Rural Hungary

No, he's not feral, followed my son home from a bus stop one day and wouldn't leave. We assumed he belonged to an elderly in the village who had recently died as his colour is very unusual and nobody had ever seen him in the village before.

Out of all the cats, he was the one who never hunted - too lazy....

I've accepted the voles, mice and rabbits - our neighbours at the castle shoot the rabbits due to the damage their burrowing does to the foundations and so, whilst I hate it, I accept it's his natural instinct and they are being shot anyhow - though we do save them from him when possible.

So far though, he has left the birds alone and they have happily coexisted, he has a collar full of bells and quickly realised they give the birds plenty of warning and even trying is just a waste of his time and energy - told you he was lazy.
A nest full of nearly ready fledgling's is a different story though and an easy target.... He has been let out now and sprayed with water every time he went near the hedge and so far, so good, he hasn't went near it at all today and no babies have been brought as gifts. Another 5 or 6 days and they should fledge then and harmony will be restored until next Spring

Rural Hungary

Ours was the other way round and he certainly has a taste for it now.
Likewise with regards the food though he's fussy and if we feed him dried food, he hunts but if we feed him wet food, he hunts less. In Hungary, I stopped feeding the animals wet food altogether because as soon as you put it out, within 10 minutes, the remnants had - well you know. Having a weak stomach made that a no and so I switched to dried.

BEVS

Thinks

You could clip the claws to lessen ability. Clipping is not permanent.

A tranq from a vet would also help a little with this



edit....

Threads don't have to be necessarily Hungary related y'know. The forum is primarily for Hungary stuff but the odd non-Hungary thread won't do any harm and might be interesting for you all.

Pollypaprika

Just a disclaimer before I say this...I know zilch about cats! But I was just wondering if it would be possible to give your cat home cooked meat. I know that this is just not practical for everyone. We are fortunate (or I should say my dog is) that we slightly cook chicken/pork for our dog every morning. She was on a raw food diet before that but went off it. We don't leave food out, she knows what time breakfast is :-) I suppose cats are more of a law unto themselves.

fidobsa

The trouble is, cats don't really kill things because they are hungry, it is more to keep in practice or to be able to present their owners with meaty gifts. I think dogs are more lazy, if someone gives them food they won't bother trying to hunt for themselves.

FenTiger

Nah, don't agree. If I gave my dogs a ton of meat to eat and then presented a squirrel, fox or any other fluffy animal in front of them they'd go for it. It's a natural instinct of theirs.

Rural Hungary

Bevs - daughter wanted to get the cat claw covers, you get them in funky colours, glittery ones etc Such a girly girl my eldest. Along with the bootee idea, I crossed this out as we have a stream running through the garden and he often hunts there for water voles. Worried that if he slipped down the bank that he couldn't use his claws to climb back out again, likewise if he managed to get up a tree.

Fib - I would say it's the other way round. Feed the cat raw meat and he will happily lie in the conservatory all day with a full tum whereas Plum, no matter how much she has eaten, if she sees something move in the field, she is off and nothing can stop her. The hunter instinct in her is so strong though she has never actually killed anything that we know of. The other cats are different, they seem to instinctively hunt whereas this soppy monster never hunted - it's one of the reasons he was the one brought over. He only hunts when he has dry food and so I think I'll need to give into him!

Pol- I just don't have the time in the mornings and have you seen the price of meat over here - it's scary! Might stock up when I'm over..... With the dog it's easier as he is always "at home" so we feed her, she eats it. The cat is not always there at meals times and we are out a lot so need to leave the food out for when he decides to return - dried is the best option for this

Fen- Yes, ours is like that.

fidobsa

Dogs may run after things but they are unlikely to catch anything and kill it. They are pack animals and not efficient solitary hunters like cats. Cats ambush their prey rather than outrun it. Even my Charlie runs after cats if he sees them (his eyesight is poor) but I don't think he will ever catch one.

Rural Hungary

Oh I don't know, our dog got hold of a fox once by it's tale, she wasn't messing about. Dachshunds were bred to hunt and kill and no matter how well fed she was, she would "hunt" anything that moves - she is never given the chance by us to prove or disprove the killing part.
Each dog is different though, just as each cat is different and whilst some of ours hunted for fun, 3 bells never did and it's only since being here he has started to hunt, he killed and ate one and obviously liked the taste of rabbit - had there been rabbits in Hungary, the story might be different.

Pollypaprika

Our dog will gladly kill anything that moves....but like Rural...we don't give her the opportunity. She was a trained working dog before we got her, she is a Parson Russell Terrier...and has dispatched a fair few moles in her time I can tell you. We don't encourage her of course...but unfortunately a few Hungarian moles have met their maker in her jaws. However, its very quick...one shake..job done.

FenTiger

I have never seen a fox, rabbit or mole in Hungary. As to foxes maybe the number of dogs in the neighbourhood keeps them away.

fidobsa

I would say foxes are one of the most common wild animals in my area of Hungary. If coming home late at night I will likely see 3 or 4 foxes and a couple of deer. I don't think I've seen a rabbit. I rarely see the moles but there is plenty of evidence of their activity on my land. Thankfully Charlie doesn't dig up the molehills.

FenTiger

Have never seen any deer either.

Rural Hungary

You should come visit us Fen - especially during the rutting season. Come at dusk and you will hear 4 or 5 stags rutting just a few hundreds yards from our house and on the road there you will see plenty of deer and if lucky, wild boar, golden jackals and pine martins. Only ever seen 1 or 2 rabbits though plenty of hares.

fidobsa

There are no bears in Hungary these days but there are some still in Croatia so I will have to keep an eye out for them. I will try not to antagonise them by sleeping in their beds or eating their porridge!