Cat chattering at a bird outside (vacuum activity)

Cat chattering at a bird outside (vacuum activity)

This is well known feline behaviour. We see a lot of domestic at doing this. They chatter through the window at a bird outside in the garden because they can't get at the bird and attack it. The chattering is the cat practising the killing nape of the neck bite. This is a specialist bite designed to kill birds. In this instance the cat is also vocalising at the same time in excitement. Normally it is just a straight chattering which is a rapid movement of the jaws and a general sense of excitement. It's called "vacuum activity". This is because the activity takes place as if the bird is in the cat's jaws but there's nothing there. The word "vacuum" means nothing there in this instance and as there is no bird there the term is appropriate.

The 'bird-killing-bite' inserts the canine teeth between the vertebrae, which snaps the spinal cord. This results in almost instant death. It has to be quick in order for the cat to avoid an injury from the bird's sharp beak or the powerful teeth of a rodent. The killing bite incapacitate prey. Cats are unable to control themselves when they see a bird. They become frustrated and do the next best thing which is vacuum activity. Note: my cat employs the throat bite for pigeons which suffocates them. This is the same bite as big cats when killing large prey animals. It is distressing for me. He's only killed three pigeons his entire life of 6 years.
 

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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