Mary Allen
As cuddly and purring as they are, cats remain predators. Their hunting behavior is characterized by a lot of patience, concentration, and skill. Watching velvet paws hunt is fascinating and a little frightening at the same time.
Which prey your cat prefers to pursue its hunting behavior is mostly a question of personal preference, but it also depends on what is available. Some cats prefer to hunt mice, others frogs, garden birds, or insects.
Hunting Behavior is Innate in Cats
Hunting behavior is an innate instinct that all cats possess from the time they are kittens. Playing and fighting with their siblings, the kittens practice for later when they go hunting themselves. The hunting behavior is also maintained in indoor cats, which hunt insects instead of mice or birds or let off steam while playing. You may also notice how your cat suddenly chases light and shadows that have suddenly changed, or lurks behind your feet around a corner.
While some dog breeds are bred to show as little hunting behavior as possible, this has largely been preserved in cats. This is probably due to the fact that the wild cat, which is considered the ancestor of today’s domestic cats, was domesticated with a desire to hunt. After all, the clever hunter kept the house, yard, and fields free from pests such as mice. Even today, many cat owners appreciate it when their fur nose makes sure to drive mice and rats out of the home.
Sophisticated Hunting Technique: Lurking, Stalking, Striking
It sometimes looks quite cruel how a cat hunts down its prey. Cats are very methodical and sophisticated when they hunt. On their forays through their territory, they keep their ears pricked, the cat’s eyes attentively register the smallest movements at a distance of between two and six meters. Sometimes cats will spot a mouse hole or nest and smell that prey is there. Once they have spotted a prey animal, they lie in wait – and wait.
If the cat notices an animal that is too far away during a foray, it stalks very slowly. She presses her stomach close to the ground and keeps her upper body as still as possible, while her paws carry her forward almost silently. If it is close enough or if the prey comes out of its hiding place, it attacks. She jumps up, grabs the prey with her front paws, and digs her hind paws into the ground to get enough footing. Then she puts the animal in the right position to kill it with a well-aimed neck bite.