Why Do Cats Hunt? | Cats Uncovered | BBC Earth

Why do pet cats continue to hunt despite being fed at home, the team set out to investigate. Taken from Cats Uncovered.

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[anabhousen]

Poor sandwich. She probably thinks she's a GREAT provider for her family

[VeriVeronika]

Cats are one of nature's best killing machines but because they are small and furry we keep them in our homes and give them ridiculous names like Sandwich 😂

[zaQba]

Once my two brothers tried to catch a mice in their room for hours and hours but never can never catch it. Our cat saw what they were doing but terrified as they were hitting the floor around with sticks. The next morning we found a dead mouse in front of the door. Seemed like he's saying, take this, idiots.

[KomradeCPU]

That part with the cat making luring (?) sounds was really interesting.

[merdufer]

Some instincts are too strong. Dogs don't hunt anymore, but they still need to walk around pretending they are. (EDIT: Just to clarify I meant to say "even the kinds of dogs that don't hunt anymore still need to pretend they are". You can stop replying "but some dogs do though" or "you're an idiot" now, thanks.)

[weldon]

the video didn't answer the question

[kerryndavenport]

My cat has always been a house cat but every morning he goes to the window and mimics the blackbirds with a very similar chirp

[eXtremeDR]

Different cats have different hunting styles. One of our cats is 18 years old and his senses are very limited. His technique is quite impressive. First he observes the hunting area and every single movement, sometimes for days. Then he chooses one spot at which he remains without any movement - almost blind and deaf he simply hits everything that moves in range.

[slappy]

because it's hardwired in their brain, duh.

[jameson]

"Why do cats hunt?".... Because they are predators?

[Frmcfff]

Cats don’t even need a owner they can take care of themselves

[marethyu]

The trait of being a predator is somewhat lost in some cats. I've had MANY cats throughout my life and some of them are exceptional hunters, but some of them don't even bother. Two factors that I have noticed play a role:
- A cat raised with brother/sister cats (even better the mother since they learn from her) are most likely to become agile and sharpened because they train their instincts by playing
- Also I've seen an increased hunting activity on females while they are raising kittens. As if they're trying to teach the younglings how to hunt.

[UmatsuObossa]

"But they don't need her hunting skills anymore"...correction...if she stopped hunting, you would have a mouse problem again. Mouse population problems are not 'resolved', they're maintained. You didn't have enough local predators to keep their numbers down...now you do. Remove the predator and the mouse population will spike again.

[mochamp]

I just love how they’re these adorable cuddly little pets and yet they’re also vicious killers who mock their prey before killing them

[thisgirlisreeltreble]

Sandwich and her kind are deceptively powerful for their size- my childhood cat was only 10 lbs and would happily bring home 4 ft long black snakes in addition to the various squirrels, voles, rabbits, birds, mice, and lizards she’d catch. There have even been a few incidents with raccoons where they’ve come off worse than she has - and that was in an area where they’re at least double her weight.
(She’s an indoor cat now due to advancing age and environmental concerns.)

[JOhnDoe-nlwj]

They do it for fun. I had four cats a while back. All demanding food from me. All hunting like little maniacs.
Our frontdoor looked like a god darn killing field at times.
Birds, mices, hamsters, frogs, toads and one time our frontdoor was decorated with 2 dead rabbits.

[tomd]

My cat stays inside and he takes care of the flies.

[TheeMelloMan]

They were designed to survive off of hunting. Therefore, they will hunt.

[Mike-zovj]

The cat mimics for good reason. The cat wants to assure the prey that it's safe to well... Eat...

[GpD]

Why Do Cats Hunt? The answer is simple really... they need to exercise and be stimulated for their wellbeing.