I Keep Rewarding My Cat For This, Is This Wrong?

Sammiches

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So my cat catches all manners of things but mostly between lizards, rats, and birds. Each and every time she catches one of those I release them and give them a head start. However during that time I'm giving my cat freeze dried chicken treats because for one I'm not going to punish her for doing instinctive things and two I don't want her to feel like I just took away her catch and she was left with nothing.

With the second point though, is there anything I should be concerned about? The way I figure it is with or without rewards, she'll continue to follow her instincts anyways so I didn't want to leave her empty handed after the tough catch.
 
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Sammiches

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Thanks! Haven't thought about it like that but that sounds like a good thing if it does work out like that.
 

corvidae

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Even though these animals are able to get away initially, I would guess many of them don't ultimately make it due to shock and injuries sustained from the cat. Honestly, domestic cats have been responsible for the extinction of over 63 species of animals which is certainly a contributing factor to the mass extinction event we find ourselves in. Personally, that is a big reason why I am not comfortable letting my cats outside. If a catio or taking your cat on leashed excursions is an option, it would be safer both for her and for local wildlife. However, if you're set on letting her out, I guess having her bring you her prey and you releasing it gives it a better chance than the alternative, as susanm9006 said.
 

Diana Faye

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Cats will be cats, and she is a hunter whether you "reward" her or not. Actually I kinda think it's a nice compromise what you're doing, so she feels satisfied and not wanting to reclaim her prize. At the end of the day, if you want her to stop hunting you're going to have to stop her from going outside.
My last cat was indoor/ outdoor most of his life. As he got older and due to some environmental concerns, I switched him to indoor only and he was fine with it. In his day, he was an excellent birder. I'm was actually quite impressed with his skill, but decided on saving wildlife and not risking his health.
He has since passed, and I now have 2 kittens. Funny enough, when I had to take my senior cat to the vet, I always carried him and used a collar and leash as a precaution. Eventually, he just naturally took to walking on the leash. I didn't even know cat walking was a thing until I got the kittens. I wish I learned about it sooner so I could have taken him for walks other than to the vet (what would end up being his last weekend with me, we did roam the yard for a bit), but I am now trying harness training with the kittens. It might be something that you can try with your cat, to still give her supervised time outside without having to worry about casualties.
 

amethyst

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Honestly, domestic cats have been responsible for the extinction of over 63 species of animals which is certainly a contributing factor to the mass extinction event we find ourselves in.
I'd like to point out that those "studies" are estimates at best, no one actually knows how many feral/stray cats there are and they tend to round up to inflate the numbers to vilify cats. They also don't take into account people intentionally luring birds and other animals to their house by feeding them, or on farms with grain and other feed, both situations make for easy prey. I know you are probably not thinking of feral and barn cats, but they are what make up the majority of the kills, not house cats that come home at night. I'm not saying indoor/outdoor cats don't do any damage, just like human hunters do damage by hunting. It's just that owned cats are not the primary problem like these studies want you to believe.

I agree that cats should not be allowed out in areas like Hawaii and New Zealand for example where there are no native predators and they have a closed off ecosystem. But most areas have native predators that eat small animals like cats do, so prey animals have adapted/evolved to deal with them. Most of the extinctions happened in areas that don't have native predators so it's not fair to lump those together with the whole rest of the world.
 
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Sammiches

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Cats will be cats, and she is a hunter whether you "reward" her or not. Actually I kinda think it's a nice compromise what you're doing, so she feels satisfied and not wanting to reclaim her prize. At the end of the day, if you want her to stop hunting you're going to have to stop her from going outside.
My last cat was indoor/ outdoor most of his life. As he got older and due to some environmental concerns, I switched him to indoor only and he was fine with it. In his day, he was an excellent birder. I'm was actually quite impressed with his skill, but decided on saving wildlife and not risking his health.
He has since passed, and I now have 2 kittens. Funny enough, when I had to take my senior cat to the vet, I always carried him and used a collar and leash as a precaution. Eventually, he just naturally took to walking on the leash. I didn't even know cat walking was a thing until I got the kittens. I wish I learned about it sooner so I could have taken him for walks other than to the vet (what would end up being his last weekend with me, we did roam the yard for a bit), but I am now trying harness training with the kittens. It might be something that you can try with your cat, to still give her supervised time outside without having to worry about casualties.
Whether it's fortunately or unfortunately, I do let my cat out. I believe that unlike dogs, they were originally meant to be out in the world(well, depends on which parts of the world). Dogs are different, they grew up with man and evolved to depend on man, cats did not follow this path(we did not domesticate them).

Humans are by far the most destructive species and the cause for most extinction of other species in the world yet we are let out. If we're following your logic, we should be locked up indoors with a few trips outside supervised here and there. Yet here we are as a species still the highest cause of extinction.

I'd also like to point out that my cat was originally a stray, she experienced the outdoor before joining in my world. At this point, I personally believe it is cruel to strip away that part of her life and keeping her locked up in a cage with only supervised visits to the outside world.

One last thing to note is that unlike what you have in mind, cats are not a straight up negative impact to the environment(like all creatures, they have some impact for the environment). They do kill things like rats which multiply by the dozens and does it much faster than cats. They eat birds(if the opportunity arises) and eat their eggs as well. So rather than looking at cats being only destructive for the environment, you have to look at the positives as well. Remember, there are more than one side to look at something, don't just look at the negatives and draw all your conclusions from that.
 
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Diana Faye

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Whether it's fortunately or unfortunately, I do let my cat out. I believe that unlike dogs, they were originally meant to be out in the world(well, depends on which parts of the world). Dogs are different, they grew up with man and evolved to depend on man, cats did not follow this path(we did not domesticate them).

Humans are by far the most destructive species and the cause for most extinction of other species in the world yet we are let out. If we're following your logic, we should be locked up indoors with a few trips outside supervised here and there. Yet here we are as a species still the highest cause of extinction.

I'd also like to point out that my cat was originally a stray, she experienced the outdoor before joining in my world. At this point, I personally believe it is cruel to strip away that part of her life and keeping her locked up in a cage with only supervised visits to the outside world.

One last thing to note is that unlike what you have in mind, cats are not a straight up negative impact to the environment(like all creatures, they have some impact for the environment). They do kill things like rats which multiply by the dozens and does it much faster than cats. They eat birds(if the opportunity arises) and eat their eggs as well. So rather than looking at cats being only destructive for the environment, you have to look at the positives as well. Remember, there are more than one side to look at something, don't just look at the negatives and draw all your conclusions from that.
Indoor, outdoor, or both... IMO it comes down to personal choice. I made my choice after Irving had gotten attacked by another cat, which resulted in a rather nasty abscess. I had gotten tired of battling fleas and did not want to risk him being injured again. He was a street smart cat, too, but for me it was just easier to keep him inside and he never objected. I live in a rural area where coyotes, bear, hawks, eagles, etc. are a hazard and I need to act accordingly. Now, when Irving did go outside, that precaution was simply never out at night, not during heavy traffic times if we lived in town, and never when I wasn't home.

To a point, I get where you are coming from and agree that cats need different enrichment than dogs, but to address your other points they are still domesticated animals that are introduced to wildlife by humans. Yes, humans are the largest impact to the environment, which *does* include the animals we choose to keep. I can at least choose not to hunt; my cats cannot.

Cats kept indoors, with proper enrichment, are not suffering (emphasis on *enrichment* here). There *are* inherent risks to outdoor cats that an owner should be aware of, if they do choose to let their cats outside. They do kill indiscriminately, which is a problem in areas where there are sensitive wildlife. Quite frankly, in my situation, I had to worry about the other outdoor/ stray cats that introduced disease and parasites which is what led me to ultimately switching to indoors. My cat had no issue with this transition, but everyone's cat is different.

Your original post was about your cat hunting- my point is only to accept that is the nature of cats, or to keep it indoors. I personally don't have an issue with people letting their cats outdoors, assuming certain precautions are met, if that is their choice to do so. I work at a farm with 3 barn cats, so I am quite used to that lifestyle. There are ways to give an indoor cat access to the outdoors, but if you choose to let your cat roam, "presents" left behind just comes with the territory. Release what you can, and make sure your cat is up to date on vaccinations. And you're not going to hurt her feelings by taking away her kill. Chances are, she already had her fun and was just being "thoughtful" by bringing you something as well.
 
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