If you’re thinking of giving your cat a mouse either to play with or to eat there are a few things you should consider before going through with it.
First, you have to make sure that you are not giving them a mouse that you randomly found in or around your home, because these could be carrying diseases, and you don’t want those to transfer to your cat.
Second, you should make sure that you keep them both in a confined area, so that you aren’t picking up mouse pieces all over the house. Also, get your mouse from a local pet store, and make sure that it was bred to be food and isn’t being sold as a pet.
Can I Give My Cat a Mouse? Answer: Yes.
You can give your cat a mouse, but be sure to do so under controlled conditions. Cats are natural hunters, and they will get right back into their hunter ways when they see the mouse scurrying around. Many cats will just play with the mouse, even after they kill it. They will only eat it if they are really hungry, so if you don’t want them to eat the mouse be sure to introduce them to it after they’ve just eaten.
Some people say that you shouldn’t give your pet a mouse just to play with, because then the mouse dies for no reason. At least if the cat eats the mouse it is more natural. It’s really up to you how much you want to get into the ethical considerations that are involved here, and whether or not you are playing God with the mouse.
Concerns with Diseases and Poison
If your cat finds mice on its own you have to worry whether the mouse was carrying any diseases, and whether or not it had eaten any mouse poison you had put out. However, if you have a cat in the house you probably aren’t putting mouse poison around, so your biggest concern is the sort of diseases mice can carry. Luckily things like the black plague aren’t a concern, but there are still some nasty viruses that can be spread by mice, so it’s best not to let them play with wild mice.
What If They Already Ate It?
If your cat found a mouse in the house and killed and ate it, there’s really not much you can do. You can take them to the vet if they start to get sick, but they should be able to process it without too much trouble. Years of eating cat food might make it a little hard for them to break it down, but they should be able to pass it without concern.
Ethical Considerations
Some people argue that this is not a good thing for the mouse, but from a natural standpoint cats would hunt creatures like mice in the wild. A case can be made that this is not really a natural situation because you are basically feeding the mouse to them. But snake owners are quick to point out that this is how many snakes get fed, and this is why pet shops keep an ample supply of mice available for purchase as snake food.
It can be hard to consider your cat as a predator, because most times they just sit around the house licking themselves clean, eating their kibble. But as soon as you see them chase and take down a mouse you’ll be reminded that they are still an evolutionary advanced hunting machine. They don’t have claws and sharp teeth for no reason, and while they may have gotten used to the idea of being fed everyday and lost their hunting edge, they will still revert back to it under the right conditions.
So it’s up to you whether you want to give your cat a mouse or not. If you do, be sure that you get it from a pet store so that you can be sure that it’s disease free. Also, think about putting them both in an area where you won’t have any issues trying to clean up any mess they make.