# Why do cats 'toy' with their prey?



## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

It seems so cruel! I've never seen Percy do this. OT he just ate a bee. 
Something my father told me:when you see this DON'T INTERFERE.


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

The only animals that are cruel are us humans 

Here ya go, have linked source below:

Cats kill their prey by delivering a neck bite that severs the spinal cord. To do this, they must temporarily release the prey to get at the nape of the neck, but when they do so, they risk the prey escaping or counterattacking. Small animals will defend themselves if they get the chance. Mice, rats, and other rodents can deliver a vicious bite, and birds can peck. A cat has a very short muzzle, and to get close enough to apply the neck bite, she risks injury to her eyes and face from the prey.

A cat will “play” with her prey to tire it out in order to reduce the risk of injury to herself, but she is not actually playing in the human sense. She is simply doing the job that her instincts tell her she must do in order not to starve, and protecting herself in the process. If the prey is lively, the cat could suffer a serious bite that might become infected and lead to death. Only when the prey is sufficiently tired and dazed is the cat able to make the kill.

Sometimes a cat will appear to lose interest when the prey becomes still but then leap upon it as soon as it moves. This gives the appearance that the cat is toying with the poor creature, but this is just the cat’s way of ensuring that the prey is sufficiently dazed to safely finish it off. If she attempts to finish things too quickly, she could risk failure or serious injury.

Read more: http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm/wh ... z0SQI4RgQ2


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

I've read that many domestic cats play with their pray because they dont know what to do with it once they catch it.

In the wild, Mummy cat would have taught her kittens to hunt but this obviously doesnt happen for housecats. So, although housecats instinctively hunt pray, once they have it, they dont have the skills to dispatch it properly because they have never been taught. They therefore 'play' with the unfortunate creature they have caught.

I've seen Toby hunt and kill two mice now and he killed them so quickly .. he knows precisely what to do. I'm told his mum was a feral cat and initially I thought Toby had been born in a rescue centre but since I've seen how good he is at hunting, I have wondered whether he lived life as a feral kitten for a wee while ...


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

Monty hasnt moved onto mice yet...his biggest prey was a dragonfly, it was massive though! I took it off him, felo sorry for the poor thing...his normal catches are moths, all sizes and flavours...which he the proceeds to eat and ends up with moth powder over his chops :?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

When I found Charlee with a bird, it was still alive. She was cradling it and licking its head. I guess at worst, it probably would have drowned in Charlee-spit....


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Ahhh...sweet Charlee! I hope it lived.

On a program I saw yesterday about the big cats, cougars, etc., the cats threw the catch in the air many times. With domestic cats I think that instinct is just very strong.


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