How does a cat catch prey?

Answer 1

Cats are great hunters of small rodents, even some insects. However, it is not true that all cats eat their prey. IF a cat is well-fed, their hunting instincts will spring into action if they spot a moving object (anything moving-- a string, a stick, a field mouse). However, most often they will play with the mouse, chasing and chasing it until the poor mouse dies of exhaustion. The cat normally brings the "prize" to its owner, who in the cat world is that cat's family and alpha cat; if so, the owner can remove the mouse from the cat. Sometimes, if excited enough, a cat will bite too hard when catching or carrying the mouse to the cat's owner and the cat's fang will puncture the mouse's lung, causing death. Cat owners should set Have-a-Heart traps indoors because where there is one mousie, there is bound to be more.

If a cat lives outdoors or is feral (wild, no owner) and must find its own food, yes, cats do chase and eat prey. They also eat discarded food that is not spoiled; they scavenge, but for the best smelling scraps of food. If a cat is hungry enough, they will eat anything in the meat, milk, or corn-wheat human food groups that isn't spoiled. They will eat dog food even. Most of a cat's prey are mice, birds, baby squirrels, or baby rabbits.

Big wild cats are a different story, since they only have wild game to eat. They stalk, hunt, and immediately kill prey.