Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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canned mice

 Canned mice for cats
  (+7, -3)
(+7, -3) 		  [vote for,
against]

Cats supposedly really like to eat mice, e.g. Tom & Jerry cartoons. People typically really don't like mice, with few exceptions, i.e. Mickey, Minnie, Stuart Little, etc. So how about commercially raising mice to can for gourmet cat food? Picture vast mouse ranches in the West, or tall buildings, where each story only has to be about 2-3 inches high, used as mouse farms in the urban East. Add recipies on the cans for such favorites as "mouse on a shingle", "pie alaMickey", and that seasonal special "mousefruitcake" (who would know the difference?). Brand names? "Eek!", "Not A Creature Was Stirring", "Big MacMouse", etc. The marketing possibilities are endless! Any investors out there? Contact www.squeek.com
—charlie, Dec 07 2000

(?) Re: jiggling rat food http://www.salonmag.../larson/older6.html
The immortal Gary Larson cartoon that Starchaser's comment brings to mind, as reprinted illustrating a Salon interview with him. [jutta, Dec 07 2000]

US Pat. 4150505: Bird trap/cat feeder http://www.delphion...ils?pn=US04150505__
"The feeder providing means for continuously supplying a cat or neighborhood cats with sparrows to eat." [acb, Dec 07 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Ahh, and here we come around from the other side of the idea... Kestrel_20Snax
[normzone, Jan 20 2013]

[link]






       My brother had a snake that was a coward...It got bit by a rat that it had grabbed by the...erm...male bulgy bits. It whipped around and bit the snake and the snake hid in a corner and refused to eat. He clubbed the rat, then had to wiggle it with the stick to get the snake to see it.
—StarChaser, Dec 08 2000
   

       I'm not really sure if cats really do like to eat mice all that much- the same goes for birds. Every cat I've ever seen catch a bird or mouse usually toys with it for a while, but I never caught them eating one after they killed it. It was more the thrill of the chase than anything else that they seemed to like.   

       They may have been spoiled by they food they were usually fed. Or, they just might have been sadistic cats.
—BigThor, Dec 08 2000
   

       Cats definitely eat the birds they catch. Have you ever found feathers strewn about your yard? Where do you think the rest of the bird went?   

       Also, they generally seem to be proud when they make a catch -- I know my cat likes to bring his spoils into the house!
—danrue, Dec 08 2000
   

       Can buy crickets and baby crickets from bait stores for turtles, frogs, small snakes...My brother had a buttload of spiders he was taking care of for a friend...
—StarChaser, Dec 09 2000
   

       A "buttload of spiders"... there's an image for ya! Thanks StarChaser.
—danrue, Dec 11 2000
   

       Negative perspiration...<grin> Share and Enjoy.
—StarChaser, Dec 11 2000
   

       Not only cats, but dogs too.
I had a dog that loved to catch houseflies that buzzed around the screendoor in the summer.
You'd point one out to her and she'd run over, and chomp it down before it could fly away.
We always got yelled at by our parents for it, but it was good fun.
Now as for canned mice....I think cats would prefer canned steak or even canned catfood over mice. They attack mice because of their natural hunting instincts, not because they are the best tasting morsels out there.
Besides, the canning process would probably make them even more disgusting looking and smelling than they are when alive.
—rcornell, Mar 05 2001
   

       Note that since most people don't bring their kitties with them when buying catfood, the goal of the vendor is to sell the food to the cat's owner rather than the cat itself. Any "mouse-flavored catfood" will have to be sold on this principle, with a suitable package design, rather than on taste.
—supercat, Mar 05 2001
   

       Hmmm...tinned rubber bands!
—ginger cat, Jun 11 2001
   

       The petfood section of my local supermarket has 'Gerbil and Hamster Munch', but investigation showed it to be *for* rodents, rather than extreme catfood .
—angel, Jun 12 2001
   

       This reminds me of one of the most peculiar patents I have seen: US4150505, for a "Bird trap and cat feeder". (See link attached.)
—acb, Jun 12 2001
   

       I've heard of pet stores selling a product called 'Mice on Ice' - literally frozen mice to feed to snakes. Saw a picture of one, had a sickeningly cute little picture of mice ice-skating.
—Corona688, Dec 09 2002
   

       Does anyone know how i could find out if MOUSE FLAVORED CATFOOD has a patent? I think we have something there.
—wonbadappl, Dec 14 2002
   

       ptptptptptptptptptptptp- Hannibal Lector
—po, Dec 14 2002
   

       Just saw that scene last night - excellent Hannibal impression!
—thumbwax, Dec 14 2002
   

       I've been told that cats hunt by instinct, but must learn to eat their kills. House cats are rarely taught this by their mothers, which is why they present the kill to you.   

       Could be untrue, but sounded right at the time...
—dbsousa, Feb 03 2003
   

       From what I understand, mother cats teach their kittens how to deliver the killing bite. If a cat does not know how to adminster a coup de grace to his prey, the prey will not be killed quickly.   

       I had one cat who would simply decapitate her victim, unless we had purchased a cat food that she did not like and would not run to the store to get the brand she preferred. Then she would eat all save the head and leave the head in a prominent place.
—weckels, Feb 07 2003
   

       I'm thinking about this one...
—xandram, Jan 17 2013
   

       //I'm not really sure if cats really do like to eat mice all that much- the same goes for birds.//   

       Yes, most birds are really reluctant to eat mice. There are obvious exceptions, such as owls and kestrels. But swifts, for example, will hardly ever take a live mouse.
—MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 17 2013
   

       Bizarrely enough, that statement is not as ridiculous as it seems. Back in the 1960's, animal behaviourists were discovering 'hyperstimuli' - normal behavioural cues but greatly exaggerated. For example, they found that geese would enthusiastically incubate fake eggs the size of footballs - a big egg is a healthy egg, so (to a goose) a giant egg must be a super duper egg.   

       Amongst the several bizarre hyperstimulus responses they noted was a hunting behaviour amongst swallows (not swifts, alas). Swallows will, of course, catch aphids and other small insects on the wing. What the researchers found was that the swallow is basically looking for a black dot with shimmery wings.   

       They discovered that swallows would go for small dark pebbles with sellotape "wings", if they were thrown up in the air. Taking their research further and further, they found that the swallows would actually intercept Frisbees with pieces of cellophane taped to their edges. It generally didn't end well for the swallows.
—MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 19 2013
   
      
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