[farmershort]

Hi all.

A very off-topic question for me. We have a couple of mice in the loft space in our chalet bungalow, and are considering a cat as a mouser. We've got plenty and room outside and all that, and a barn full of hay and straw... so plenty of 4 legged critters I'm sure.

I've traditionally always been anti-house-cat, due to their negative affect on wild birds etc. Having said that, we don't exactly live in a suburban housing estate, and have plenty of land between the house the birds filled hedges.

Now, the other factor, is that there are a fair few other cats in the village, some of which do come on our land... at least 5 that we see often.  None of these have access to the barn, or house, so don't really help us.

I'm sure you can imagine my thinking... bengal cats are big double hard buggers which apparently have a very prominent hunting instinct. It seems logical that a bengal would be able to establish it's claim over our land, and should (in my mind) be a sure thing for mouse and rat hunting.

We have enough new plastic plumbing and new wiring, and traps don't seem to be effective. A cat seems like the logical next step on a smallholding.

So... anyone got any experience with the  breed?

[devonlady]

Best, I would think, would be to contact a breeder. They will know all about your breed, then you might contact Bengal Rescue.
But what about a couple of young cats from Cat's Protection?

[farmershort]

Best, I would think, would be to contact a breeder. They will know all about your breed, then you might contact Bengal Rescue.
But what about a couple of young cats from Cat's Protection?

yes, if bengal cats are no better hunters than anything else, then my 1st choice would be some sort of rescue cat. I have a bee in my bonet with the rescue places though... a lot of them used to insist on an interview and home visit... why on earth would you make rehoming cats so hard, when any idiot can just buy a newly bred cat from a breeder. Surley it'll help keep cat numbers down if buying freshly bred ones wasn't easier than re-homing.

rant over:)

[Jukes Mum]

We've been thinking exactly the same here. Our lovely old cat, Mew, vanished in August. Since her parting, we have become rather overrun with mice and rats  despite trapping.
I thought a Bengal would be fab and hopefully a bit bolder as we have 6 dogs. I then saw the price of Bengal cats and started looking at the rescues instead!

[farmershort]

We've been thinking exactly the same here. Our lovely old cat, Mew, vanished in August. Since her parting, we have become rather overrun with mice and rats  despite trapping.
I thought a Bengal would be fab and hopefully a bit bolder as we have 6 dogs. I then saw the price of Bengal cats and started looking at the rescues instead!

I'm not certain but I think there might be quite a few bengal rescues... where suburban owners have somewhat underestimated their situation.

[Jukes Mum]

Just spent my lunch hour searching for rescue Bengals instead of eating and dog walking! 

[Bionic]

Just spent my lunch hour searching for rescue Bengals instead of eating and dog walking! 

Me too :-)

[nutterly_uts]

My boys are half bengal (half local farm cat) and are both good ratters and one is rather good at mole hunting.
Probably about 80% of what turns up dead is rodent but they do get the odd bird sadly

[SallyintNorth]

@Tiva Diva has a Bengal.

Siamese are good hunters, all my neutered male Siamese crosses have preferred rodents and rabbits to birds, though one did try to get birds too, once getting a live rook in through the cat flap then coming to get me to help him with it!  I don't think a Siamese or Siamese cross would be happy being kept out of the house, though...  Nor out of your bed, come to that

[Steph Hen]

The only experience of Bengal cats I've had was a local breeder when I was a kid, they were all kept inside either the house or in cages/runs in the gardens (that's sounds a bit harsh, they were very nicely looked after). They were cool to look at and very playful, but not sure that translates into good hunting/survival instinct?-I would guess not.

The best hunting cat I had had been a pet, then feral, then we trapped him, got him fixed him up and because cats protection league didn't have a spare pen, kept him. He was amazing at hunting, I watched him take down two squirrels, one from a fence post, one off the top of a 2m high chicken pen (he was waiting way up in the tree for it!). He hunted moles and rats too. But when he started taking half grown chickens we rehomed him to a stables.
Current cat is pretty good too. Likes rabbits. Went to local cats protection and got the meanest, most aggressive cat. He has personality.
I have been told for a mouser get a female who has been feral and has had kittens.

[Tiva Diva]

My bengal, Ned, is an excellent mouser and ratter - and is more weather tolerant than most cats I've had. He also follows me round when I'm checking the livestock and supervises the lambing shed  . He does bring in the occasional bird, mainly fledgelings, but there are so many mice, rats and rabbits around that are easier to catch that he doesn't seem to take too many.
There are indeed rescue Bengals (and Bengal crosses) available. They do have a reputation for being very territorial; Ned gets on fine with my 2 other cats but they were introduced as kittens when Ned was quite young too.
If you want an unusual, spaniel-like cat that will hunt/deter mice and stand his ground against other neighbouring cats, a Bengal is a good bet, but like any other animal, temperaments vary - I dare say that there are some Bengals who are wimpy indoor cats (though I've never heard of any).

[farmershort]

Thanks TD.