Cat brings mouse home - to teach us how to hunt

Created: 08/05/2022, 12:30 p.m

By: Lara-Sabrina Kiehl

Anyone who thinks it's a gift when cats bring their prey home is wrong!

The house tiger thinks something completely different.

Cats love to be in nature and to pursue their hunting instinct there.

However, their prey is often not only intended for them.

Cat owners know it for sure: If you want to come into the house, you often find a dead mouse on the doormat.

"Yuck" some think, while others are happy that their four-legged friend has brought them a gift.

At least that's what many think, but in reality there is something completely different behind it.

Cat brings mouse - to teach us how to hunt

Weaning cats from hunting is not possible.

But there are tricks to discourage them a bit.

(Iconic image) © blickwinkel/Imago

It is a common misconception that when cats bring birds or mice into the home, they are a gift to humans.

In principle, this behavior lies deep in their nature.

So far, this behavior has been explained in such a way that the animals only feel safe at home and therefore only eat their prey there.

However, findings also show that the animals want to teach us how to hunt.

Understanding Cats: 10 Signs Your Cat Loves You

View photo gallery

As reported by land animals, the velvet paws see hunting as essential for survival and act purely intuitively when they bring dead animals into the house.

After all, they have to teach their offspring to hunt so that they can survive.

And that's exactly what they want for us.

By the way: the older the offspring is, the more booty that is still alive is brought.

Cat brings mouse – but sometimes there are also birds

In addition to mice, cats also bring birds home.

To prevent this, a curfew for cats was even imposed in Walldorf.

Because there the crested larks, which have become rare, are to be protected.

But can unwanted hunting be prevented without locking up the cat?

A study of cats shows that cat roams are often no more than 50 meters away.

Since hunting is in the nature of cats, they cannot be broken from the habit.

It is also difficult to suppress the instinct.

Because feral cats are the greatest threat to birds, neutering is considered the best way to protect birds.

After all, wild cats are particularly good hunters because they depend on their prey.

This kitten chases mice on the iPad and melts hearts.

Cat Brings Mouse - Tips to Limit Chasing

To find out what can help house cats to deter them from hunting a bit, researchers have started experiments.

Here is an overview of the tests and the findings from them.

• Colorful Neck Ruff: Reduces the number of birds brought home by 42 percent.

  This method has a great effect.

  However, the ruff had no measured effect on the number of smaller mammals.

• Bell on the collar: This method had no measurable effect in the experiment.

  Presumably because cats can learn to move in such a way that the bell no longer makes a sound.

• Change of diet: In the group of cats whose diet consisted mainly of meat and contained neither grain nor animal meal, the catch rate fell particularly sharply.

  In comparison, the animals brought home 33 percent fewer small mammals and 44 percent fewer birds.

  The researchers suspect that cats are missing a certain amino acid or other micronutrient when they eat plant-based or other foods. 

• Cat rod with feather: In another experiment, some owners should keep their cats busy with a rod and feathers for five to ten minutes a day.

  The catch rate of small mammals fell by 35 percent as a result.

  However, this had no effect on bird trapping.

However, if you want to protect birds safely, you can't help but forgo the cat's freedom during the breeding season.

Because young and inexperienced birds are exposed to the four-legged hunters without any protection.

So-called ground-nesting birds are particularly endangered, such as the endangered crested lark.