True about cats needing to eat every day. Dogs can do the feast and famine thing - a day of fasting for an adult dog isn’t terrible - but it IS dangerous for a cat.
Jack Russel … What a brilliant idea.
My sister in Canada has one, and that thing goes mental for rats.
Toto and Bobby also go crazy after rats -and pidgeons- as it seems Maltese were also bred for that -or so I’ve read.
I’m not proposing starving the cat. I’m proposing upping its hunger level a bit, not, primarily, so it finds its inner killer, but to help eliminate the surplus catfood which I’d bet is the root of the problem. That is certainly achievable, supported by cleaning up promptly after feeding time.
This “cats are grazers” thing is quite implausible. Overfed cats may well be picky eaters, but a hungry cat gives food its concentrated attention, pausing only, perhaps, to look over its shoulder and growl menacingly every now and then.
Cats are by nature opportunistic predators. If they pissed around “grazing” in the wild, something else would take thier kill and they would starve. Some big cats (leopard and cheatah, IIRC) haul thier kill into a tree and guard it, but that’s not because they just dont fancy it at the moment, its because its typically too big to eat in a session.
Incidentally, rats (and cats) can carry a parasite which renders the smell of cats attractive to rats. This helps the parasite complete its life cycle, but it could mean a non-killer cat might not always be an effective deterrent.
[quote]rats (and cats) can carry a parasite which renders the smell of cats attractive to rats.[/quote]I think you need to support this claim. It sounds like make believe. The Perfume comes to mind.
It’s toxoplasmosis:
[i]Behavioral changes
It has been found that the parasite has the ability to change the behaviour of its host: infected rats and mice are less fearful of cats—in fact, some of the infected rats seek out cat-urine-marked areas. This effect is advantageous to the parasite, which will be able to proliferate as a cat could eat the infected rat and later reproduce.[24] The mechanism for this change is not completely understood, but there is evidence that toxoplasmosis infection raises dopamine levels and concentrates in the amygdala in infected mice.[25]
The findings of behavioural alteration in rats and mice have led some scientists to speculate that Toxoplasma may have similar effects in humans, even in the latent phase that had previously been considered asymptomatic. Toxoplasma is one of a number of parasites that may alter their host’s behaviour as a part of their life cycle.[26] The behaviors observed, if caused by the parasite, are likely due to infection and low-grade encephalitis, which is marked by the presence of cysts in the human brain, which may produce or induce production of a neurotransmitter, possibly dopamine,[27] therefore acting similarly to dopamine reuptake inhibitor type antidepressants and stimulants.
Correlations have been found between latent Toxoplasma infections and various characteristics:[28]
Decreased novelty seeking behaviour[29]
Slower reactions[30]
Lower rule-consciousness and greater jealousy (in men)[29]
Promiscuity and greater conscientiousness (in women)[29] [/i]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
I don’t know about whether cats are natural grazers or not. I know that a fat cat is an overfed cat, and that leaving cat food in a bowl will attract rats. I think the solution to the problem lies somewhere within that set of facts, especially if the OP is squeamish about catching and killing rats (given the inexhaustible supply of them I doubt that this is going to help much anyway).
Cougars bury their kill, and come back later for more. I’d call that grazing (though obviously not in the herbivore sense if the word.)
On related news:
[quote]dog with a special skill for finding and catching rodents in farm fields in southwestern Taiwan is able to earn about NT$500,000 a year, more than the annual income of its master.
Hung Tsao-ching, who works as an electrician and plumber in Putze of Chiayi County, said his female dog named “Blackie” can catch more than 10,000 rats each year.
Blackie is an indigenous dog that can smell and detect rats hiding underground as deep as one meter. After barking at holes in the field to rat out the rodents, the dog can chase and swiftly catch the preys in just 10 to 15 seconds, according to Hung.
…
The money earned by Blackie often reaches around NT$500,000, more than his own income per year, Hung said.
[/quote]
chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/loca … ng-dog.htm
[quote=“Icon”]On related news:
[quote]dog with a special skill for finding and catching rodents in farm fields in southwestern Taiwan is able to earn about NT$500,000 a year, more than the annual income of its master.
Hung Tsao-ching, who works as an electrician and plumber in Putze of Jiayi County, said his female dog named “Blackie” can catch more than 10,000 rats each year.
Blackie is an indigenous dog that can smell and detect rats hiding underground as deep as one meter. After barking at holes in the field to rat out the rodents, the dog can chase and swiftly catch the preys in just 10 to 15 seconds, according to Hung.
…
The money earned by Blackie often reaches around NT$500,000, more than his own income per year, Hung said.
[/quote]
chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/loca … ng-dog.htm[/quote]
And who says the locals aren’t entrepreneurial?
Actually, the ones that are not entrepreneurial are us atogas: with so many of us with smart pets, we could make a bundle on the side training them to get rid of pests such as rats, roaches, spiders, etc. We could rent “English speaking trained animals” for a bundle.
It’s toxoplasmosis:
[/quote]
I take it back. Thanks, Petri. 
From that chinapost link:
“He would sell the larger rats to friends who put the rat meat on the table in restaurants in the rural areas of southern Taiwan.”
Are they for real?!?
You get some very big rats out in the sticks. I think they are a different species though, perhaps Cane Rats, since I’ve mostly seen them near sugar cane fields.
I’ve seen something very similar being trapped for food in Thailand.
As well as being bigger they perhaps are not quite as much disease carriers as urban sewer rats, so maybe that’s what the article was referring to.
[quote=“trader123”]From that chinapost link:
“He would sell the larger rats to friends who put the rat meat on the table in restaurants in the rural areas of southern Taiwan.”
Are they for real?!?[/quote]
Tastes like chicken. :lick:
Maybe not QUITE this big though.
From a quick Google it looks like you don’t get Cane Rats in Taiwan [Edit: Entrepenurial Africans take note]. Maybe they were Rice Field Rats
Capibara!!! Mmmm… Oh, wait…
[quote=“Ducked”] Maybe they were Rice Field Rats
[/quote]
Dear sweet Jesus.
Rats and mice are easy to distinguish seeing as rats are ten times bigger, and mice are cute and stink.
Poor information whether or not meant in sarcasm.
Rats are not always ten times bigger that would depend on how old they were and their diet. The easier way to distinguish is by looking at the tail. Just take a look at any photo of a rat tail and mouse tail and the poster will never be confused again. Rats stink too duh
Rats don’t stink anywhere near as much as mice. Mice excrete pungent pheromones in their urine that are used for social communication and territorial marking. And adult rats are at least ten times bigger than mice (any species). Even rat pups are bigger than full grown mice, so it’s not really bad information.
Carry on.