This is Zillions pre-birthday present...She likes herding them. I started with 9 this morning..we'll see how many are left by the end of the day.

I'm sorry but i think this is really cruel.

Pretty sure you can't even buy feeder fish in the UK.

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Lollo

Feeder fish are quite abundant in the USA, they are for turtles and other such pets, so are feeder mice. Cats eat mice and their cat food is made out of other animals. Cats out doors eat mice and birds all the time. I think it's cruel not to let a partially wild animal NOT HUNT for it's food.

Kinda feel uneasy about it myself too....

Yes animals hunt for their food but trapping live bait in such a way to be hunted doesnt feel right to me.
For example my dogs had a wild rabbit each to eat today - but it was dead & skinned - I wouldnt put a live rabbit in the garden for them to chase down and kill though.

Same with the fact ive given my cats day old chicks - that are dead - and again I wouldnt put my cats in a room with live day old chicks to have their fun with.

Its not something I would/could do myself.

This was quite hotly debated a while ago. If you search 'feeder fish' it comes up.

The fish have nowhere to go. It's not the same as catching birds and mice outside. It's the same as buying mice a locking your cats in a room with them.

Your cars are domesticated cars and do not need live prey to hunt.

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Lollo

Yes, it's this topic again... we really had it out last time if I recall. I agree that it's a bit cruel. It's one thing if a cat catches something outside -- survival of the fittest (though I'll take an unpopular stance and say it's irresponsible to let your cat do so, what with them being an invasive species and all) and what not. But these fish are confined to an area -- the odds are in your cat's favor any way you look at it. In the wild, predatory animals have more failed catches than they have successes... here this fish are going to die no matter what.

These fish were going to die anyway...because they are FEEDER FISH.

Everything is going to die anyway, doesn't mean people won't have opinions about it.

My cats would be too lazy to eat anything that lives so it would be a pointless exercise for me.

She ate 2 of them....looks like I have 7 feeder fish as pets now...LOL. Now I have to get a fish bowl because I actually like to bathe in my bathtub.

Thanks Lollo - I search and read the whole thread - cant believe I missed it in the first place.

for anyone interested here it is

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11660&hilit=feeder+fish

I wont be commenting further about this subject though as I think anything that was needed to be covered re this topic was done so in the above previous thread

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Lollo

It is good for the cat but a shame for the prey, some pets require 'live bait', eg snakes and other reptiles. Not much chance of the bait surviving when it is put in an enclosed vivarium!
I used to have terrapins (turtles in US) and used to feed them stuff I caught in the garden etc as that is closer to their natural diet than the sticks available. This led to buying goldfish for food, which I felt uneasy about but ignored this thinking it was good for the terrapins. They caught two goldfish but I had to stop it as it just wasn't 'right' ended up keeping the other goldfish as pets.

I was winding up my girlfriend in the petshop, saying I was going to buy a rabbit or a hamster for catfood, wouldn't do this as I think its wrong, but my cat would love it. She will have to stick to wandering spiders for now but if she is out and catches something wild then so be it. Nature at work.

Cats often catch mice and bring them home as 'presents' and the reason humans first started keeping cats as pets was because they would catch mice.

Feeder fish were a hit with me 3 as well. I documented it on my blog. Mostly they were intrigued with drinking fish water and rowan did eat 2 of them. We flushed the rest...I love fish I have a 60 gallon tank (not feeder fish obviously), but its true in the us they are like 7cents and gross.

Whether they're cheap or not, they're still living beings.

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