![]() |
||||||||||||
Cat HuntingCat Hunting skills have never really been lost throughout the whole process of cat domestication. Your kitty will still feel the need to go out and hunt birds, mice, frogs, in fact anything that is small enough to catch. This is a puzzle to most people as they can’t understand why cats continue to hunt, even though we provide plentiful food and water for them.
Funnily enough it was the cat hunting skills that first endeared the cat population to humans in the first place. Thousands of years ago when humans began to grow their own crops, mice and rats began to become a problem in the storing of these foodstuffs. The cat’s ability to kill rodents with ease and their apparent acceptance of humans meant that they were welcomed into people’s homes. So cat hunting was admired, in fact cats which were prolific hunters became very valuable animals and their off spring could be bought and sold for large sums of money.
The cat – the perfect carnivore
Cats are sometimes described as the perfect carnivore because their whole
being is designed for hunting and eating animal flesh. From their claws
and teeth to their digestive systems, in fact the cat is one of the few
animals that have to have some nutrients that traditionally could only
be found in meat (although this can now be synthetically reproduced in
some cat food).
From a very early age kittens are taught by their mothers that mice and birds etc are good to eat. She will bring them to her kittens alive and dead to play with and to eat. Eventually they will watch her stalk and catch prey and will learn the techniques themselves. There is no way for us to prevent this, even if kittens lose their mother they still have a natural instinct to chase and catch fast moving small items.
Unusual cat hunting behaviour.I am often asked questions about certain strange cat behaviour associated with cat hunting. Many people just can’t understand what on earth their cat is doing when they catch sight of their prey. Here are the two most commonly asked questions and answers here.
Why do cats play with their prey?There are several possible reasons why you might see a cat seemingly teasing and tossing their prey around.
Why does my cat give me dead animals?Uhgggggggg, this is the normal human reaction at discovering a dead mouse or bird left for them on their doorsteps or brought to them by their sweet little cat. Actually our reaction should be Thank you very much and to give plenty of strokes. Why? Well in our cats eyes we are part of their family and if they feel that a member of their family is not able to catch it’s own prey then they will try to provide some. This is why neutered female cats are often the main culprits of this behaviour, as they do not have kittens of their own and their instincts dictate to them that they need to bring us some food. It’s very sweet really; it’s just a shame that we do not appreciate a good gooey mouse as much as our feline friends do.Is there anything we can do to stop our cat hunting?A bell attached to a collar is a good first warning to any prey that may be being crept up upon. Perhaps a little frustrating for your cat, but they still some of the hunting experience. Keeping your cat in side during the hours of dawn and dusk when small rodents are most active may safe the odd field mouse etc, but the birds will have to be vigilant all day long. Make sure you feed your cat adequately so that it does not go out still feeling hungry and on the lookout for an extra snack. Follow the guidelines on the cat food for your cat’s size and age.
|
Solutions To Your Cat Behavior Problems By 2 Cat Vets. |
|||||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||
Copyright© 2007. WWW.OUR-HAPPY-CAT.COM |
||||||||||||