Receiving “Gifts”?
Cats are cute animals with many variations. Some are fluffy and some are furless. Some have patterns while some do not. However, one thing that cats share in common is that they love hunting. Cats are known to go outside, hunt, and come back with their prey item. However, many people do not enjoy this. Today we will be talking about why cats love hunting and how to control your cat’s hunting habits. With that said, let’s get into it!
History
Cats may not be called man’s best friend but they have been man’s companion for many years. 10,000 years in fact with the oldest domesticated cat being located in the region of the Fertile Crescent (Middle East). Currently, the earliest true record of cat domestication comes from a cat that was found buried with his/her owner in a grave in Cyprus dating back about 9,500 years ago. Despite these many years of domestication, the cat’s hunting instinct remains. In fact, this trait was considered to be desirable in cats as it can serve as a form of natural pest control. The first historical example of this comes from a human grain store in Israel about 10,000 years ago when the development of grain stores caused an accumulation and a rise in the population of house mice. This great increase in mice population then attracted wild cats into close proximity with humans and thus resulted in the taming of these wild cats who will eventually evolve into the domesticated cat. However in modern days when more people have cats as pets and have better forms of pest control, it is not as preferred for your kitten to deliver home little “gifts” (deceased prey) to your front porch.
Why do our kittens bring us “gifts”?
As unpleasant it might be, receiving “gifts” from your kitten is a good sign that you and your cat are having a healthy relationship. Because domesticated cats are not exactly solitary and can even be described as pack animals, as evidenced by cats getting along with humans and other cats, this is why they are often willing to share their bounty with their family. In other words, this means that when a cat brings you a “gift”, they consider you as a part of their family. However, what this also means is that your kitten is not hunting because they are hungry, but rather because of the feeling to need to hunt.
Understanding your Kitten
The first thing that needs to be said before we get into how we can stop or at least reduce the amount of prey items delivered to your front porch is to not scold your kitten on bringing back their “gifts”. Doing so will confuse and stress your kitten as they believe that by giving “gifts”, they are showing you that they consider you as family and by scolding them for the “gifts” you are rejecting them. This can be further confusing for the cat if you show compassion for them when they do not bring back their bounty as doing so can make them believe that you love them but do not fully accept them into the pack. In fact, by doing so, you could actually cause more “gifts” to be left at your front porch as your kitten tries to gain acceptance. So how can you train your kitten to stop or at least reduce the amount of “gifts”?
How can we can stop or at least reduce the amount of prey items delivered to your front porch?
Because cats hunt not because they are hungry but rather because they feel the urge to hunt, this implies that feeding your cat food in hopes of quenching your kitten’s urge to hunt will be fruitless. So how can I stop or at least reduce the amount of prey items delivered to my front porch you may ask. A great way of doing so is to give your cat dedicated playtime.
How can we can stop or at least reduce the amount of prey items delivered to your front porch? (continued)
The games during playtime should be hunting orientated to help quench your kitten’s urge to hunt. These games should also not only be physically stimulating but also mentally stimulating, just like the stimuli a cat will receive when planning how to make their next kill. To create this stimuli, use toys and even better, make an obstacle course for your cat to navigate through while hunting their “prey”. It is important that while doing so, one should use to toys to imitate the movements a rabbit, mouse, or even a bird would make to have the game be as accurate as possible to real hunting. You could also think of it as pretend play. The more realistic the play, the better! If you do this successfully, your cat should be reducing the amount of prey items delivered to your front porch. However, if you notice your cat is losing interest quickly in the game, do not worry because this is considered to be normal. In the wild, when cats are not able to get their prey within three to five minutes, the cat will often give up and look for another potential source of food. If this happens, you can try switching over to another hunting orientated game for your kitten to play!
Bonus!
Not only by playing hunting orientated games you will be reducing the amount of bounty being delivered to your front doorsteps, but your kitten will be getting exercise and also -by doing so- you will be helping the environment. According to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, cats are responsible for the deaths of 1.4-3.7 billion birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals every year. Not only that but cats have been responsible for the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to impact a wide variety of other species such as the Piping Plover (a bird in North America). Not only that but by reducing the amount of “gifts” your kitten brings back, you can be reducing the chances of your kitten bringing back a nasty wound or disease from the deceased animal.
Thank you for reading this blog on why your kitten loves hunting and how can you control your cat’s hunting habits. I hope that you learned something new about your cat and that this will reduce the amount of “gifts” you recieve. Stay safe and I will see you next time! :)
Citations:
[1] Amy Shojai, CABC. “Why Does Your Cat Bring You Dead Animals?” The Spruce Pets, www.thesprucepets.com/cat-hunting-gifts-553946.
[2] Care, International Cat. International Cat Care, 23 Nov. 2020, icatcare.org/advice/the-origins-of-cats/.
[3] “Cats and Birds.” American Bird Conservancy, 25 Sept. 2020, abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/#:~:text=Cats%20and%20Birds%3A%20A%20Bad%20Combination&text=Cats%20have%20contributed%20to%20the,extinction%2C%20such%20as%20Piping%20Plover.
[4] Loss, Scott R., et al. “The Impact of Free-Ranging Domestic Cats on Wildlife of the United States.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 29 Jan. 2013, www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380#:~:text=Alaska%20and%20Hawaii).-,We%20estimate%20that%20free%2Dranging%20domestic%20cats%20kill%201.3%E2%80%934.0,the%20majority%20of%20this%20mortality.
[5] “Piping Plover Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” , All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Piping_Plover/id.