Better mousers - male or female

[patm]

I know this is probably like asking about male or female labs as better pets, but I am wondering on your thoughts if male or female cats make better mousers. I've have lots of cats in my life, but not with the thought of their hunting abilities - and all my cats have been neutered males. Since then I have inherited 2 females at different times and they were both very good mousers. I am thinking about getting another cat and we could use a good mouser - any suggestions?

[brody]

while some males are OUTSTANDING hunters a female is generally a better pick according to lore but it's actually more important to find a kitten who has had LOTS of play with objects other than cats and people - a kitten who will attack a piece of fluff or cat toy with vigour has had a chance to learn the play behaviours so essential to good hunting ... if you adopt a kitten you can keep playing with things to encourage the behaviour - if you adopt an adult test em with play objects before taking them home

YAY another cat might get a great home

thanks for considering adoption

[patm]

We have a cat shelter about 2 miles from us - http://www.theperennialcat.com/- that formed a couple of years ago. I went to a few meetings when they were first starting, but I didn't really have the time to devote to it, and the "cat people" were a little to "out there" for me But they have been full almost from the start and right now they have tons of kittens, "teenagers" and adults. Thanks for the tip on testing for interest in "objects" and other things. I wouldn't have thought to look for that.

[Tedsta]

Monty is a great hunter - we get mice, birds, the occasional dead rat. He loves chasing things moths, butterflies, spiders, in fact he's even taught Ted how to scent them out!

[patm]

My neutered male Manx cat was a great hunter - even without front claws , and having a rather "odd" shape that kept him from being very athletic - we would see him stalking something in the yard and laugh that he would never get anything, then he would leap over the hill and come back with something in his mouth!

[Trickster]

I posted on your other thread but as I said there, the best mousers from my experience are females. If I wanted a mouser, I would be looking at a young (12+ months) female, mixed breed. Shelters have plenty of them!

Although another thought that came to me was feral and semi feral cats. Obviously if you want the cat to be a pet you can ignore this, but there are organizations that home feral and semi feral cats. Given that they are 100% outdoor cats, most are already fully established mousers...great for farms/small holdings/large properties. All you have to do it put food down for them.