[Clough]

Hi, All!

I've had wild birds get into my home a number of times. When they have though, and one of my pet cats is present, they don't seem to be interested. Why is that, please?

Please know that I now only have one cat, and he never seems to be interested either.

Could it be that they've afraid because of the wingspan? The prey is just too much out of reach, perhaps?

Thanks!

[asking]

Hi Clough,
I am mystified. I have had a chickadee fly into my house and my cats nearly lost their minds. They were definitely interested, and I had to separate them immediately.

You have an odd cat In my opinion. :) What kind of birds? How big is the cat? If these were ravens or crows, my cats would hide under the bed.

[Clough]

Hi, asking!

The types of birds have ranged from sparrows to blackbirds, ravens and some type of brown dove.

My cats have never been what would be considered to be large.

Thanks!

[ohsohappy]

Maybe they're just lazy and don't care because they know they'll get food so don't bother chasing it when they know it's always available.

[Clough]

Maybe they're just lazy and don't care because they know they'll get food so don't bother chasing it when they know it's always available.

Excellent point you've made there, ohsohappy! I would like to add that, why should they do the work when they know the human is going to do the work of feeding them anyway?

[hheath541]

I've known cats that just didn't have any instinct for hunting. I'm not sure if they were just domesticated to the point where it just wasn't present, or if they just didn't realize that another animal could be food.

It may just be that they don't realize birds can be food. Since they don't see it as food, they see no reason to pay attention to it. If they've never hunted for food, they may not even realize that critters ARE food.

[Clough]

What you've written could very well be true, hheath541! Excellent thoughts and ideas from you there!

Thanks!

[ohsohappy]

I think it's funny because my kitty goes nuts for bugs and stuff but she's never had to hunt for anything. It's interesting. She would also love to snack on my fishies. :)

[hheath541]

I think it's funny because my kitty goes nuts for bugs and stuff but she's never had to hunt for anything. It's interesting. She would also love to snack on my fishies. :)

Some cats just seem to know that they should hunt other animals. Others seem mystified by the mere concept.

I've also seen cats hunt and catch a bug or small animal, and then not have a clue what to do with it. They don't want to let it go, but they don't realize they're supposed to kill and eat it.

[asking]

I have two male cats. One kills and then leaves whatever he kills. The other kills and eats things; he also eats what the other one kills. The second one is MUCH bigger. :)

[morgaine300]

I've had critters like mice and gerbils with cats around. One of the cats I have now always went completely nutso over them, especially mice because they create stronger scents (to put it nicely), but a cat I used to have a few years ago never paid attention to them. However, that same cat would chase loose mice that got into the house. He enjoyed presenting them to me in bed. Go figure.

There probably is something to getting lazy because they're fed all the time. But I also have to wonder if they don't even learn hunting skills correctly when so often they're taken away from their mothers at too young an age. Too often they catch something and then really don't know what to do with it.

[hheath541]

If mommy didn't know what to do with it, then it doesn't matter how old the babies are when they leave her. When you have generations of cats that never hunted for their food, it's easy to believe that they just wouldn't know what to do with prey, even if they ever actually caught it.