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Professional_Bird_74 t1_jdwxefh wrote

Such a sad story. Just get a cat. They make great mousers.

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Aaron351 t1_jdyfrox wrote

Cats are an invasive species, and should be kept indoors or out on a leash. They also suck at controlling mice populations.

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forwardinthelight t1_jdx2brr wrote

Cats are often not that great at efficiently killing rodents (a working dog would likely be better for that). None of my childhood cats had much interest in doing more than slowly torturing or dismembering the occasional mouse. I would also personally worry about the spread of toxoplasma from mice to pet cats.

The welfare of cats as dedicated mousers is also often highly questionable at best, depending on the situation. For instance, the most beloved barn cat at my mom's barn was just killed by a group of coyotes as he was essentially allowed to free-roam.

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kayakyakr t1_jdy4evc wrote

That's a risk of barn cats. They live a shorter life, but if you're willing to care for a barn cat, there are also always more to adopt.

Would never turn a kitten into a barn cat, only adults that are already mostly feral.

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CiforDayZServer t1_jdzwp7n wrote

Toxoplasmosis is generally produced by cats in order to infect the mice which makes them less fearful of cat urine smell and of cats in general.

Unless I missed some big revelation that it’s reversed?

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forwardinthelight t1_je06zvf wrote

Sorta - cats are the principal host for T. gondii as it can only reproduce inside of cats. The altered behavior of mice is one of the ways cats can become infected (by eating the mice with tissue T. gondii cysts). Once infected, cats excrete T. gondii oocysts in their feces that can go on to infect other animals or people. Thats why pregnant people are told to not clean their cat's litterbox due to the risk of coming into contact with oocysts - fetal toxoplasmosis can cause birth defects and spontaneous abortions IIRC.

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