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I am looking for a regular old mouse trap that snaps when the mouse eats the cheese. I wont use poison as that just travels up the food chain and it is a hard death. I abhor those glue things, they are torturous and abusive, so cruel. Live trapping is not for me and the cat is not doing her job. I have tried one hardware store but they don't have those in stock. Do not want to be travelling all over Lakeside due to the virus. Any suggestions as to where I can buy one? TIA

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The hardware store across from toritos/Cristina pharmacy just west of Telmex has them in Ajijic.  I have used 2 different sizes, they’re the exact same as up North and work well, cheap but don’t remember the price.....have caught many mice and rats. Just ask, their English is good.  Open today.

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I think that the best situation (especially with the cats at risk) is the live traps. I have bought them at the hardware store neat Superlake (Hernandez). Very effective. I know that disposing of the trapped rodents might present a problem for some but living by the lake I find a remote area and free them. In my mind more humane also.

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1 hour ago, Mostlylost said:

If you have a cat worth his salt you don't need to buy mouse traps

I had a mouse a few years ago and told her she needed to stay up at night until she caught it, lol. She did and this is the first one since and for some reason she is not interested. So, need a trap, have used this type up north many times. Problem with live catch is they now have to fend for food against the other vermin and may come back. Have had that with red squirrels, took them miles away, that was before I realized how cruel that was. No good solutions, only solutions.

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If you are careful where you put the mousetrap, it won't catch the cat.

Years ago I had 2 cats who believed in the catch and release policy. I tried a live trap, they opened it and let the mousie out. I finally bought a Rat Zapper which has gone missing after one of our many moves. Effective but expensive.

Now I use a Mini-schnauzer.

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Pampered cats tend not to bother catching mice- why would they when they get a nice bowl of cat food everytime they screech for it. Feed the cat less and maybe its natural instincts will kick in. My cat's a great mouser. She was a stray in the neighborhood who made herself at home here about 8 months ago. She gets a small handful of the dog's kibble, but otherwise hunts. 

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26 minutes ago, Upfront said:

cats dont chase mice for food. they chase for fun. i challenge anyone to show me a cat that won't go after a mouse if i put it down in front

I don't know that "fun" has much to do with it. It's a natural instinct that exists because if they weren't being otherwise fed they would have to hunt for their food. Many animals raised in captivity or who have been so for a long time lose some of their natural instincts and have to be trained before being released into the wild to have a chance at surviving.

Here's something interesting about cats- if you take a piece of string or something and move it back and forth across the floor, a kitten or cat will keep trying to get it. But if you take a piece of string and move it up and down the cat will quickly lose interest. They aren't programmed to chase things that move vertically, because their prey moves horizontally- their eyes don't track well up and down. That's why if one is ever confronted by a cougar, the advice is to raise your arms to make yourself look bigger and jump up and down (never run).   

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1 hour ago, Upfront said:

whatever you say. but you change the subject. cats chase mice. period. humorus vids notwith standing

Cats may chase mice but they may not intentionally kill them if they aren't hungry. Chasing them isn't any good to a homeowner who has a mouse problem. That's why I said if you feed the cat less, it'll be inclined to actually solve a rodent problem.

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7 hours ago, Upfront said:

cats dont chase mice for food. they chase for fun. i challenge anyone to show me a cat that won't go after a mouse if i put it down in front

I had a cat who was afraid of mice. One ran across the kitchen floor and she climbed on top of the fridge. She said that purebred show girls didn't do that sort of thing.

Over the years, my other cats didn't eat the mice, they generally just played with them to death.

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14 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Cats may chase mice but they may not intentionally kill them if they aren't hungry. Chasing them isn't any good to a homeowner who has a mouse problem. That's why I said if you feed the cat less, it'll be inclined to actually solve a rodent problem.

I read a long time ago that is a fallacy, it is only the healthy well fed cat which is best at catching mice. They need to be in good condition for the chase. Your street cat is one which learned to hunt in order to survive, I have had many cats over the years which were excellent mousers and were always fed by us.

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Once I had a half bobcat cat.  She would only play with mice but would climb the tallest tree to get a bird.  She even got on top of my barn trying to catch birds as they flew by.

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OK.... here's the real story.  Kittens learn from their mothers how to catch and KILL  things..... mice, birds, or whatever. If they don't get that opportunity it's highly unlikely they will figure out the KILL process, even if they hunt and catch all manner of things...... and deliver to you as presents, or not. I watched this many times in my "on the ranch" days with the barn cats. Here,  I had a Siamese (pre: 24/7 indoor cats) who could catch hummingbirds on the wing.  Thankfully she brought them to me in the house, and I could then take them from her and release.

This also applies to "big" cats.  Last week on Vancouver Island 2 young cougars had to be trapped and euthanized because they were approaching people and children.  Wildlife officers reported them to be about 5 months old, and very emaciated.  Thinking was that the mother had disappeared, and these poor juveniles did not know how to KILL, even to the point of starvation

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A cat expert I am not. But I  know that one or more of my three cats is/are bringing in large bugs/lizards from the garden which they love to play with at night in the master bathroom. I often discover that the 3 inch long bug or lizard with a long tail has escaped and gotten under my treadmill. Usually when they bring a bird in, it dies. But the little lizards  are also used as toys often escape under the tread mill, which I then rescue and throw out in the garden. By the time I find it or them the cats have often cut off the tails of these lizards.  But I don't see any evidence that the cats are eating the birds or lizards. The cats seem just to use them as toys.

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Carnivores will eat what they kill, or end up purposely killing and eating what they chase or play with if they are hungry. I imagine a mouse or a lizard isn't that enticing or flavorful to actually consume if a cat is used to a couple bowls of yummy Whiskas every day.  I'll bet a lion wouldn't bother chasing down and killing and eating a gazelle if you threw it a fat juicy steak every day.

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Johanson, your cats are not exactly cutting off the lizard's tails.  Many lizards especially the house gecko will easily drop its tail when threatened.  All a cat has to do is pin the lizard down by its tail or just simply touch ithe tail and the tail will immediately come off and may still be wiggling for awhile to the amazement of the cat while the lizard makes his big escape and later over time he will regenerate that lost tail.

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Thanks for the explanation, dichosalocura.   I always wondered why I would occasionally find a separated tail, but no blood or other sign of injury. Again thanks for explaining what happens

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