[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by Andrew Gubb

It is an oldish house, I paid an entire month's agent fee to get this damn thing so I hope to hell I don't have to move out immediately. The mice aren't trashing the house though, I only saw them flit across the floor twice.

Re: vegan cats: rest assured that if I ever get a cat I will think of this a bit harder.

I had the thought yesterday that I could combine cruelty-free eggs with vegan catfood. Possibilities.

It's interesting to note that the Guinness world record for the longest life for a cat was a vegetarian cat.

I suspect that, like with humans, different cats respond in different ways to this diet.

Thanks, love.

I love, love, love cats, and I know they are carnivores. My cat is a predator to the core. So I kind of cringe when people talk about feeding them vegetarian diets...

I've heard that the longest lived dog was a vegetarian, but I haven't been able to confirm it (and having had dogs my whole life, I kind of doubt it, but I'll concede the possibility because dogs have a wider range of things they can eat).

But many cats and dogs suffer health problems from eating kibble with grains in it -- obesity and diabetes, same as people, actually. And cats actually can't digest plant matter at all -- they lack the enzyme to do it.

Also, my dog plays fetch -- my cat plays "stalk the prey." Like I said, predator to the core. I've watched her stalk bugs, play with them, then eat them while they were still alive. I definitely wouldn't recommend a cat if you can't handle such things (I was cringing, myself).

Anyway, to get back on topic, we originally got a cat (partially) because we had a terrible mouse problem that we couldn't get rid of. We lived in this big country house, and we tried all the no-kill traps first, and the sound-stuff, but it was cold outside and warm inside, so they kept coming. That kitty never made it to adulthood (he drowned ), but he was also a catch-and-release cat -- and his presence terrified the mice so much that they packed up and moved out.

My current cat would kill them all quite happily, though, I have no doubt of this.

Anyway! I agree with the advice to secure the perimeter as much as possible. If you can prevent them getting in, you can trap the ones inside and move them to a more suitable location.

I think I'd prefer a more naturally vegetarian pet anyway though. Ironically, about a month ago I was thinking seriously about getting a mouse ^^

Ha!! LOA at work?