To save birds should we kill off cats (National Geographic)?

A National Geographic author, Noah Strycker, titled their recent article: "To save birds should we kill off cats?"

What kind of title is that? I don't think you could write a more absurd title about domestic and stray cats than that. I guess you know what the article is about; it's about the predation of birds by domestic, stray and feral cats all over the world. This topic comes up all the time. And my response comes up all the time because what they say annoys me.

They rely on numerous studies about cat predation on wildlife and they come to the general conclusion that domestic cats and stray cats kill billions of wild animals including precious birds which are more precious to humans than mice (speciesism).

But the studies are in quite small areas and you can't conclusively decide that bird populations are under threat or that anyone bird species is currently under threat of being made extinct by domestic and stray cat predation. The studies don't conclude that. In fact, in the UK, the RSPB, some time ago, said that there was no evidence that bird species where under general threat of extinction by cat predation.

We don't like to see it cats killing birds. It is an aspect of domestic cat ownership which is unwanted. We wish that all domestic cats were cuddly, furry non-predator creatures who kept us company and never had any desire to kill but unfortunately they are top predators and we domesticated them with their approval.

They are our responsibility. We created all the feral cats on the planet. We created all of stray cats on the planet. As mentioned we domesticated the cat. We are responsible and if we don't like the fact that they kill birds then we don't just kill all cats to resolve that problem we look to ourselves to resolve it humanely and responsibly.

And on that topic, you will find one very firm conclusion about the loss of bird species and the overall threat to wildlife in general. It all comes from humans. Human activity. Global warming caused by human activity. The building of human settlements destroying habitat.

There are no studies which compare the number of birds indirectly or directly killed by humans and the number of birds indirectly or directly killed by cats. But if there was such a study I would like to propose that humans kill far more birds than cats. Most of it indirectly but sometimes directly like building tall buildings into which migrating birds fly and die en masse.

But even if you go to the studies which conclude that a particular bird species on an island somewhere has been made extinct by domestic cats turned feral, you have to go to the human and their behaviour to find blame. These people imported domestic cats to an island and set them free where they procreated and became feral. But for that they would have been no predation of birds on those islands.

All invasive species including the feral cat, for example, in Australia, have been created through human activity. Humans create invasive species because they transport them from one continent to another. From one country to another.

How do you think hippopotamuses arrived in South America and started to procreate? Because a drug baron in that country decided to import hippopotamuses into his private zoo. When this drug baron was captured and put into prison for life, the zoo was abandoned and the hippopotamuses were freed and procreated. South America now has a very peculiar invasive species: hippopotamuses. Point made. Humans have created invasive species because humans are the only animal that can travel so widely and freely across oceans and bring other species with them either deliberately or accidentally.

So to blame the cat for devastating bird predation is incorrect anyway and it is a distortion of the truth to imply that cats kill birds and humans don't. If we are to kill any predator to protect birds it should be the top predator on the planet: the human. That would be equally absurd. Nobody is proposing that we kill humans to protect birds.

What we should be proposing is that human behaviour should be altered to protect wildlife in general including birds. At present there is no attempt whatsoever to do this at scale. There will be small projects in various countries but the general trend or tenor of human activity is to destroy nature and therefore animals that live within nature and that will go on for the indefinite future.

So this article on the respected online magazine National Geographic is idiotic and the headline is click bait. That's why I am addressing it. It needs to be counteracted with a counterargument. What's your argument?

You may know, incidentally, that in Australia they do think and believe that they can exterminate all feral cats by shooting them or poisoning them! So on that continent they actually agree with this National Geographic journalist. They think it's feasible to wipe out the feral cat population in Australia. However, they don't know how many feral cats there are. They don't know exactly where they all are. In killing feral cats with poison they kill other animals. Their task is impossible. As they don't know how many feral cats there are they can't assess how many birds are killed by cats. They say they can but they can't. More idiotic behaviour in my opinion. And it's cruel and inhumane. It's entirely wrong. Because, as mentioned, it totally ignores the origin of the feral cat problem: people.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Arguments for curbing cats' right to roam and counterarguments

Overview: this is an argument between allowing domestic cats to express their natural desires such as being crepuscular hunters and keeping them much safer indoors, away from road traffic, predators and poisons but unable to behave naturally. 

Which argument wins? Safety versus natural behaviour?

Let’s explore the arguments for curbing domestic cats’ right to roam:

1. Safety Concerns:

   • Cats who have unrestricted outdoor access are at higher risk of road traffic accidents, injuries, and predation by other animals.
   • Exposure to outdoor hazards such as disease, parasites, and toxins can compromise their well-being .

2. Wildlife Impact:

   • Free-roaming cats are natural hunters, and their instinct to catch small animals and birds can have a significant impact on local wildlife populations.
   • They contribute to the decline of songbirds and other small mammals, which is a concern for conservation efforts.

3. Public Health and Disease Transmission:

   • Cats allowed to roam freely can spread diseases to both humans and wildlife. This includes diseases like toxoplasmosis.
   • Their interactions with wildlife can create a pathway for disease transmission.

4. Cat Overpopulation and Abandonment:

   • The lack of control over outdoor cats has led to an ongoing “cat crisis” in many countries, including the UK.
   • Thousands of lost, abandoned, and unwanted cats contribute to the excess cat population.
   • Charities spend significant resources trying to repatriate them and combat indiscriminate breeding.

5. Perceived Nuisance:

   • Cats’ natural behaviors, such as scratching, toileting habits, and hunting instincts, can be perceived as a nuisance by some people.
   • Their reputation as pests often leads to negative sentiments toward them.

6. Ethical Considerations:

   • While some cat owners feel that restricting their cats’ movements is unnatural, there is a need to balance their freedom with responsible ownership.
   • Restricting outdoor access may be necessary to protect both cats and wildlife .

In summary, while cats’ right to roam is legally protected in many places, it’s essential to consider the impact on safety, wildlife, public health, and responsible pet ownership. Finding a balance that ensures cat welfare while minimizing negative consequences is crucial. 🐾

Counterarguments

Let’s explore the arguments for preserving domestic cats’ right to roam:

1. Legal Status and Freedom:

   • Unlike most other captive animals, domestic cats have the wonderful status under the laws of many countries, including the UK, of the “right to roam.”
   • In the UK, cats do not have to be securely confined and can roam without fear of legal repercussions for their actions.
   • They cannot trespass, so neither the cats nor their owners are liable for any damage, soiling, or nuisance caused by their roaming.

2. Safety and Well-Being:

   • While indoor cats tend to live longer (often 15+ years), indoor/outdoor cats probably have a lifespan that is a little shorter due to various threats such as road accidents, killed by predators and poisoning by criminals.
   • Allowing cats to roam freely satisfies their natural instincts and contributes to their overall well-being.

3. Less Likely to Cause Harm:

   • The law recognizes that cats are less likely to cause injury to people or damage property compared to some other animals e.g. dogs. 
   • This distinction justifies their right to roam without strict confinement.

4. Enhancing Reputation and Well-Being:

   • Some cat owners feel that restricting their cats’ movements is unnatural. There is a need to let the domestic cat express its hunting desires. These are at the core of feline behaviour.
   • However, they are generally in favour of restricting their right to reproduce, which can help manage the cat population.

5. Balancing Freedom and Responsibility:

   • While preserving cats’ freedom is essential, responsible ownership involves finding a balance.
   • Encouraging neutering, vaccination, and responsible breeding practices can address the drawbacks associated with unrestricted roaming.

In summary, the debate around cats’ right to roam involves weighing their natural instincts, safety, and impact on the environment. Finding a middle ground that protects both cats and their surroundings is crucial. 🐾

Sources: various including: The Conversation, Psyhology Today and Cats.org.uk.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

You are part Neanderthal if you wake up when your cat is active at dawn

The title seems bizarre but there is an element of truth about it. Even more than an element of truth because the title is based around a study about Neanderthal genes which can be found in modern day humans.

And, the study reports that Neanderthals were early risers in order to improve their hunting success rate. In other words, the Neanderthal genes in some us affects our circadian rhythms making us early risers.

We know that domestic cats are most active at dawn and dusk and sometimes at night and indeed sometimes during the day but they are known to be crepuscular which means active at dawn and dusk.

And if you have these precious Neanderthal genes you are likely to be active at dawn which means that you are likely to wake up at dawn and do something at 4 AM in the morning which, by the way, is what I tend to do now that I am an old man and I want a bit of peace and quiet to write articles for my website.

It helps if you have Neanderthal genes as you are more in sync with your cat. It helps cat caregiving therefore.

Neanderthals lived at higher latitudes than our ancestors who migrated from Africa. In other words they were further away from the equator which meant that the days were longer in summer and shorter in winter.

Neanderthals were able to make the most of the daylight hours to maximise their hunting successes. To achieve that they were early risers.

The study is new in that it is one of the first studies to look at the circadian rhythms of humans and to see whether there was a genetic reason for differences between modern humans and are forerunners. They found 16 variants linked with greater 'morningness' or the propensity to rise early in the morning.

The study scientists suggest that modern people might have inherited Neanderthal "circadian variants."

Most of the variants in circadian rhythms and sleep preferences concerns an increased propensity to being alert in the early hours of the morning. And it's consistent with research on other animals which are adapted to living at a high latitude just as Neanderthals did.

The study is published in Genome Biology and Evolution.

So in conclusion, I will say that I have Neanderthal genes inside me because I am active at 4 AM in the morning although this is dependent partly upon the fact that I'm old and therefore sleep badly. Don't think badly of Neanderthals. They were much smarter than they are generally given credit for today.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Couple of Bengal-mix cats bring in 2 pigeons, 2 voles and a rabbit in one day

This lady and her husband have lived with cats for a long time, she says on the mumsnet.com website. They know cats but they were unprepared for the hunting prowess of a couple of Bengal-mix cats that they adopted. She says that they have brought into the home 'at least 3 dead creatures daily including frogs/toads, rodents, birds and rabbits'. And as mentioned in the title, in one day the pair caught and delivered to their owner 5 animals.

Bengal cat. This is NOT one of the cats in the story. The photo is here to illustrate the page. Photo: Twitter.

Distressing comes to mind; and messy. Think of the feathers all over the kitchen! And it is not good to see wildlife so mercilessly killed.

BUT - and it is a but in capitals for a reason - there is almost nothing you can do about it IF you decide that your cats must be indoor/outdoor cats because they've insisted on it by howling and meowing at you until you give in.

Sometimes when you try and keep cats inside full-time it proves to be impossible because they make such a fuss about it. And if you are sensitive to your cat's wellbeing you can't ignore the plaintiff meows of your cat begging you to allow them to go outside. Or the mope-around the home looking morose.

Bengals are particularly good predators

This is the great dilemma. Cats are topline predators in general. There are none better. If you live in the countryside as appears to be the case with this woman and her family there is plenty of wildlife to be had by a Bengal mix.

On the basis that these cats are genuine Bengal mix it does not surprise me that they are voracious hunters and killers as the Bengal is a wildcat hybrid. They have some diluted wild cat genes in them. This colours their character.

Wild cats are sharper and more hunting driven than their relatively docile true domestic cat. As she is finding out, if you adopt a wild cat hybrid and let them go outside there will be death and mayhem especially in a countryside environment.

Solution?

RELATED: Noticeable, brightly coloured, cat collar protects birds from cat predation (47 – 54% reduction).

She has not mentioned one possibility: placing a brightly coloured collar around her cats' necks. These are manufactured commercially and have been proved to be quite successful as they warn birds of an impending attack. There is a product on the market called Birdsbesafe®.

Image: MikeB

But they don't protect land-based prey animals such as rodents. Bells on collars don't work that well because the cat wearing them compensates by keeping their bodies still to prevent the bell ringing as they approach the prey.

The only other way is a big and expensive compromise which might not work either: a customised garden enclosure which allows the cats to enjoy the outdoors but which protects a lot more wildlife.

That said Bengal cats are very athletic and they may be able to get out.

Like I said there is not a lot one can do about this. It's natural behaviour. If the lady wants her cats to behave naturally and express their natural desires (raw cat mojo as Jackson Galaxy calls it) she'll have to accept this. The collar mentioned (if she and the cats can put up with it) should reduce the kill count.

2 reasons why domestic cats 'play' with prey (and it is not because they are psychopathic)

You might know the 2 reasons why your domestic cat - if she is allowed to go outside - 'plays' with the mouse she catches but I'd like to play with the topic for a while. Sorry about the pun. 

2 reasons why domestic cats 'play' with prey (and it is not because they are psychopathic). Image: MikeB.

The first reason is that most domestic cats don't really get enough hunting time. Hunting is in their DNA, and they need to express this desire. For indoor cats it is in the form of play-hunting. When a cat is able to successfully catch a mouse, they want to extend the fun as long as possible and so they toy with the poor animal both before they die and after death. It looks horrible, callous and psychopathic to some humans, but we can't measure cats by reference to human characteristics. 

Cats are insensitive to the pain they cause. They are insensitive to the emotions of the prey animals that they terrorise. We must avoid anthropomorphising cats. So, the first reason why cats play with prey is to extend the excitement of the hunt and the kill because they don't get enough of it. 

Hunting becomes more than an act of survival. It is playing out the hunting instinct and as you know cats hunt when they are not hungry.

The second, instinctive, reason is linked to the first. Many domestic cats get a little bit out of practice on their innate hunting skills and want to make sure that they don't suffer a nasty bite from a highly defensive and athletic little mouse. And so, they bat, slap and toss around the poor creature using their paws thereby avoiding getting their head near the animal, which exhausts the mouse and makes them less of a threat in terms of acquiring an injury. 

Cats want to kill mice with a bite to the head but that exposes them to a bite from mice. The safer way to kill is to exhaust them and this has the added advantage of taking longer. As there is no need to eat the mouse taking longer over the kill is not a problem. In the wild, the domestic cat's ancestor would not mess around so much. They get on with killing and eating.

Rats certainly can harm cats. You don't see domestic cats playing with birds so much or hardly at all because they are harder to catch and less of a danger to the cat. Also, when birds are caught by a cat they don't respond in the same exciting way as mice. 

They just try and fly off. Mice gallop along the skirting board and hide. Cats love that. They love to prod and poke their paws into tight places where the mouse has found sanctuary. And one cat hunting strategy is to sit and wait by a burrow. When a mouse hides under the sideboard it is the same thing to a cat.

The whole hunting process for a domestic cat is like a play - another awful pun.

Indoor/outdoor cat becomes very hungry in the winter

On social media, a cat owner tells us that she has lived with her cat for about a year.  During the summer months, her cat is very much an indoor/outdoor cat. She spends all day, every day outside and prefers to sleep outside under a certain plant in her back garden. She says that "during summer she was out all day barely eating her food". She's not sure but she says "maybe she was catching mice".

Indoor/outdoor cat. This is not the cat referred to in the article. Image: by Sa Ka from Pixabay.

RELATED: Are indoor or indoor/outdoor cats healthier?

Since the weather has turned and become much less agreeable for an indoor/outdoor cat she's become more "homely". She does not like the rain very much. And "she is suddenly so hungry!"

Whatever she feeds her, she demands more. She says that "some days I break and give her another tiny bit of biscuits or another day one of the kids got excited and fed her another packet".

Well, the woman is providing her cat with only dry cat food and not enough of it, it seems to me. The received wisdom of cat experts is that this is incorrect. Good quality wet cat food is better than dry cat food as it contains more water (70% compared to around 10%). Domestic cats do not drink enough water to compensate for the lack of water in dry cat food. This leads them to being mildly dehydrated. Therefore, cats must be provided with wet cat food.

As to the fact that she is suddenly very hungry this must be because she is a great hunter and during the summer months, she obtains most of her food through hunting, probably mice, near where she lives. And clearly, she does not bring her food back into the home. Not all cats do this. And/or she was being fed by a neighbour but the hunting theory is almost certainly the correct one.

A lot of domestic cat hunting takes place out of sight and out of mind of their owners. This applies to all domestic cats allowed outside. Although, we know too, that many cats like to bring their 'kills' inside the home, extend the hunt inside the home and then finally kill and eat their prey in a quiet corner of their "den".

The question on the social media site (mumsnet.com) regarding this cat is that she is a "very hungry cat". That's a question because she is asking "why is my cat suddenly very hungry?". The answer is she's not hunting any more in the winter months and therefore requires feeding. And she is not being fed enough and the wrong food by the sound of it.

REALATED: 16 tips on cat worms and deworming.

A side issue is that she should be dewormed regularly to get rid of endoparasites that she is ingesting with the mice. It is almost certain that she has worms after summer months of mice hunting.

My cat brings a magpie into the home and there is bird poo and pee everywhere

My cat is a great hunter. Recently, he caught two mice within 60 minutes and devoured them under my bed in the dead of night. I heard it all. He has caught pigeons and now he has brought a magpie into the home. The reason why he is able to catch a magpie is partly my fault. I feed squirrels. Squirrels chuck a lot of squirrel feed onto the ground. Pigeons and magpies eat this food from the ground. My cat stalks the birds and he has regrettably on occasions caught them. I can't do much about it and I don't want to stop feeding squirrels. Although I do warn them when he goes out so I do my bit to stop him attacking birds.

My cat brings a magpie into the home and there is bird poo and pee everywhere

On this occasion I was watching television and I heard a commotion. It was noisy and it sounded disturbing. I got up and immediately saw that a magpie was flying around my kitchen banging into walls, windows and the bifold doors that lead out to the garden. While the bird was doing this it was pooing and peeing over everything.

I frantically opened the bifold doors. The magpie was constantly charging against them and suddenly there was air and no glass and so he passed through into the back garden where he clung onto a fence for a while, looking over his shoulder at my charging cat. He then flew to another part of the fence and eventually flew out of the garden looking unwell but he made it.

I am sure that he was injured to a certain extent but I would hope that he recovered and is now all right. It took me 20 minutes to clean up while my cat looked on completely nonplussed by all the events. It is just another little episode in the life of a cat caregiver. I even found a scratch on the hardwood floor that wasn't there before. I'm sure it was caused by the magpie as it panicked desperately to get out in complete terror.

When a bird charges against a glass window that hard and does it over and over again with loud thumps it has to be desperately frightened. I'm surprised that they don't knock themselves out. Sometimes they do.

When peace returned to the home, I thought that it might have been a good idea to have filmed the whole thing but that is not my style. I'm not a natural video maker. My first thought is not to exploit the situation and make a video. My first thought is animal welfare; on this occasion to get the bird out of there. This is instinctive and therefore there is no video record of this minor but disturbing event.

Should we genetically engineer cats to curb their urge to kill?

Not long ago I proposed genetically engineering feral cats to make them infertile as an alternative to TNR programs which includes spaying and neutering. But it might be a better idea to genetically engineer feral cats. That would seem to be a more elegant way to control the feral cat population. I don't know whether it's been discussed but what is also being discussed is genetically engineering cats to modify their behaviour, to stop their urge to kill.

Photo: Pixabay

That would mean altering the most fundamental aspect of a cat's behaviour which is to hunt, stalk, attack, kill and eat prey animals. In the case of domestic cats that usually means small mammals such as voles, mice and even rats occasionally (plus reptiles, birds and insects). I'm not sure if it is viable. I'm not a good enough scientist to decide how you'd go about doing that.

The obvious initial downside is animal testing. I can see animal testing taking place which would be cruel. I could not justify it. I don't believe that any animl testing is ethically and justifiable today. It is time to stop it.

You can achieve character changes to a certain extent by selective breeding. This is breeding through artificial selection so you only select those cats which are very passive and mild mannered with a known trait of a disinterest in hunting. That might be hard to believe but some domestic cat hardly hunt at all whereas others are obsessed with it such as my cat!

The average domestic cat will certainly enjoy hunting to a certain extent but it would seem fair to suggest that we could select the least motivated hunters and selectively breed from them to the point where you only had domestic cats that were disinterested in what should be their primary activity: hunting.

Brief research tells me that that scientists genetically engineer animals by introducing a beneficial gene into their DNA. I suppose, therefore, it would mean scientist deciding which genes and on which chromosomes behavioural traits such as hunting are located. 

Then they could remove those genes and replace them with the genes of a cat with known traits including a disinterest in hunting. I'm guessing wildly at this point. But the concept of genetically engineering cats to modify their behaviour to eliminate hunting is fascinating but it seems to be a bridge too far at this stage. What do you think?

2 ways to reduce your cat's hunting behaviour

There are two ways to reduce your cat's hunting behaviour and they are: providing your cat with the highest quality wet cat food which is grain-free and playing with your cat as much as possible. The advice emerges from the conclusion of a sensible study by scientists of 335 participating domestic cats in 219 households.

Feeding domestic cats wet food which is grain-free and which derives protein from meat plus play reduces predation on birds and mammals. Image: the scientists who conducted the study and reproduced here under an implied license.

The cats were split into two groups and strategies to curb their hunting behaviour. They discovered that feeding the cats with a high quality commercial food in which the protein came from meat and not plants, i.e. it was grain-free reduced the number of prey animals that the cat brought home by 36%.

Also, playing with a domestic cat for between five and ten minutes daily resulted in a 25% reduction in the same behaviour. The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

Martina Cecchetti, a PhD student of Exeter University, who conducted the study, said that despite some foods claiming to be a complete diet, they might leave the cats with a nutritional deficiency in micronutrients which compels them to hunt.

Another member of the study team, Professor Robbie McDonald, of the same university, said: "Our study shows that with entirely non-invasive, non-restrictive methods, owners can change what the cats themselves want to do."

They also concluded that when a domestic cat wears a bell on their collar to warn birds that they were being stalked by the cat, there was no discernible reduction in the birds brought back home. Further, they decided that the brightly coloured collars that you can purchase for domestic cats to reduce predation on birds were effective by 42% but they did not have any impact on predation on mammals such as mice. In other words, there was a 42% reduction in the birds brought home when the collars were worn. I have an article on that you can read by clicking here.

The study is important in two respects (1) it possibly highlights an issue with high quality complete diet wet foods, which needs to be further investigated and no doubt will, (2) there is, it seems, a connection between appetite and hunting desire.

We have constantly heard the mantra that a domestic cat's hunger is completely dissociated from their desire to hunt. But this study indicates that there is a connection between what a cat eats and the desire to hunt. And essentially it seems to say that if you provide a cat with the highest possible wet cat food they will hunt less.

It is thought that some cat foods contain protein from soy which may leave a micronutrient deficiency which the cats try and make up through hunting.

There is a general concern from both sides of the divide i.e. from cat lovers and cat haters about the predation by domestic cats on wildlife because the environment and the protection of wildlife has become a priority in the minds of many people. 

Therefore, the domestic and feral cat is under fire from environmentalists, nature lovers and ornithologists, and indeed animal lovers of all kinds. The common advice is to keep your cat inside at all times, but this also produces a deficiency in their lifestyle because cat owners tend not to substitute the natural behaviour they enjoy by hunting with play.

This is borne out in the study because one third of the cat owners participating in the study indicated that they would not continue to play with their cats as they did in the study but they will continue to feed them with premium cat food. There is therefore a reluctance to play with domestic cats. That's because it is boring for the person. Notwithstanding that, it is highly enjoyable and necessary for the indoor cat.

Domestic cat has a slow brain but rapid reflexes

I don't want to malign the domestic cat because I love the domestic cat. I'm trying to be realistic. I say that the domestic cat has a slow brain to which I could add "relative to the normal human brain". By this I mean that when the domestic cat has to process responses to human requests they do so more slowly than for humans. No big deal and nothing unusual there. There is no urgency in their response but there is an incredible speed in their instincts.

Domestic cat looks disdainfully at photographer. Photo: Pixabay.

Let me try and give you an illustration. You have trained your cat to come on your call. Your cat knows their name and they respond to being called by their name. But they take, relatively speaking, quite a long time to respond sometimes. This is why there was a splurge of articles not so long ago, by Internet journalist, stating how domestic cats don't respond to being called to come, but if they do come they do so disdainfully and with some reluctance.

I even recall a study on this which supported this notion. But in my opinion it is not a question of domestic cats refusing to come on being called, it is a question of the time it takes for them to process the call and to figure out that they should come. They look rather blankly and aimlessly during this time. Then off they go.

Conversely, in stark contrast, their natural hunting instincts are super rapid. Their instinct to chase prey emerges incredibly rapidly. If, for example, you wave your hand around your cat's head and he or she happens to be one of those domestic cats who likes to hunt and is perhaps on the young side, he will probably have a swipe at your hand within a nanosecond.

The rapid instinctive movements of domestic cats is renowned. This is why when handling a cat, even one you have lived with all your life, you have to think about these instincts and how they will play out in the mind of your cat. The domestic cat's wilder side, as we know, is right near the surface. It can be motivated, triggered into action with the right signals from their human companion.

The moral of this article is that (1) people should be patient when asking their cat to do something. They may understand but they may take their time in responding and (2) people be aware of the wild cat beneath the domestic one. It comes out in a flash and their instinctive, inherited hunting movements triggered by fast moving objects and the right sounds spring into action without notice. It is wise to be aware of it and respect the cat for these fantastic skills.

And don't expect a cat to be like a human family member even if you regard them as family members as many people do. This is where the idea of cats' not responding to a call comes from. They expect a human response or a dog's response. Dog's repond faster than cats because it is instinctive to them as they are pack animals.

Glorious looking cat on tip toes spots prey in long grass

Standing on my tippy toes — don’t I look like a tiny human? 🤣😂🍃 pic.twitter.com/75V3l4z5sC

— Violet (@Roxykkk) March 21, 2020

Remember that sometimes videos disappear and if that has happens I am sorry. This cat is stupendous. I love the way she/he is on tip toes to look into the grass for that elusive mouse. The behavior reminds me of the serval in Africa using her huge ears to detect small mammals in the wispy grasses of the African plains.

This cat must be purebred and is probably an American Maine Coon. The coat is silver mackerel tabby.

This is a screenshot in case the video disappears:

How do margays get their food?

The question in the title asks how do margays hunt prey and then catch prey. This is my interpretation of the question in the title. It needs to be said right away that the margay is an incredibly agile small wild cat species which has physical adaptations allowing the cat to climb trees with great agility. You can read more about that on this page.

There's not been much research and very few observations of the hunting behaviour of wild margays. The limited research and information indicates that this cat species does much of its hunting above the ground.

In Guyana it was reported that the margay feeds on large arboreal mammals such as porcupines and capuchin monkeys. Although this report is unreliable. Recent analysis of the stomach contents and faeces of the margay indicates that they feed mainly on small rodents, insects, fruit and birds.

Most of the margay's prey are arboreal (living in trees) and nocturnal (active by night). However, this cat species also hunts on the ground.

One scientist radio collared a margay travelling from one hunting area to another on the ground. They probably kill whatever suitable terrestrial prey they encounter while moving between hunting areas.

In Brazil another scientists watched the margay spent 20 minutes trying to catch a bird. The bird was 6 meters up in a bamboo club. The cat was in the bamboo clump himself and when the bird flew off the cat came to the ground. The same scientists recorded a margay eating an amphibian beneath the tree.

In Venezuelan, the stomach contents of 2 margays contained the remains of three spiny pocket mice, a cane rat and a squirrel. Of these three items of prey, the squirrel was the only one which is arboreal.

In Chiapas, Mexico it has been reported that the margay preyed on field mice, rabbits and young pacas and agoutis. These are all ground dwelling animals.

In Panama, a margay's stomach contents contained the remains of a common opossum.

In Brazil the stomach contents of another margay contained the remains of a guinea pig, the fur and bones of a water rat and the feathers of a tinamou.

In Belize it was found that the climbing rat was the most common element of the margay's diet. It occurred in almost half of the 27 faeces collected.

Fruit occurred in 14% of the samples of faeces taken from margays in Belize. Insects were found in the third of the faeces (scats).

As to the actual method of hunting and killing prey this would be very similar to the domestic cat's methods which means stalking, pouncing and then killing often by a bite to the nape of the neck to sever the spinal cord.

I hope that answers the question in the title.

Source: Myself and Wild Cats Of The World by the Sunquists.

Prey of Domestic Cats (average frequency of mammals, birds, reptiles)

Average frequency of occurrence of mammals, birds and reptiles in the diet of the domestic cat based on gut or scat (feces) analysis in relation to cats in the northern hemisphere, meaning Europe and N.America combined, and on islands with and without seabirds.

Here is a spreadsheet with the data:



This is important information because there is often a lot of discussion about the domestic cat preying on wildlife. These figures are based on a large number of studies.

"What is observed locally is not necessarily representative on a wider scale"

"estimates of total predation....are meaningless from an ecological point of view unless put into relation to the entire population of that prey species and its annual production rate"

"Careful studies are still needed before 'condemning' all cats to an indoor life, or even forbidding them as pets."

(quotes from the book referred to as the source for the figures).

Why does my cat bring in live mice?

Why does my cat bring in live mice? This behaviour mimics the behaviour of a wild cat mother who brings her prey back to the den for her cubs to interact with, perhaps kill, perhaps play with but in any event the prey is brought back to the den to introduce the cubs to the hunting process.

It is part of the training process. Perhaps sometime in the near future after this event the mother will take her cubs out of the den on a hunting trip and that would be the next stage in her training of her cubs to hunt prey. Some people say that a domestic cat sees a human companion as one of her kittens when they bring home prey. I don't think this is the case. Domestic cats see us as other domestic cats albeit much larger.

It is not always the case that the mother leaves the prey for her cubs to play with and kill. Perhaps she will kill the prey herself and this sometimes happens with domestic cats when they bring mice and other prey home. They may kill and eat a mouse once brought back to the home.

Also, it is not always the case that a cat brings home live mice. A cat that is preying on wildlife outside in the garden or in the vicinity may well kill the prey where it has been attacked. Indeed the cat may eat or partially prey at the site of the attack.

Stop Estimating Wildlife Killed by Cats!

We have another shocking report that has been hyped up in the press today (31st Jan 2012).  This time Nature Communications have published estimates animal kills by domestic and feral cats in the USA over a year. The figures come from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Photo by Kai Hendry

They say that 3.7 billion birds and 20.7 billion small mammals are killed yearly by cats. However, they constantly refer to "estimates"or "thoughts"...

• "far exceeds all prior estimates..."
• "The researchers estimated..."
• "There are thought to be ....."

We don't know how many feral cats there are the in the USA and by far the biggest "estimated" impact on wildlife comes from feral cats.

How can scientists produce accurate figures if they really don't have any idea about the number of feral cats in the USA? No one has ever done a proper count of feral cat numbers. And what about the benefits of feral cats?

The researchers say that cats kill "mice, voles, rabbits and shrews". They also kill rats. How many rats are killed by feral cats in one year in the USA? No one has addressed that point.

The scientific community and the online newspaper work together in a most disagreeable way to distort the image of the cat and create adverse publicity that encourages the nastier sort of person to up the rate at which they shoot feral cats. It also encourages a devaluing of the domestic cat in the eyes of non-cat owners and irresponsible cat owners.

It really is time that scientists stopped estimating things as important as cat kill rates. It is careless science. The people who write up these reports cannot place any value on the cat. If they did they would not be so careless.

They say, "There are thought to be 30-80million such cats living wild in the US...." One figure is less than half the other! Neither could be anywhere near correct. This is not science. It is journalist nonsense.

Domestic Cat Predatory Behavior

Expectations, knowledge and education are important if you keep a cat. If you have a reasonable knowledge of cat behavior and sensible expectations based on that knowledge, it is highly likely that you will have a successful relationship with your cat and that you will respect your cat and cats generally.

Take predatory behavior. It is said that the cat is the world's most skilled predator. It does not matter if we are referring to wild or domestic cats. In the wild, cats have varying degrees of success when capturing prey. Sometimes the success rate is unexpectedly low reflecting the difficulty of catching prey. Apparently feral and domestic cats have a success rate as low as 17% when hunting rabbits (Corbett 1979). See hunting success of wild cats.

You can see the predator in the cat when she pokes a pen around a desk and it falls onto the floor - it is fun to see that or a bit irritating. However,  when your indoor/outdoor cat comes in with a mouse and shows it to you after playing with it all over your hardwood floor, you might become a bit squeamish or annoyed. A reason that some people find this irritating is because they have probably fed their cat the best available commercially manufactured food. Their cat is not hungry. They think their cat gets a kick out of cruelly playing with and then killing a cute mouse. It can be distressing. I understand that.

It helps to accept our cat's predatory behavior if we understand that the motivation to hunt and the feeling of being hungry are separated in a cat.

Cats are finely tuned animals that respond to stimuli that tells them that prey is in the vicinity. The cat will automatically respond to these stimuli such as the high pitched sounds of a mouse and rustling in undergrowth. This automatic response to the presence of prey means that the cat is hunting when at maximum strength as opposed to being hungry and perhaps underfed, thereby in a possibly weakened condition. Killing prey surplus to requirements is a proactive measure in the interests of survival. We should respect cats for that.

Desmond Morris says that the domestic cat plays with his prey as a cautionary measure and/or because the domestic cat has less opportunity to hunt and so extends the process. Some wild cats also play with prey; servals come to mind (they kill 4,000 rodents per annum).  Batting the mouse all over the floor is safer for the cat than biting it in the nape of the neck to kill it.

Female domestic cats will bring prey back to your home as an instinctive desire to teach offspring how to hunt and kill prey. We should be proud of her rather than annoyed.

In the modern, sterilized human world we need to get a bit rough and raw when we keep a domestic cat that goes outside. Despite 9,500 years of domestication and adaptation the domestic cat is wild cat heart.

There is much debate about the effect of the domestic cat on wildlife. The effect is often exaggerated especially by bird conservationists but there must be some effect and it would be nice to reduce the predation of wildlife by the domestic cat. This can be done by keeping the cat in at all times or at least at dawn and dusk, the preferred times, it is thought, for a domestic cat to hunt. However, is that fair on the cat; to prevent the expression of entirely natural behavior? In addition, restricting natural innate activity can lead to stress and unwanted behavior such as aggression. Clearly a good substitute to predation needs to be found and that is play that we manage. However, with the best will in the world, I don't think people want to play with their cat for long periods or at all. That is why manufacturers invent devices that do the work for you. Domestic cat predatory behavior can certainly present problems.

Associated: Domestic Cat and Mouse Picture.

The Effect of Cats on Wildlife

The domestic cat is considered an "introduced species" or "invasive species". It is a carnivorous predator. If left to roam or become feral, it can have a negative effect on local species through (a) competition - competing and succeeding in preying on wildlife that is a common prey (b) predation - preying on other species (c) interbreeding - cross breeding with wild cats diluting the wild cat purebred stock - example: Scottish Wildcat (d) disease  - transmitting disease to other wild species of animal. The cat has been accused of the extinction of native species.

Australia is the place where the feral and domestic cat is most commonly attacked in the media for the above reasons. Australians prefer pets other than cats. However despite the continued debate and publicity "the role of feral cats in the decline and extinction of Australian mammalian species remains unclear".(Burbridge & Manly 2002 as referred to in The Welfare of Cats ISBN 978-1-4020-6143-1).

Human activity causing habitat destruction through "over-exploitation of resources, pollution and introduction of exotic species" is the biggest cause of species extinction. The human is the world's most prolific and destructive invasive species. The destruction of rainforest in places such as Borneo and Indonesia are well documented and have an enormously destructive effect on wildlife including rare wild cats such as the clouded leopard and bay cat. This is one of a multitude of examples. "Cats have not been shown to be the primary cause of the loss of native species on mainland continents" (Mead 1982, Mitchell & Beck 1992 and as referred to in The Welfare of Cats).

In the UK the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says "there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK-wide" (see RSPB webpage and my comment: Domestic Cats Do Not Decimate Bird Populations and How Feral Cats Affect Wildlife).

Cats are attacked because they are considered an invasive species. They are "targeted for control measures even when there is little evidence to support this" (The Welfare of Cats page 162). An example is blaming cats for the loss of three species of petrel in New Zealand (Little Barrier Island). There was no evidence that the petrels were ever on the island! (ref: Veitch 2001 and Girardet et al 2001). More recently the impact of other species such as ferrets and stoats have been considered in a more balanced appraisal.

There is no doubt in my mind that studies on the impact of cats on wildlife have not been conclusive but have been hijacked by interested parties to promote vested interests. A more balanced approach needs to be taken and more respect afforded to the feral cat.

How domesticated are cats?

ANSWER: Very domesticated but without socialization during the first seven weeks of life the domestic cat will walk away from the 9,000 years of domestication of the cat and behave in a way that is similar to the Northeastern wildcat (African wildcat) of today. However, the domestic cat cannot be as effective a hunter and survivor as the wildcat. There is too much distance between domestication and today (9,000 years approximately).

The point, though, is that the domestic cat is not far from a wildcat. They are well domesticated if properly socialized but it is skin deep. This is why we as cat caretakers we should respect the cat for what he or she is and not try and mold them into something that we want them to be. Declawing is an example of trying to modify the cat.

You can see the classic wildcat behavior in domestic cats in spraying (marking territory with urine sprayed horizontally) and defending territory when they go outside through a cat flap (door).

Biased Cruel Research Scientist

Some research scientists studying the predation of cats on birds in the USA are biased. This particular scientist, Nico Dauphine, 38, is both biased against cats and a convicted criminal. She tried to poison cats with rat poison whilst doing her research.

She worked for the respected Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center researching the impact that cats have on birds. She appears to have made some startlingly biased claims, one of which was that the feral and domestic cat kills 1 billion birds every year in the United States. We don't know how many. We do know that cats are predators and their prey includes birds but they prefer hunting ground dwelling mammals.

Cat eating a bird - how often does this happen?
We don't know - Photo by doviende

I feel vindicated in my mission to publish articles that argue against scientists whose task it is to have feral cats slaughtered in even greater numbers than is the case at present.

There is a battle going on between so called bird conservationists and cat lovers. It is wider than that. Biased bird conservationists who hate cats are doing battle with people who like to see all animals treated properly and with respect and that includes the maligned feral cat.

Associated articles: Cats do not decimate bird populations and how feral cats affect wildlife.

Why do cats like boxes?

Cats use boxes for play and security. You see cats sleep in boxes or small spaces. It probably provides a sense of security much like a wildcat finding a nest in dense undergrowth or in a cave or a disused burrow. All of these places provide protection behind and above the cat. The first reason why cats like boxes is for a sense of security when sleeping or resting.

What about play? We see lots of cats playing in boxes. The famous Japanese cat that loves boxes comes to mind. His name is Maru.



In this video Maru dives into an open ended box or tube. This is a modified form of attack of small prey in a burrow.

I don't see anything definitive on this topic in books on cat behavior. It is really a YouTube thing or video thing. A newish area of cat behavior for us to discuss.

There is no doubt that it is fun for some cats to play in boxes. This is an individual cat preference. Not all cats like it. In fact, I think you will find that most cats don't have an urge to play in and with boxes. Maru made it fashionable!

It must stem from a cat's liking to poke and prod into small spaces for prey. For example a cat catching a mouse. Cats in boxes will prod outside the box sometimes or prod into the box. Both are unknown areas or areas that the cat can't see. I think it is therefore related to hunting prey and simply a derivation of that natural wild cat instinct in the human home as a domesticated cat converted to play. A lot or all of cat play is based on hunting instincts. The classic example is chasing a cat tease (a feather at the end of a stick).

Maru is a normal eared Scottish Fold and a tabby and white cat. His coat is classic tabby. Maru has a great human companion.