Lucas

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Gwenoakes
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Re: Lucas

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Sorry LL but I had to laugh as your written words made me remember one cat we had.
My daughter was woken up about 6a.m. to a shrill scream which when she looked out the window was Harry her cat who had got hold of a Hare and another time when he had hold of a Weasel! In both cases by the time she got downstairs all had disappeared including Harry.
He would not be inside at nights and once we counted in one day 14 small animals that he brought home as presents. He was a very proud cat on that day, but I was not so impressed especially as he had brought half of them inside and let them go.
Not sure if you have smelt dead mice, but I would not recommend it, absolutely revolting.
He sounds as though he has you wrapped round his paws, clever cat. {rofwl}
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lancashire lass
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Re: Lucas

Post by lancashire lass »

Gwenoakes wrote: 11 Mar 2021, 11:37 He sounds as though he has you wrapped round his paws, clever cat.
{rofwl} certainly keeping me on my feet

Last night (thankfully not bedtime this time), I heard the cat flap swing shut and as I waited for him to make his usual appearance in the living room, there was nothing. I called his name and he miaowed. I waited and then again called, and again, another meow. Feeling a little concerned as this was different behaviour to his usual, I got up and went into the dining room and switched the light on. He was sat down and didn't move when I entered (a bit unusual - if he was asking for food, I would have expected him to instantly get up and either rub himself against my legs or start walking towards his dish or scratching post) "What's the matter?" I asked and he sheepishly looked at me and then down again - I followed his gaze and ... saw a dead mouse on the carpet. Unlike the live mouse which I released back into the garden (which may be the now dead mouse or there is a nest), I now had to deal with a dead one (now on its back)- little point putting it outside where Lucas would bring it straight back in. Once it was dealt with, he looked around for it and then decided to settle down on his bed.
Gwenoakes
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Re: Lucas

Post by Gwenoakes »

Take a tip from me, LL never, ever leave a dead mouse in the house it absolutely stinks the place out, no smell like it.
How is Lucas getting on, have you received anymore presents from him?
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Mo
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Re: Lucas

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Dead hedgehog doesn't smell too good either (found one behind a box in the garage once)
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Freeranger
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Re: Lucas

Post by Freeranger »

He's bringing you presents!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Lucas

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Freeranger wrote: 01 Apr 2021, 14:37 He's bringing you presents!
He's been bringing me presents nearly EVERY DAY yike* - I have had to deal with the 9th mouse in as many days, only 2 were found dead. The others were very much alive and mobile - Lucas brings me the mouse just as I'm about to go to bed, then sits down and watches me while I try to catch it. I decided to google for some advice. Anyway, this is what I read:

How To Successfully Stop Your Cat From Bringing You Live Animals
Cats will often bring offerings to the house to show their contribution and appreciation to you. They know how much you love and care for them, so they like to show that in return. It is their way of contributing back to you and your family.

How wonderful is that? If you show your cat that you do not appreciate their gift such as throwing it away or making a horrid fuss of what they brought, they see it as a challenge to bring something better. A client of mine named Bruce had a gorgeous black cat named Sam who would bring his dead prey home. It started off with dead mice on the back door mat as Sam sat proudly beside his catch. Unfortunately Bruce in disgust picked it up and threw it in the bin and scolding Sam in the process. Well, Sam thought his catch wasn’t good enough so he started bringing home dead rats. Again Bruce picked it up by the tail and threw it in the bin. Sam was dumb-founded at Bruce’s response, so not only caught a huge rat but also dismembered it on the lounge room rug. Well that was the last straw for Bruce he yelled at Sam and put him outside. It left Sam no choice but to really impress Bruce as his offerings were just too insignificant, so he brought in a live snake. As you can appreciate Bruce freaked out
In our consult, Sam told me that he had such an appreciation for Bruce and their friendship, and the fact that Bruce provided food and shelter for both of them he felt he needed to contribute back to their household. He felt by catching prey and bringing it home to share was his way of honouring Bruce and assisting in providing food for them both in the only way he knew how. So every time Bruce threw out the mice, Sam said he saw it as not good enough so he would ‘up the ante’. After explaining this to Bruce, we discussed a few solutions to make this easier for both parties. Bruce was to make a huge fuss about Sam’s gift. Tell him how wonderful he was and how much he appreciated the offering. Once Sam wasn’t around, then Bruce could safely remove the animal. I also told Bruce it would be great to spend more time playing with Sam, using a few toys to fulfil his hunting instincts. This would help to reduce his prey drive and release any pent up energy.
I haven't seen any rats around since my last chicken died, but I am getting a little concerned that one may end up being gifted. So I guess I will have to (hopefully) "catch" future mice, make a fuss and thank Lucas for the gift then dispose of it later. And spend more time playing with him - I have to confess that our play trailed off last year soon after he got his independence and free pass to the outside world (especially when he started to spend all day outside rather than indoors)
Gwenoakes
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Re: Lucas

Post by Gwenoakes »

Never smelt a dead hedgehog but will take your word for it.
Well that has taught me something after years of owning cats as to why Harry ended up bringing hares, weasels and rabbits. He started off with mice and rats too, so maybe I missed a trick or two there with him.
Only one thing wrong with me learning this now, we now have no cats, so a bit late for me.
Good luck and I cannot wait for your next update.
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Mo
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Re: Lucas

Post by Mo »

Was this article an April fool?
I thought they were training us, like dim kittens. Well, that's the myth I heard. Who can tell what a cat thinks.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Lucas

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Clearly Lucas is trying to tell me something - I suspect it is the food I offer him {rofwl}

I don't understand why he has got fussy with the wet food - he seems put out when I offer just biscuits (which I have in one bowl) but is very interested when I lift up the bowl which I use for wet food. However, from the initial "I can't get enough of this" when I first introduced wet food despite the RSPCA telling me he didn't like it, he started to go off certain flavours. Unfortunately, the contents in a box of pouches are out of my control so somewhere along the line I have to offer them to him which is greeted with an indignant "what's this?" look before he backs off and slowly walks to the back door and then makes a mad dash through the cat flap. Then one by one, he went off anything I offered to him, including the ones he used to like. I would leave the bowl down but by next meal time, the biscuits in the other bowl are gone and the wet food smells sour. At that point, I just gave him biscuits but he would still pester me for wet food }hairout{

So I started to re-introduce wet food and started to limit it to once a day but considering he has a morning and an evening meal, he still pestered me for a pouch both times. During the first lockdown, I was limited to shopping locally at Aldi and at first he really did enjoy eating that brand - couldn't get enough of them. In August last year, I eventually managed a visit to my usual supermarket before the pandemic for some things I can't get locally and bought some Whiskas and Felix which he used to enjoy, as a treat and to add variety. Well, that's when the fussiness went off the scale. Felix is completely off the menu, and only a couple of flavours of Whiskas were palatable. Considering these cost a lot more than the Aldi brand, I reverted back to those ... only the fussiness has continued.

And how does this relate to bringing me presents? Those nights he brought the mice home were after the same evening meal that he didn't like. But at the same time, Lucas has brought a new level to the relationship we have - not only is he more luvvy duvvy than usual, but when I've picked him up and sat him on my lap, he has leaned into me (quite the opposite of wanting to jump off like he used to do) and rolled over exposing his belly which is like an invitation to stroke him. It seems more than just accepting that this is his home and where he can find food but that I have also been elevated as someone important too. So I do wonder if there is something in that article about contributing by bringing home presents.

The other night just as I got ready for bed, I heard the cat flap and after a long pause expecting him to open the middle door (I partially close it so he can hook it open with his paw), there was the dreaded sound of crashing round in the dining room. Naturally I got up and switched the light on in the room to find another mouse and very much alive and very mobile. As soon as I appeared, Lucas sat down as if waiting for me to chase it. Only I was not feeling clever (I have a touch of arthritis which seemed worse) and this thing darted under the dining table and in places not easily accessible. By the time I found something to capture it, it was making a bee line for behind the side board (too heavy to move without help) and there wasn't anything I could do. I was very angry - I was tired and in pain - and I confess that I was at that point angry with Lucas who sensed I wasn't happy. So he ran off very quickly through the cat flap. So now I have a mouse in my house }hairout{ and no way of catching it. I closed the middle door hoping to contain it to the kitchen and dining room which of course meant that Lucas could not come into the living room where his bed is.

There's still no sign of the mouse - I've looked everywhere. The only thing I can say is thankfully my floors are concrete and the walls have no cavity but where it has gone I have no idea. The next morning as I used a torch to scan the carpet (patterned with greens, browns and yellows so not always easy to see), I saw a small feather and behind the dining room table leg (chunky legs so not easy to see round it unless I looked), I found a dead bird. It wasn't there the night before when I was chasing the mouse so I can only think he had brought that in at dawn. Again, I wonder about that article ... I was angry with Lucas so he brought me something else? yike*
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Mo
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Re: Lucas

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Pat wouldn't eat Co-op or Sainsbury dry food, but at least he was consistent. A friend adopted a cat that was fussy and chopped and changed. Mind you, kids are like that too. At one stage I used to by Honey Puffs every time I went to the supermarket because we got through them so fast. It took me a while before I realised that they had moved on to another breakfast cereal and the boxes in the garage were piling up. Took us ages to finish them.
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Gwenoakes
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Re: Lucas

Post by Gwenoakes »

Just thought, LL he could just be telling you that he wants to be raw fed...........yes?
I have done that, Mo but as the sell by date was always a long one it wasn't too bad.
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Mo
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Re: Lucas

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Gwenoakes wrote: 06 Apr 2021, 13:08 Just thought, LL he could just be telling you that he wants to be raw fed...........yes?
Or is raw feeding himself.
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sandy
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Re: Lucas

Post by sandy »

LL you are such a good story teller on your gardening diary and now all about Lucas :-D love catching up with this )t'
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lancashire lass
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Re: Lucas

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And ... now I have rats in the house yike*

I was in the middle of a "TEAMS" meeting with a colleague from work when I heard the cat flap and then sounds of crashing about in the dining room. I excused myself and in the dining room I could see he had something trapped in a big cardboard box laid on its side on the floor in the corner of the dining room (part of my keeping Lucas entertained when I brought him home last year which seems to be a permanent feature now) As soon as I appeared, Lucas immediately backed off and sat down leaving me to deal with a very frightened and extremely mobile rat. Thankfully not an adult but still very much a rat.

I already have containers available at hand to pop over any mice within reach but this was considerably bigger and so much more agile than the others - it was desperately trying to get through the gap between the wall and sideboard and was making audible squeaking sounds when Lucas lunged at it but it was too big to get in. However, it made it awkward for me to pop the container over without my bending down only for the rat to suddenly jump about 2 feet high towards my face ... naturally I jumped up (and squealed) and the rat ran under the table. To my horror, the middle door to the living room was slightly ajar but Lucas chased it away and it bolted into the under-stairs cupboard (Unfortunately this door is permanently ajar because it is slightly warped - the previous owner had left it outside after fitting an awful plastic concertina type door which I then replaced with the original door. The fact it doesn't close completely never bothered me ... until now!) As you can imagine, this room is cluttered with all my diy stuff, outside brolley, tool boxes and so on, so the chances of finding it will be remote. So I have tied the door shut with string to deal with later.

I went outside to the chicken runs to find the rat snap-traps and found the mice traps at the same time. Unfortunately they are made of plastic and look worse for wear so I gave them a good scrubbing but the trip plate doesn't always activate. When it finally did, it snapped shut on my finger but seems to only work randomly. I put the mouse trap in a small cardboard box with a bit of bread and peanut butter near to the sideboard, the rat trap in the under-stairs cupboard. A couple of hours later, I heard a distinctive noise from the dining room but Lucas was asleep on the armchair but when investigated, the rat trap was undisturbed and the mouse trap had been dragged out of the box but had not been triggered }hairout{ Considering the mice I've seen are tiny, I doubt a mouse could have moved the box so I can only assume I have more than one rat in the house now yike*

This is like the stuff of nightmares - the idea of any rodents in the house is bad enough but a cat that is actively bringing them home as presents and releasing them is getting too much. I'm going to have to buy several new traps and permanently set them up around the house and hopefully catch them all. Meanwhile I returned to the online meeting and calmly carried on but all the while thinking about the new situation ...
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Mo
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Re: Lucas

Post by Mo »

nightmare
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