Mary Allen
Cats are very skilled hunters and are always looking to improve their hunting skills. Shrews are popular exercise objects for velvet paws – owners of outdoor cats often find a dead shrew in their garden. But while house cats usually eat mice, the shrews remain untouched. Why is that?
There are more than 350 species of shrews worldwide, but they are only distantly related to mice. Some shrew species are already extinct, others are considered endangered. But don’t worry, the small mammals your cat catches are usually garden, field, or house shrews, which are quite common.
Shrew: Small Pest Exterminator
Unlike mice, shrews are not rodents but carnivores. Insects, larvae, and earthworms usually determine the diet of the small mammals, which are closely related to the mole and the hedgehog. Occasionally, a small vertebrate ends up on its plate. There are species that will even eat voles, toads, and small snakes twice their size.
Unlike mice, shrews are considered relatively useful animals because they also fight pests. There are no tame specimens of the small mammals that are suitable for keeping pets – this also distinguishes them from rodents.
Cats Catch Shrews But Don’t Eat Them
Shrews are solitary creatures and have rapid metabolisms. Therefore they are constantly looking for food and lure attentive cats into hunting with their quick movements. As soon as the shrew is caught, the fur nose realizes that she doesn’t like it at all. This is due to the musky secretion that shrews secrete to mark their territory.
The smell and taste of this secretion are unpleasant for the sensitive cat nose and gourmet cat palate – so she plays with her prey for a while for practice purposes and then leaves it there. Or she brings them to your favorite people as a gift.
Cat Ate Shrew: Is It Poisonous?
Only water shrews and swamp shrews have venom glands. Garden shrews and other species that are easily accessible to your cat are not poisonous. Even if cats happen to come across a water shrew or marsh shrew, there is no danger to their lives.
While a shrew bite is painful and paralyzing in small mammals and frogs, cats are usually large enough to escape unscathed. So you don’t have to worry if your velvet paw puts a freshly killed shrew on your doormat.