Conference misery::feline_v1

    	This must be the season...  I've stopped letting Copy use his
    cat door for this reason.  Now, I let him in (and out of) the house,
    being sure he has no presents with him.  
    	I got kinda use to the dead moles.  Just grab a paper towel
    and chuck it out the door.  I did get a bit upset at the Chipmunk.
    I grabbed copy, stuck his nose in the body and hollered at him before
    launching him out the door.  Didn't do much good cause a couple
    of days later, the final straw : about 3 feet of live snake!  I
    have a phobia about snakes.  No histerics, just flight: "Get me
    outta here!" kinda stuff.  So, no more cat door priviliges, Copy.
     - Chris

    Have had the problem with my cats in the past.  I don't know
    how you can make yourself feel any better about handling the
    "presents"; I know I've never been too thrilled with picking
    up the remains.  However, what I have done is put bells on
    my cats when they are outdoors and it sure does cut down on
    their ability to capture birds/mice/etc.  Maybe this might
    help you out, too!
    

    When there are revolting messes in the house, I take a HUGE nuumber
    of paper towels (so nothing leaks thru and you can't really feel
    whatever you're picking up, or see it either) and dispose of it.
     For bodies in the yard (from the neighbors' cats -- S&H don't go
    outside), I use a shovel and put the bodies under a deep hedge.
    
    When I say HUGE, I mean HUGE.  And don't look any more than you have
    to.
                                        

    I only had to shout once.  I took one look at the pathetic little
    body and let rip to my two about what I thought of them.  It is
    their nature to hunt and I'm told that the corpse is their contribution
    to the pack foodstore.
    
    However they soon sussed that it was NOT appreciated and took their
    presents elsewhere.

    Way back when I was a teenie-bopper (decades ago), my Labrador
    Retriever 'retrieved' a dead bird and proudly brought it in to me,
    knowing how proud I'd be of her.  I was home alone and just could
    not handle it!  My Lab had been trained, with decoys, to perform just
    such feats and I always praised her to the heavens for her efforts.
    She kept following me (as I ran screaming thru the house), clutching
    this poor, dead bird until I took it from her mouth.  I then did
    the only proper thing....I called the police, who came and took
    the birdy away.
    
    Fortunately, the only things my indoor warriors manage to bag is
    an occasional moth or cricket.  I handle those with the vaccum cleaner
    and about 20 feet of tubing....ugh...

    Mary

    
    My problem is just the opposite. princess brings them home LIVE, 
    there have been a few in the past that were dead but the majority
    of them are alive and kicking when she brings them home. i probably
    don't help much by allowing her access to her kitty door, but i really
    have no other choice because she was a barn cat when she came into my 
    life so she was already set in her outdoor ways. before i installed the
    cat door she tried to dig her way out numerous times thus damaging the
    carpets, so i installed the door. it really doesn't bother me much when
    she brings things home dead or alive but what does worry me is that i
    don't want to find one in my bed some morning when i wake up.
    
    
        Karan and princess
    
    

    Re .6 (Karan):
    
    > ............................. but what does worry me is that i
    >don't want to find one in my bed some morning when i wake up.
                                         
    Well, once in a while I used to wake up and find _half_ of a mouse
    in my bed, courtesy of Merlin.  Believe me, that's worse.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Interesting topic...
    
    First, let me point out that keeping cats indoors doesn't completely
    remove the problem, though it will mitigate it. Abigail is a dandy
    mouser, and though few mice have dared to enter the house, she nails
    those who have. She gets maybe one a year this way, usually in the fall
    when the cold weather sends them looking for shelter, but although
    there are no mice the rest of the time, most evenings she'll pry open
    the cupboard doors and peer inside just in case. (And then there was
    the sparrow that appeared under the kitchen table one day, when the
    cats had *not* been outside...) 
    
    Fortunately, I'm not squeamish about mice, birds, or snakes, even
    when in some - er, disrepair. (Insects are another matter.) If the
    critters are alive, I will try to catch them and let them go, even
    though I've heard that mice and birds are very likely to die of
    shock anyway. (I figure if they've survived the initial capture,
    they deserve a chance.)

    *** Unpleasantness Alert - Proceed at your own risk ***
    
    Gunslinger, my fierce grey tabby (of beloved memory), was a mighty
    hunter and The Compleat Outdoore Catte; he'd rip through screens to get
    out. He had a tendency to start devouring his prey (usually gophers)
    before he had quite dispatched it, and the few times I found him at it
    I felt obligated to finish off the critter. *That* was difficult. But I
    still couldn't chastise the cat for being a hunter, so I made my
    apologies to the little furry victims, tried to end it quickly, and
    wished them a better shot next time around the wheel. (If I come back
    as a gopher, I shall resolve to accept my fate with dignity - but I'd
    rather come back as a cat...) 
    
    -b

If you can't stand the hunting results, don't give the cat a chance to hunt.
I can sympathize with the "ick it's dead" feeling....I don't allow the hunting.

    My cats also leave me presents from their hunting expeditions.
    The thing that bothers us the most is what my kids used to
    call 'mouse tummy' the entrails. As was mentioned earlier
    by Karen I think, I find HUGE wads of paper towels are best
    for cleaning up this sort of mess (and I have to hold my breath
    as well!). Recently one of my cats threw up all over a basket
    of clean laundry...and I used the paper towel and hold my
    breath method to deal with it. (The joys of a sensitive gag reflex!)
    
    Bonnie