You're fired!

[SpikeyBush]

I'd always been told by my parents and their parents who have a long history of cat ownership that big ears and black pads are a sure sign of a good hunter. Imagine then my disappointment last night, when bringing in a fresh sack of logs from the shed, a mouse ran out of it as I emptied it. I was quick to place my big-eared, black-padded, 7-month-old tabby tom in the corner the mouse ran into, only for him to sniff it and run away.

Any way of making my cat more 'cattish' or is he always going to be a surrender-monkey?

[wolf63]

Sometimes our furry friends are a total disappointment.

My two are indoor cats but were born to a feral mother. Frankie would have managed to survive living rough - but his sister, Princess Merlin, is so stupid that I think that she has no brain. The thought of her trying to catch a mouse/snack is just too funny to think about.

I heard about a t-shirt the other day which had the slogan "Real men love cats"

;-)

[rojash]

Why on earth would anyone believe that you could predict hunting skills from the size of the ears and the colour of the pads?

A bit like think you can judge what a person is like by how far apart their eyes are.

[daisym6]

well you can try to train him... but i think you shoudnt change the personality its like changing a animal lover to a animal hater almost impossible.

[erin-x]

Sooty is a house cat as well. She is scared of her own shadow! She's just a bit of a weirdo and I wouldn't change her for the world. My Dad keeps asking when we are going to get a "real" cat.... :-(

[notasyoungasiwas]

I think it's lovely that he didn't hurt the mouse, why would you want him to ??

[rowanwitch]

my sister has a pic of one of her great lumps 'nose kissing' a pigeon they are scared of spiders and will sit beside the bird food while the mice come for it

They either do 'real cat' or they don't

[SpikeyBush]

notasyoung, I'd rather not have vermin in my drawing room peeing and pooing and generally contaminating the place, and shredding my library. I did the job of removal by throwing a carefully aimed log.

Rojash, funny you mention that. One of the ancestors referred to in my question did not trust Tony Blair 'because his eyes were too close together'

[annadomino]

Rats? Mice? forget cats, get a terrier, jack russel, yorkie or a lakeland.

[karenmac60]

My old big eared black padded cat used to run away from beetles....

[ummmm]

Spikey....he's still a bit young.

Also, has he been de-nutted?

[nungate]

I think just the scent of a natural predator like a cat or a dog will deter an infestation of mice. I used to live next door to a pub whose cellars were next to my living room, and when my mum's dog died (they were always visiting) there was no more doggy niffs about and we started to get the mice until we got a cat - he never caught any in the house but his presence alone was enough to deter the little beggars, he was also great at catching spiders too. Current lot of furry fiends merely "play" with them until they stop moving. I shouldn't worry too much about your cat beng a surrender monkey, his presence alone should keep the mice away, hopefully........

[SpikeyBush]

I have next week off work, I have an appointment at the vet then to have his 'round objects' removed. He is only a house cat but still don't want him competing with the Glade. I see him now rubbing his whiskers against the doorframe and then turning around with his tail flickering. If he's not done then soon enough that 'flickering' will be accompanied by spraying. I've been owned by cats long enough to read their language.

Round objects. You may ask who 'Round' is and why he objects. LOL. My cat will know soon enough. And so will the bank manager when I pay the vet.

[starone]

I know it's not quite the same, but my brother-in-law had a 'guard' dog once who used to stand at the top of the stairs and wait for him to answer the door before he would come down. He was hopeless as a guard dog although a lovely dog. I reckon your cat comes into the same category - hopeless as a hunter of mice, but still a lovely cat.

[SpikeyBush]

So true Starbuckone. Perhaps because my last cat, that I had to have put to sleep earlier this year, was such a good hunter that I have expectations that are too high for my new kitten. No matter what though, he won't go short of love. He's so sweet.