Cats Love to Hunt - It's in Their Genes

Cats are one of the best developed species when it comes to hunting. They are very effective predators, even domestic cats can hunt and eat more than 1000 species including mice, birds, rats, moles and fish. Their whole body is made for hunting, their senses are much better developed than those of humans. Cats can hear and see better, they have skills and instincts that helps them to catch their prey. If they didn't have these skills they would starve to death in a natural environment.

Cats can hunt a huge variety of animals. They eat very little animals like roaches but also bigger ones like rabbits or rats.
The fact that cats are not specialized on a small number of preys gives them a better chance to find an animal to hunt. If there is no tasty rabbit to hunt, they go for a mouse or a bird or even small animals like spiders, roaches or other insects.
In order to hunt these little fast insects, cats need to be also very fast as well as intelligent.

Cats use different strategies to hunt their prey like sneaking or pouncing. Cats have developed these skills throughout thousands of years and unlike us humans even domestic cats still have these skills. Humans had similar skills but we lost them due to civilization and industrialization.

There are cats hunting in groups like lions or tiger. As you can see in various wildlife reports on tv they are very successful by huntig in a group. Although there are cats hunting in groups most cats are single hunters. They simply sneak as close to their prey as possible. If they are close enough the prey has no chance to escape. In most cases cats hunt in woods or in areas with high grass, this way they can hide and not be seen by their prey. Cats are very silent when hunting, you will not hear them coming, they suddenly appear.

You can see some domestic cats presenting their victims to their owners. These trophies are kind of a present, they give you something back in return for feeding them. This is a highly social behavior and means that the cat has adopted the human owner in her social group. Sometimes this means that the cat wants to take care of you. This behavior can be seen in wildlife , cats help each other in case one was not successful at hunting.

Cats are specialized on killing and eating other animals. They have developed special teeth to kill the pray fast and shear it up in pieces that fit into the mouth. It is probably good to give your cat raw meat once in a while for a better development of her teeth. This natural food is healthy for the cat because it provides needed amino acids, taurine, vitamines and quatiy fat.

Cats can not live on a vegetarian diet, they are carnivores so they need their meat. They need a high percentage of amino acids and vitamins provided by the meat. A vegetarian diet can not provide enough amino acids, it contains too many carbohydrates and other low quality ingredients. Feed your cat with a high quality meat or special cat food. Make sure the cat food does not consist of too many carbohydrates or low quality ingredients.

If you want to be nice to your cat provide her a way to get outside the house. You cat can then develop its natural instincts and behavior. It has a chance to develop its skills at hunting and sneaking. Your cat will love the nature and it will be thanful for getting outside. Maybe your cat will come home with a little present for you, something like a bird or a mouse...

If you life in a city where there is no possibility for your cat to go outside then at least play with her at home to develop her skills. This can be done in several ways, read about it in other articles on my website.

Enjoy having a cat!