Cat Hunting Behaviour – and how to stop it

Cat Hunting Behaviour and How to Stop It: Summary

Cat hunting behaviour is a natural feline behaviour but unwanted by most cat owners.
Management of these undesirable behaviour is important. Don’t allow mother cats to hunt for their young and keep your cats at home when possible
Long term solutions involve satisfying your cat’s needs to hunt by providing hunting games with toys or food at home.

Why cat hunting is a problem

Is your cat a hunter? Cat hunting may be a natural behaviour for our feline friends but many owners would rather than hunt was directed onto toys, rather than other animals. Here’s some info to understand why cats hunt and what we can do about it…

Cats are natural hunters

Cats are very effective predators of small rodents, probably one of the main reasons we initially brought them into our lives. While the prodigious hunting ability of the cat is appreciated in many countries, in Australia cats are often regarded as killers of our unique and rare wildlife.

Several studies have shown that cats do indeed have a negative effect on our native fauna. Cats have been found to eat native animals such as bandicoots, possums, gliders, insectivores, native rats and some bat species. Native birds are also prey, as are reptiles.

Although cats are ideally suited to catching small, burrowing rodents, they are generally opportunistic hunters, taking the chance to prey on whatever animals that are encountered. Certain individuals, however, may become specialists for a particular prey type.

how to stop cat hunting behaviour — *Try to prevent cat hunting behaviour by never allowing it when your cat is young*

How cats hunt

Cats hunt using either a mobile strategy involving roving and searching around the environment, looking and listening for prey or a sit and wait strategy, remaining stationery, attentive and oriented towards a locus eg. mouse burrow.

Cats hunt alone, the size of their prey requiring no cooperation amongst felines. They avoid other cats by avoiding territories or by time partitioning, being active at different times from other cats.

How to Stop Cat Hunting Behaviour

Unless we know exactly where our cat is at all times we may never be able to stop them hunting. These tops may reduce the impact your cat has on other animals…

Play hunting

Cat hunting is a natural feline behaviour but cats can be taught to hunt and have fun at home. By playing chasing games with toys or lasers or hunting games with food, the cat’s natural hunting drive can be satisfied. Cats who play hunting games at home may be less likely to hunt outdoors. You are also satisfying their need for enrichment, so they are going to enjoy being at home with you.

Early prevention

Kittens who are not exposed to the hunting behaviour and tuition of their mother will not learn to hunt as readily as those kittens who are. Do not allow your mother cat to hunt while she has kittens.

Keeping cats inside

It is up to owners to keep their cats indoors, if not at all times, at least from before dusk until after dawn. This means closing windows, doors and cat flaps. As well as protecting our native wildlife, we are reducing the likelihood of injuries to our cats through car accidents and getting involved in cat fights.
Tempt your cat home by saving their last meal of the day until then or try feeding them smaller, more regular meals to reduce their wandering.

There are many ways to keep your cat content at home. These include:

Indoor plants
Providing views from windows
Providing tunnels and boxes to hide in
Giving access to shelves to get up high

Keep Your Cat Happy at Home

Tips On How To Make Your Home Pet Friendly — *Give your cat a view to keep them happy at home and stop cat hunting behaviour*

If you decide to keep your cat indoors at all times, remember to give them adequate stimulation. A window seat, a cardboard box, climbing shelves and scratching posts help to keep cats occupied.

Cats will willingly play hunting games with their owners and a variety of toys can be bought or made that stimulate a cat’s instinct to hunt. Although cats hunt on their own, they can actually be quite sociable animals and may enjoy the company of another cat at home.

If we give our cats enough attention at home, then they may not need to wander into our native bushland.

Transitioning your cat from being an outdoor to an indoor cat

Bells on collars

If your cat is a hunter and goes outside, then placing bells on their collar is a good idea. Unfortunately most prey animals so not hear the bell until too late and most do not even know that a bell signifies danger!
Having a bell on your cat’s collar, however, allows you to hear them so you can keep an eye on them at all times. Bells on collars are not guaranteed to reduce cat hunting behaviour but they will not do any harm.

Frequently asked questions about cat hunting behaviour

Why does my cat hunt?

Cats hunt because they needed to, to survive, when they were wild, unowned animals. They have never lost this instinct.

Do cats prefer to hunt birds or mice?

Cats prefer to hunt anything that moves. Most cats hunt small mammals such as mice.

How can I stop my cat hunting?

The best way to stop your cat hunting is to play hunting games at home with toys.

About the author: Dr Jo Righetti

Dr Jo Righetti is an animal behaviourist, helping people with pets. With a PhD in behaviour, a diploma in counselling and over 20 years experience in business Pet Problems Solved, Dr Jo understand pets and communicates here knowledge in a motivational manner.

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