Question Of The Day, Sunday, September 2, 2018

good afternoon!

today's Question is about our cats!



Is your cat(s) a hunter, do they have that instinct? and, What interests them?



i'll start!

my Mickey and Snick didn't seem to have any hunter instinct. i remember long ago when we were living in an apartment, a mouse ran along the baseboards in our living room ...in full view of me, one evening. both Mickey and Snick were napping, and the mouse ran by within a foot or so of one of them. neither cat woke up.

our DeeDee and Punky are what i'd call 'intrepid hunters'! they both seem to have quite strong instincts. they're interested in bugs, birds, and rodents. and DeeDee also enjoys looking out the windows at night with our Dude, who watches for other, wild critters.

our Dude has learned some hunter instinct from the girls. he definitely has an interest in birds, some bugs (he loves ants), and really enjoys watching wild, outdoor critters.

that said, none of my three have ever seen a rodent -- at least not in our home.


how about your cat(s)?

Onsa likes moths. She will stalk and hunt any moth that comes in the house.
Samai is an ambush predator and likes to see blood. Mostly mine.

Charlie and Selene are definitely interested in the birds outside, as well as any bugs they find

Pickle has a strong hunting instinct. Her favourite is a slowworm. Last year she brought home 14, all alive. I have to brush them in a bucket and rehome them in the nearby field. Her motto is 'if it moves I'll hunt it'.
Buzz loves to try to catch butterflies although he is not very good at it. His motto is 'why wont that butterfly land on my paw' and finally Kiwi. She cant be bothered. Her motto is 'why make the effort when I can just pinch what Pickle brings home'.

Ours range from mild interest to the full out dilated eyes and speed running and hours of patience.
They love a mouse, and one cat (a big fat thing) can leap 7 feet up and snatch a moving fly right out of the air. That guy is GOOD.
The girls are actually our best mousers. One of the boys usually locates the mouse and starts chasing, and the girls finish the job. He's kind of a clumsy thing when it comes to the actual hunt. If the mouse rushes off, he runs after it then does a pointless and random 90 degree turn for no reason, then stops, butt in the air, tail swishing, ears pinned, and claws the crap out of the rug. He's so weird.
One girl like beetles. I don't know.
And they all LOVE trying to catch birds. We had to put a stop to that =(

My cats were born feral and Buddy and Muffy had a pretty strong hunter's instinct. One time Muffy brought home a Blue Jay that was almost as big as she was. My cats were good at bringing home rodents and birds.

Bodhi loves birds. I have a feeder outside one of the living room windows. Sometimes they will sit on this stone ledge that's set into the outside of the window opening. If he hears them he creeps up and throws himself at the screen. Thank God it's a pet proof screen.

He's obsessed with rabbits and squirrels.

He's snuck outside a few times when I've been bringing in grocery bags. Once he almost caught a squirrel. He ended up with a paw full of it's fur before it took off up a tree. Another time he got out and as I was walking to pick him up and bring him back a rabbit that was hiding under a hosta plant took off. I wasn't too worried at first because I thought a wild rabbit is gonna be able to outrun a house cat, but I was wrong. He kept up with it even when it dodged back and forth at full speed. He caught it and let it go a few times and finally drove it back to where I was standing. I could tell the rabbit was tired and Bodhi looked like he was going to bite the rabbits neck so I praised him and said I'm sorry but we're gonna have to let this guy go. Eventually he wandered off while I held Bodhi back so he wouldn't try and follow. The rabbit was ok. Just lost a bit off fur but no wounds.

Oh, the stories I have. Snake is our best hunter, she's taken down prairie dogs before.

Recently though, Suki caught a squirrel to share with the other cats. They ate the body and left the tail and the head... what a pleasant surprise, eh?

When the cats were younger and still kittens, they practiced on frogs and tiny voles/mice.

My three all like to hunt insects and spiders. Hotaru is probably the best hunter because she is very athletic, despite her big belly.
Olivie also likes to "hunt" cookies...she has a bit of a sweet tooth.

Nightfury is the real hunter in our group. He is the one who seems the least interested in mock hunting or posturing but he is the most successful. When both Link and Rocket we're kittens he would constantly bring in grasshoppers, lizards and mice for them to practice with. He'd get their attention and release then sit back and watch. Even now he continues this behavior in the evening once Link and Rocket are in for the night. Just this week he brought in a huge moth for them.

Rocket is the one with the longest attention span for stalking/waiting and most aggressive. She also likes to show off, which has led to many a lizards escaping when she shows me her catch. Rocket once was going after a lizard and it latched onto her nose. Funniest thing to see her shake it off and paw at her nose after (she was fine, just startled). She's also camped out in front of a dresser where a mouse was hiding for at least 12 hours. She was watching it when I ate dinner, still watching it when I woke up and left for work. The mouse was dead at the back door when I got home with her giving me the "my toy broke" look.

Link is an absolute clutz and horrible hunter. He can't be stealthy. Too loud, too clumsy and too short of an attention span. He occasionally gets lucky and manages but I tend to think it's more something running out in front of him. Although did catch a hawk once, he camped out the bird bath for days before catching it. My Dad saw him carrying the hawk back to our house and said his name. Link dropped the hawk and looked sheepish, the hawk postured and jumped around until Link smacked it and it flew off dazed. So maybe he is a better hunter then I know.

And my rainbow cat desensitized me to the mice and critters. Heused to think it was a great game to bring me large rats and crows gooey (he had no teeth) at midnight. Half the time I stepped on them and half the time they were alive enough to require chasing around my room to get out of the house. Always really big critters too, never small insects or grasshoppers. I've always figured he really meant them for me and was trying to feed me so he gave me the bigger "food".

Both Diamond and Seal have spent time living outside, having to fend for themselves. When I had a mouse in the kitchen, it was Seal who took care of it. There was a little growl behind me so I muted the TV and looked and there was Seal with a little mouse - quite dead - in his jaws. It was his gift to me. I took the mouse and put it outside.

I suspect that Diamond could have taken care of that mouse, but Seal spent longer on his own and seems to have more wildness and hunting instinct. And Diamond has his own agenda, and might be too preoccupied to bother with a mouse.

Leonid has never lived or even been loose outside. He is fascinated by insects, and he will try to catch them, but I have not seen him dispatch one. I think a mouse would interest him, but he wouldn't know what to do with it.

I had a relative who did something rather cruel, though it had a happy ending, for the rats anyway. He thought his girlfriend's cats should keep rodents in check. He decided to teach them how. He went to the local med school and bought a couple of lab rats. Big rats. He let them loose in his girlfriend's kitchen. Her cats were terrified by the rats. And the rats scurried under the appliances, never to be seen again.

The girlfriend was not happy. She now had a couple of big rats in the neighborhood who had escaped from her home and must know how to get back in. The cats had a brief scare, but got over it. And my relative's name was mud. He was held up to great ridicule, most deservedly. And, of course, he went on to become an emergency room physician. I heard that his experiences there made him a much more sympathetic person.

We have had many cats over the years but I think Neely was probably the best hunter. We are certain she had free run of the outdoors before we adopted her and kept her inside. But first thing in the morning she would run to look out the patio door and survey any living thing that crossed the patio. The closest she got to hunting in our house was insects. She was one smart cookie!

Noodles very much as a hunter instinct. Our first home was a single-wide trailer. One day I saw a fly come in the front door and Noodles had it as soon as it hit the opposite wall. It wasn't in the house for 4 seconds. It never knew what hit it!

Mooch's instinct is to get pets and a lap to warm.

Circe -- no, she prefers to have her food dish filled and to be carried to it. (OK, ok, I maybe spoil her a little bit). She's my oldest cat at about 10.5 years (she's been my cat for 4 of those, so I don't know if she's never been much for hunting).

Autumn -- not really. We call her the "Gumby Cat" (Cats reference) because she generally sits on the corner of my desk, on another shelf in my room, or she's at the food dish or the litterbox. She's only 7 (and again, 4 years as my cat), but she's just not much for activity.

Domino -- another non-hunter. He's 6.5 (got him a little over 4 years ago).

TV -- yep, she's a hunter. She catches and kills flies if they're in the kitchen. She's believed to be a littermate of Domino (and Autumn is believed to be their mother).

Cosette -- another hunter. If we let her, she would go outside, but we don't let her roam free out there. Too many people that confuse 2 for 4 for the 25mph speed limit. But she catches insects. She is also a rather unique cat in that she will play fetch with her favorite ball. She's a little over 3, so she's a young one, and she's the one that we say "was raised by dogs" (in addition to playing fetch, she turns three times before laying down and has been known to chase her tail, and goes for walks on a leash).

Mabel -- the recently adopted baby (about 4.5 months old). She likes the "thing on a string" toy, but not so much other toys like the burlap and catnip "mice" or the balls that Cosy likes. But I'm not sure if that will translate to hunting.

kashmir64 said:

Onsa likes moths. She will stalk and hunt any moth that comes in the house.
Samai is an ambush predator and likes to see blood. Mostly mine.

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your Onsa enjoys stalking and hunting moths that come into the house, while Samai prefers to ambush and likes to see blood!!! your two have good hunting instincts!!

ahhh, moths! we get small moths in our home, especially during the winter months. our DeeDee and Punky hunt and 'dispatch' them all!

Katie M said:

Charlie and Selene are definitely interested in the birds outside, as well as any bugs they find

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your Charlie and Selene are focused on birds outside, and any bugs they find inside your home!!! very nice!!

DeeDee and Punky are interested in any bugs they come across, but our Dude is only interested in ants. he just adores ants! i think it may be the 'scent' they leave, for other ants to follow, that attracts him to them. Dude smells them, and then flops down on the floor and rolls around on them.

Yes most of our cats like to. Mostly pigeons they catch, but sometimes they don't eat it.
Cant catch a 'Bat' though ... You'd think with 5 cats in a living room one will catch a 'Bat'.

verna davies said:

Pickle has a strong hunting instinct. Her favourite is a slowworm. Last year she brought home 14, all alive. I have to brush them in a bucket and rehome them in the nearby field. Her motto is 'if it moves I'll hunt it'.
Buzz loves to try to catch butterflies although he is not very good at it. His motto is 'why wont that butterfly land on my paw' and finally Kiwi. She cant be bothered. Her motto is 'why make the effort when I can just pinch what Pickle brings home'.

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your Pickle has a strong hunting instinct -- slowworms are her favorite, Buzz loves trying to catch butterflies though isn't very good at it, and Kiwi figures she doesn't need to hunt because she can just pinch what Pickle catches!!! all good, smart kitties!!

that's very kind of you to rehome the slowworms your Pinkle catches!

1 bruce 1 said:

Ours range from mild interest to the full out dilated eyes and speed running and hours of patience.
They love a mouse, and one cat (a big fat thing) can leap 7 feet up and snatch a moving fly right out of the air. That guy is GOOD.
The girls are actually our best mousers. One of the boys usually locates the mouse and starts chasing, and the girls finish the job. He's kind of a clumsy thing when it comes to the actual hunt. If the mouse rushes off, he runs after it then does a pointless and random 90 degree turn for no reason, then stops, butt in the air, tail swishing, ears pinned, and claws the crap out of the rug. He's so weird.
One girl like beetles. I don't know.
And they all LOVE trying to catch birds. We had to put a stop to that =(

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your cats all have some interest in hunting, and some are quite talented hunters!!! most excellent!!

wow! that's impressive, that one of your boys is able to leap up very high and snatch a fly right out of the air!! our DeeDee and Punky send to your boy! our Punky catches sight of a bug (she loves flies) and takes off running after it, leaping and crashing into and over anything that's between her and the bug. DeeDee chases after them too, but it's many times Punky who ends up catching, then eating the bugs.

beetles......

micknsnicks2mom said:

your cats all have some interest in hunting, and some are quite talented hunters!!! most excellent!!

wow! that's impressive, that one of your boys is able to leap up very high and snatch a fly right out of the air!! our DeeDee and Punky send to your boy! our Punky catches sight of a bug (she loves flies) and takes off running after it, leaping and crashing into and over anything that's between her and the bug. DeeDee chases after them too, but it's many times Punky who ends up catching, then eating the bugs.

beetles......

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I learned this guy was a good hunter when we decided to play thing on a string, and he leaped up (AT me), latched onto my shirt, ignored my bellows of pain and protest and waited til I dropped wand from my hand, and took off with it.
He's really the only cat we have with a weight problem. He's fed 100% raw, so I don't know why. He's not obese, but overweight and is, structurally, a BIG cat.
He's also a hog and has been known to steal food from slow eaters so he's now separate from the others at meal times. We'll see if this helps!