Help

I have  a wildlife pond in my garden and have lots of lovely frogs. I also have 3 cats, 2 of which like to catch them, bring them indoors and then let them go. Im not sqeemish but my daughter has said that you shoudldnt touch the frog with bare hands as it hurts them. After chasing around a frog with an envelope does anyone know the rights and wrongs of it. Just off to catch a mouse that Ellie cat has brought in

If I was a frog, I really would not like to be caught by a cat, even I was subsequently 'released'.

You might think that the cats and frogs are just playing, but I don't think that the frogs see it quite like that.

I have plenty of frogs, and there's a cat around. But there's no trouble. The cat really does prefer to spend its time patiently waiting to try to catch mice. Cats love to catch mice more than anything else.

You need some mice.

Maud is in the garden wrote (see)

..Just off to catch a mouse that Ellie cat has brought in

Oh, you've already got those too, have you

I would not have thought that being picked up by a human was more detrimental than being picked up by a cat.

Maud, if you wet your hands before picking frogs up it is supposed to be better than using warm dry hands. I'm not a frog so can't speak from experience!

Frogs will scream and make something of a racket if still alive when brought in by the cat.When you have got the cat a way  with  a tin of tuna,get a tub  with a lid and gentle with a nudge push  said frog into tub and deposit frog into pond or near pond.Then you have to try and convince the cat you like frogs but not rats. 

I think there might be some truth in the wet hands approach to handling them. The reason I say this is when I kept tropical fish if you really had to take a fish out of it's water by hand, using wet hands prevented any damage. Having said that if I was being chased by a cat, I don't think I would mine a dry hand and then being released.

A friend of mine a while a go for some reason has an onslought of very tiny frogs/toads about the size of a 5 pence all over the house. She has cats, she just swept them up using a dust pan & brush. Never knew where they came from,

My cat would love to go up into the loft and get those mice

My cat also brings em in for sport. Not one ever has a mark, despite being arried in the cat's mouth. I guess an injured frog's not as entertaining. He'll just pat them (claws stowed) to make them hop about. He loves it. I just boot the cat out, pick em up, and pop them back in the pond. I can't imagine being able to keep hold of one with wet hands and imagine being dropped and ending up dehydrating in the hidyhole behind the fridge would be worse than being carried 10 paces in a dry palm...

Cats are able to carry their own kittens by holding them in their mouths, and presumably without using their teeth.

Here's a video, on YouTube, of a cat playing with a frog...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL-2H1xBXco

And here's another; in this case the frog seems to have attacked the cameralady...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLFl9-CQlys

My cats are actually terrified of frogs and toads. They discovered one in the garden a few years back . I heard this unearthly noise and went out to investigate and as F. Rose says ,  the poor thing was screaming. The cats were just staring at it , then it made a gigantic leap and I've never seen them move so quick . They wouldn't go near that part of the garden for days.  Didn't know until that point that frog and toads did scream.  They have very big voices for such tiny creatures.

I have at least 2 frogs living in my pond area. Also have a cat who just sits and watches them come out at night, if they stay still she just nudges them with her paw to make them move but shes never actually chased one or caught one so fingers crossed shes hapy just watching. A mouse however is a different story .........

Hollie-hock, it is very common for froglets to leave the pond on wet evenings. They often find their way into the house. They can travel a long way from water.

Just out of interest, what did your friend do with the little frogs when she had swept them up?  Did she perhaps put them out in the garden, or did she kill them?

I had to rescue a little frog from the drain where my downpipe is today. I thought i heard a few "plop" noises last night but put it down to the pond. On hearing it today i removed the 2 covers to find a frog unable to get out. I have placed him in the shallows of my pond and have now placed both covers back and a pile of stones on top so hopefully he wont go down again.

I get frogs in the basement, they come up through a drainage pipe in the corner. Me thinks they live in there as they are very pale, and beige in colour not at all like the one's in the garden. The cat ignores them, in fact she can't get out of the basement quick enough if one's in there. When frogs come into the garden she'll sit and stare at them, if they get too close she moves away but goes on red alert if there's a field mouse or bird about... 

Thankyou for all your replies, Have had no frogs or mice in this week. They never kill them, just like to let them go and chase them round the house. Not even a tin of tune will deter them, the 2 youngest cats Ellie and Lennie will still go to the place they last saw them even atfer i had rescued the creature hours before. Lennie did bring in an arguementative mouse, it stood up on its back legs and squealed at him. One very astonished cat.

Welshonion, for what I know it was all a bit strange. She lives up a lane with a few houses around but no garden ponds, although there I'm sure there are some natural ditches close by. They just appeared, she said it was of almost bibilical amounts! They were so tiny they hopped under the doors. We just thought that they all lost sense of direction and just followed each other.

She had maybe 4 cats at the time, they didn't know what to do with them.

They were all released into the garden and it's never happened again

Yet another frog. Wet my hands first and the frog didnt seem to mind as i put it back in the pond.