Cat bearing gifts

[Max123]

My cat is 13. I have her since she was 2 initially as a yard cat but since my dog died a year ago she has become a part time house cat. Very occasionally she used to bring mice to the door step but recently I am getting insides of animals of some description. Twice this week. I can't leave a mat down as it gets bloodied and it is grossing me out. It is likely that she is not able to catch mice anymore as while in excellent health understandably she isn't as agile as she once was. Any advice on how I could stop her from doing this would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[AmyMay]

Lock the cat flap?

 

[_OC_]

You won't...except that's their nature....since moving to the country I think my small tabby has cleared the place of voles,shrews any other vermin it can get it's little mouth on......and my lovely natural stone patio laid two months ago has remains of blood where he has devoured them.......strangely his stupid brother has started catching small wriggly things as well.


PS-Off to scrub blood with stiff brush and washing up liquid......this is my daily chore

 

[wkiwi]

She loves you.
She is bringing part of her 'kill' home to her 'kittens' to help them feed (not her real kittens of course, but this is where the behaviour stems from).
Not sure you can stop it completely, as making sure she is well fed makes no difference. Did you used to praise her for catching things? You may just have to grit your teeth and keep cleaning it up.

The yard cat here moved into the house, and I regularly had half a rabbit until she decided to 'retire' completely. Not sure why I always got the back half though??

 

[Meowy Catkin]

My cat likes to give me things especially at 3am. What a darling! I still have flashbacks of the bat incident when he brought me a live bat and the poor, soggy creature flew round and round my room until I managed to get it out of a window. The cat thinks he's a very, very good boy, I'd rather clear up mouse guts TBH.

 

[daydreamer]

When our first cat came into hunting maturity he brought us at least one mouse a night for about 3 months, some alive some dead. He usually brings them into the bedroom in the early hours of the morning and then either makes chaos chasing them around or crunches them under the bed. Our new self-adopted cat apparently loves us too and brings anything he catches *onto* the bed. Recently we had a dead squirrel.

Luckily neither of us is squeamish (though i hate it if they bring rats in). I know we could lock the cat flap or shut them out of the bedroom but I just see it as part and parcel of having a cat.

 

[Palindrome]

Make sure she has a bell on her collar as this reduces the amount of prey they are able to catch (particularly birds and mammals). The cat collars often come with a bell and have a special fastening that will come off if the cat catches the collar on a branch or fence, some even are reflective in case you live near a busy road.
I think cats tend to catch their prey at dusk/dawn so you could try the keeping in too as amymay said.

 

[Max123]

Thanks for the replies. At least now I am grateful that I don't have a cat flap so I've been spared bats, rats and squirrels in the house. Guess I just have to put up with the gifts on the doorstep but at least she loves me!