Get Rid Of Mice

[Thomzo]

Cats can be odd but she might well have been spooked by something. You may not notice but she might be able to smell something that disturbs her. My cats get very stressed when I go to the far end of the garden. They follow me, meowing loudly. I don't know why, maybe they can smell the foxes or other cats and think I'm in danger.

Have you tried carrying her around the garden and showing it to her? It might be enough to give her the confidence to go out on her own.

I presume she has a litter tray indoors? You could try moving it just outside the back door (you'll have to cover it). Or putting her food just outside the door. Not too far, so that she can bolt indoors if she needs to.

Zoe

[scotsmart]

As ive said its my partners cat i dont get a say, but i shall mention it to her for sure! she certainly if we leave the back door open will watch what were doing, peek out but wont come out strangely.

All hopefully in due course its only been few months what is strange however is that at our last house we backed onto farmland that regularily had cows/calves in and she would happily play in or annoy/torment them on a daily basis, she also used to spend a lot of time on the house roof (it to was a bungalow) where as here she has no shelter, hiding places etc the garden is totally bare and bereft of hiding places ? as we get it growing stuff im hoping she will go out as apart from the mice problem i hate the smells from the liter tray in the house, so the sooner she goes out the better..

[happyhippy]

Maybe the cat is scared of all the mice! I'd go for abit of gentle persuasion,the kick up the backside should do it!lol

[scotsmart]

She is scared of something certainly its not mice though she used to in season at our last house bring us a daily supply of both live & dead mice, baby moles and chicks not to mention bats and anything else she could get, she has taken to sleeping onto of the fridge freezer now something else she has never done before which is in direct line about 6ft from the rear kitchen door??

I am certainly at a loss to understand it thats for sure

[dave45]

A little tip I picked up from the rat man...

he used very fine silica sand, but I found that cheap talcum powder works well too.*... scatter it where you think they are getting in / traversing, and just check for footprints every now and then.

I found that outside, baitboxes work well, but inside the roofspace snap traps did the trick, baited or not, once you figured their routes. (they ignored baitboxes inside.. odd rodent psychology)

* tried white flour too- it works but they just eat it !

[scotsmart]

So far for the past few days/nights we have not had any noticeable activety it has to be said i have grills on their way (when they finally get here) i will set the snap traps we have in the loft next time anyones up there and re-bait our proffessional bait box under our water heater to try to make sure we cover all angles we can to make sure they know that they are not welcome here ......

We have these electric plug in devices that are supposed to set a sheild througout the house using its existing wiring that certainly worked in our last home but initially not here although the combination seem to posibily be making a difference now its hoped anyway ....

Only time will tell i suppose ...

[stevetc]

Sounds like your cat is scared of something outside. . . can she smell badger, or some such beastie? Have you tried picking her up and taking her to the door, to see that it's safe?

Re mice - snap traps. Humane ones don't work. I once built one, involving a bucket and a pulley (had too much time on my hands) which did work. . . then I released the mouse too close, and he came straight back. . . they 'home', apparently. . .

[scotsmart]

Could be not sure we have tried everything she just will not go out, walked her about the garden with and without the dog, she shows interest when the dog is playing but not otherwise !? it remains a mystery for now ....