' appreciation that you 'do in' the kill, Wula. Definitely a small mercy there, even if the circle of life is held true.

[Benjamin]

I've had to finish off a cat's kill every so often, myself. Sometimes the mouse is just really badly stunned, even if it's entrails are half hanging out. It's kinda nasty, but I do it out of necessity. A couple of thumps with a shovel and the job is done. Heheh.
Last weekend, I found a beheaded and partially eviscerated mouse on Sedy's back deck. I flicked it's corpse into a dusty corner that it could have some peace... along with the head I had found nearby. 
 
Benjamin

[WalkingTiger]

I'm concerned about the ecological ramifications of people allowing their pets to hunt. I can't say I've looked into the matter too much, but if enough people do it, it could do some damage to local ecosystems. I know they are having really big problems in Australia because of it.

I would exercise some level of apprehension and would recommend research be done before letting your pets hunt. Personally, I keep my cats indoors and they are happy enough.

[Ayres]

For a de-clawed, fat arse, my cat is a big mouser.  Just about every morning in the fall of the year she brings me a mouse or two.  I show her my appreciation by give her a good scratch, and when shes gone I just simply throw them out.  Its odd because she never eats them.  Just kills them and brings them to me or over to my moms place.  However I know I don't have to worry about mice getting into my house

[Lady Serpent]

I second Fenris' appreciation that you 'do in' the kill, Wula.

Heh, heh.  I think you've mistaken me for Fenris.

I'm concerned about the ecological ramifications of people allowing their pets to hunt

My sentiments exactly.  One cat killing one or two birds (or whatever else) doesn't seem like a problem to one owner, but compound the problem with even a small number of the cats out there and it affects the ecology of the area negatively.

To argue that cats hunt naturally ignores the fact that, if left to nature, cats would never become as numerous as we've allowed them to become.

[Mobile Suit Bunny]

My old cats used to mouse all the time, once we let them outside. They'd bring live mice in, show them to me, let them go and indulge in a serious display of Look How Awesome a Hunter I Am in the living room. It was like feline Gladiator.

As a city person I'm wary of letting teh kittehs outside... especially the fat half-declawed one [front paws only] but Ayres gives me hope for him. Maybe if I let him roam free he'll lose some weight. The other one, I know she can handle herself... I should get them ID collars and let 'er rip.

[Benjamin]

Considering that the mere presence of suburbs tends to mess up ecology on it's own, anyways... I'd not feel so bad about letting the cats hunt in the back yard. They do, after all, keep vermin populations in check in a situation where their natural predators would be even more limited by the human encroachment on what was once a natural habitat.
There's really not a lot that's terribly natural about the modern suburb, as it is. Lots of cement, asphalt, pressure treated lumber, glass, and well-manicured grass.
 
Benjamin

[JonaWolf]

I have one dog who is a rather energetic hunter but she's terrible at it so I don't see any harm in letter her indulge in her base instincts. Besides, it can be rather entertaining to watch a 100lb Alaskan Malamute try to figure out how climb a tree in pursuit of a squirrel.

[Fenris]

I second Fenris' appreciation that you 'do in' the kill, Wula.

Heh, heh.  I think you've mistaken me for Fenris.

I think so as well. When I saw that I was like... huh? Did I say something about that?

My cat doesn't hunt mice but I love hunting field mice... I lit them go after letting them run around in a wooden box for an hour or so. Some of them do injure themselves though by ramming into the sides one too many times... so I'm preformed a few mercy killings myself. A quick snapping of the nexk does the job nicely.

[Aurifer]

Luckily, Kitty Cat seems to bring things home already dead, so we never have to do anymuch about it.
She'll come rowling up to me with a mouse in her mouth, I'll praise her for it, and then Gracie will come and get it, chew it up noisily, and swallow it down.

Oh, and Gracie just can't hunt. I found a fish in the ditch, one day, and sic'd her on it, but she just played with it. Then she barked at it when it stopped playing with her.
I couldn't just leave it there, so I brought it home and ate it.

Then there's the time Gracie ate a whole rabbit. I have no clue where she found it, but it was hidden in our library. Maybe the cat dragged it in there?

[happy.knot]

You might be surprised to learn that a lot of domesticated pets will hunt living prey. My room mate's cats are indoors only but they do actively chase - kill and even devour insects that make the mistake of coming inside.
These are mostly moths, ants, beetles ect.

Many fish will eat live bloodworms and other micro organisms as well as other types of smaller fish and you can actually watch them hunt them down. Certain pet reptiles feed on live crickets and meal worms.

If my own fish were bigger with more teeth I am sure they would eat the pest snails currently taking over my aquarium. As it is - they now wait for me to crush the snails for them after which they suck out all the meat and juices.
But that's as um...predatory as they get hee hee!!