{"id":9154,"date":"2023-06-02T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mundocachorro.com\/why-do-cats-play-with-mice-before-eating-them\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T09:00:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T09:00:34","slug":"why-do-cats-play-with-mice-before-eating-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mundocachorro.com\/en\/why-do-cats-play-with-mice-before-eating-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do cats play with mice before eating them?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A very frequent behavior in cats is to hunt a mouse or some small animal and then spend a long time without killing it. Although at first glance it could pass for a somewhat gruesome and perhaps even cruel behavior, the reality is that cats play with mice as a way to exercise and develop their hunting skills.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Domestic cats still have within their nature a highly developed hunting instinct. That is, despite being pets and having access to their food on a regular basis, they will continue to practice hunting techniques throughout their lives.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another aspect to take into consideration is that cats and mice are species that have been competing with each other for a long time. In fact, mice have been one of the main prey of cats for millennia.  <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They play with mice to exercise.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cats tend to have very vivid feline instincts. Even if they don&#8217;t need to hunt for food at all, it is in their nature to know how to hunt, and of course, they will spend their lives exercising.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, a distinction must be made between hunting and eating what they hunt. Domestic cats are usually well fed and do not really need to hunt to ensure their survival. That is why you will often see your cat frolicking with its prey and may not even eat it.  <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why mice are not eaten<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The reasons why cats play with mice after catching them and then do not eat them can be varied. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Practice your hunting techniques. A cat hunting a mouse is perfecting its hunting techniques. These include stalking, chasing, trapping and striking. This will keep your skills in top form and keep you active.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Satisfying the hunting instinct. Chasing and hunting a mouse or other similar prey may be enough to satisfy your michi&#8217;s hunting instinct. He may not have the desire to eat his prey, but may find the act of hunting itself rewarding.  <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He considers it a toy. Domestic cats usually have their dietary needs fully met. This includes access to quality food at regular intervals. That&#8217;s why in many occasions, your kitty doesn&#8217;t consider its prey as a food source but as an object to exercise. In other words, just another toy.  <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Natural selection. Cats have been domestic animals for millennia and have accompanied humans. This has resulted in a variety of changes in hunting-related behaviors. That is probably why modern cats are no longer so interested in feeding with their prey and prefer, at most, to play with them for a while.  <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In any case, it is important to take into account that this is not a behavior that denotes some kind of cruelty in your kitten. It is simply in their nature.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Image courtesy of https:\/\/pixabay.com, all rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A very frequent behavior in cats is to hunt a mouse or some small animal and then spend a long time without killing it. Although at first glance it could pass for a somewhat gruesome and perhaps even cruel behavior, the reality is that cats play with mice as a way to exercise and develop [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[583,585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cats","category-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why do cats play with mice before eating them?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cats often play with mice after they hunt them. 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