Are cats harmless fuzzballs or killing machines?
If you've ever owned an outdoor cat, you've likely seen your feline friend's predatory instincts in action: While wandering through the yard, your kitty suddenly leaps forward, batting at a small bird or mouse, perhaps a lizard. The feline toys with this creature for several minutes, knocking it to and fro long after it stops moving. Then, they pick up their prize, trot to the front door and lay a tiny carcass on the welcome mat.
But why do domestic cats chase down and play with prey even after it's dead? Are they adorable himbos or furry serial killers? The truth lies somewhere in between.To answer this question, we need to look at cat domestication. The first wild cats to take a tentative step toward domestication probably did so around 8,000 years ago in Egypt and its surrounding regions, according to a 2017 study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution .
Because they were so recently domesticated, cats retain many of the instincts passed down from their wild ancestors, who hunted small prey throughout the day, according to a 2006 study in The Journal of Nutrition . This evolutionary remnant drives a cat"to catch prey even if it is not hungry," Cecchetti said. What's more, a cat's play instincts, such as batting, pouncing and raking with claws, are derived from hunting behavior.
So how can people stop their furry friends from causing so much ecological damage? Cecchetti's research suggests that some of a pet cat's drive to hunt can be stymied by providing them adequate play time at home and feeding them high-quality, meat-rich diets that provide the right micronutrient balance.
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