Do you think that in its walk in the fresh air, the cat ate a mouse? Here are the signs to be grasped and the best remedies.
It often happens that our faithful domestic cat pays homage to us with some ‘gifts’ such as carcasses of dead animals. It is not so uncommon to see a cat carrying a newly caught mouse in its teeth, but it can happen that the same mouse ends up in its stomach. But how to be sure that the cat ate a mouse and, most importantly, what to do in this case? Here’s what to know so as not to take risks to the health of our beloved four-legged friend.
Cat and mouse: DNA or play?
It seems that a friendship between feline and rodent is impossible: just look at Tom and Jerry! In reality it is not just a matter of dislike, but the answer is in the feline DNA: it is a hunter and its targets are all the objects that move before its eyes. Imagine a mouse that seems to spite him at every step!
The mouse is small, moves easily and is very fast – a real challenge for the cat! probably it is also a matter of smells, in short, there is something that makes them irresistible in the eyes of the cat. On the other hand, this was the main reason for the process of domestication of the cat by man. It was the human who welcomed the cat into the ‘family’ in order to have protection from mice in return!
The cat ate a mouse: signals and diseases
Although most of the time the cat limits itself to catching it, it may happen that it eats it. It is certainly not prescribed in its diet, indeed it would certainly be better to avoid. These are animals accustomed to living in the sewers, to feed on garbage, therefore easy carriers of diseases and risks to the health of everyone, including cats. If we see our cat raging against a mouse, we do everything to dissuade him, because it could be fatal.
But how do we know that the cat ate a mouse? Worms may form in its stomach, but also some diseases may develop. So to understand whether a cat has eaten a mouse it is necessary to note the signs that these same diseases entail: here they are below.
- Leptospirosis: in the cat it is quite rare, but it can manifest itself with symptoms similar to those of a flu, namely fever, exhaustion, episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, cough, lethargy and breathing problems (read here: Leptospirosis in cats: symptoms, treatment and prevention).
- Liver diseases: which we have already talked about in Liver diseases in cats and gallbladder problems: causes and remedies.
- Toxoplasma: not only from mouse to cat, but also from this to man (especially dangerous for pregnant women). This disease is manifested by breathing difficulties, pneumonia and neurological problems, as also explained in: Toxoplasmosis in the cat: the cause, symptoms, treatment and contagion.
- Intestinal parasites: the most frequent are nematodes, which live and develop in the intestines of the cat.
- Hantavirus: which involves very serious respiratory problems.
- Rickettsiosis: which presents with a rash all over the feline’s body.
- Poisoning: let’s not forget that the rat poison that we usually use to keep them away, can be ingested by the mice themselves and transmitted to the feline that eats them.
What to do if the cat is sick
If we are sure that the cat could have ingested a mouse when we were not present, we must keep it under close observation for the next 48 hours at least. We absolutely must not underestimate two symptoms of poisoning in the cat in particular, namely vomiting and diarrhea. The real solution is to take the cat to the vet as soon as possible, but some experts on the phone may advise the owner to induce vomiting in the cat, so as to make him expel an amount of ingested poison.
