Oliver Serves Himself Dinner (not for the squeamish)

[NJCher]

This is Oliver. He has his own door and comes and goes as he pleases, although he prefers for me to be his door person.




Here is what I found on his plate. He put it there. I am sure he brought it in from the outdoors.



Of course I disposed of it immediately.

He complained for two days. He returned to his plate for dinner, saw his mouse wasn't there, and looked at me in disbelief.

Yes, I said, you should have refrigerated it. I wasn't about to.

For two days he intermittently paced around his plate, looking at it, staring at me. Like "I can't believe you would do that!"

[Irish_Dem]

1. Do cats actually eat the mice they catch?

Or do they just like to catch them?

[Ocelot II]

2. Sometimes they eat them.

My late cat Milo, an indoor cat, once caught a mouse that was foolish enough to get into the house. He ate it. He crunched it up in the living room as I watched in dismay, and he ate all of it but the tail and a couple of the feet. I saw another of my cats catch and eat a large centipede.

[Irish_Dem]

3. Yikes, you witnessed it personally.

Good God. I guess the feet and tail don't go down so easy.

Do they eat the mouse alive or kill it first?

I am not a cat person, they are a mystery to me.

My little Maltese doggie doesn't eat wildlife, but she did just start eating dead worms
on her walk which is so gross. I make her stop.

[Ocelot II]

5. Cats kill their prey quickly by biting the back of the neck

and severing the spinal cord; that's why they have such long pointy canine teeth. After Milo killed his mouse he played with the corpse for a little bit before eating it, tossing it around gleefully like he was spiking the ball in the end zone.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Jeebus.

At least they kill them quickly so aren't torturing them.

I wonder why they play with the dead mouse before they eat it?

They kill it quickly so the mouse doesn't get away.
I would think they would eat it quickly so other predators don't get their dinner?

So it is a multipurpose kill.
Playtime and dinner.

[Ocelot II]

10. I think he was excited because he finally got to hunt and kill real prey -

he was a house cat who only ever had fake mice to play with. In the wild a cat would probably eat his catch quickly before it could be taken away from him.

[ShazzieB]

14. Also, cats love to play with small objects in general.

Almost anything that's the right size to bat around with their paws is a potential toy to a cat. Extra bonus points if it has movable parts and/or makes noise when manipulated.

I can definitely imagine a cat being extra excited by a recent "kill," but I also see this kind of behavior as an extension of the kinds of activities cats enjoy in general.

Cats are, after all, genetically programmed to be predators. The strength of the prey drive can vary a lot among individual cats, but I've never seen one that didn't have at least some tendency to treat small objects as potential "prey."

[Ocelot II]

15. I'd never seen him get that excited over inanimate toys.

He'd swat them and chase them and have a good old time, but I'd never seen him toss a toy in the air and squeal like he did with the mouse corpse. It was like it was Christmas and he just got the best toy that he'd always wanted and he couldn't contain his excitement.

[Irish_Dem]

20. He did something that goes to the core of his DNA.

That he never did before.

ETA his primitive brain was activated

[Irish_Dem]

18. Yes that would explain his behavior.

It was a novel behavior for him but one that is hard wired in his DNA.

So he was excited and not habituated to eating it quickly as he would in the wild.
He may have even been making sure it was the real deal.
So maybe it was not all play behavior.

Thanks for the explanation!

[The Jungle 1]

41. I am not really in agreement with you on that.

Domestic cats often will play with their prey until it is dead. It is said the mouse dies of fright. They will hunt even when they are not hungry.
There is film of great white sharks tossing seals around in the same manner.
A lot of things in nature are not pleasant.

[Ocelot II]

42. I have personally witnessed only the quick and lethal attack

that took place in my living room. I am aware that some cats will play with their prey before killing it, but that wasn't Milo's style. He was always very food-motivated, and I think he was more interested in eating than fooling around.

[NJCher]

12. now you can sing this to her

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones
Eensie weensy squeensy ones
See how they wiggle and squirm!

[Verse 1]
Down goes the first one, down goes the second one
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
[Verse 2]
I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice
And throw the skins away!
Nobody knows how fat I grow
On worms three times a day!

[Chorus]
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones
Eensie weensy squeensy ones
See how they wiggle and squirm!

-------

and as far as the kitties go, we have this!

[ShazzieB]

16. I used to have a mug with that cartoon on it!

Someone had abandoned it at an office where I once worked, and I happily "adopted" it.

People usually reacted to by finding it either hilarious or really gross. (I'm sure you can guess which camp I was in. ) There were very few completely neutral responses to that mug!

[Irish_Dem]

21. This is hilarious.

Yep this is her new theme song.

[Diamond_Dog]

13. My Labrador Retriever Sophie

will eat chipmunks and mice. She ate a dead bird the other day. It’s totally gross to see her do it.
She has eaten stink bugs before too.

[Ocelot II]

17. Labs will eat anything. I once knew one who ate rocks

and the neighbors' clothes off their clotheslines.

[Diamond_Dog]

19. Yep, they're notorious garbage eaters.

Sophie, however, has a discriminating palate - she will play with lucky stones by throwing them up in the air, but she hasn’t eaten any. Yet.

[Irish_Dem]

23. Good heavens. Chipmunks?

Is she hungry or just likes to hunt?

My dog is only 8 lbs.
I don't think she could eat a chipmunk.
Rabbits are bigger than she is.

She may chase them but would have no idea what to do with them.

Does Sophie get sick when she eats all these critters?

[Diamond_Dog]

25. No.

Apparently according to online sources, they are like “treats” to dogs and in most cases won’t make them sick. She’s done this a few times and was OK. Although one time she ate a dead bird that we weren’t too sure about so we gave her peroxide/water solution (squirted it down her throat with a special gadget) to make her throw it up. I read that on PetMD. Talk about disgusting.



I’ve had 2 dogs previously, one other would go after rabbits but she just liked to chase them. Of course we try to discourage it, but they are too fast!

[Irish_Dem]

27. Wow I don't feel so bad about my dog eating a tiny dead worm

she does it when she thinks I don't notice.

yes that would worry me about getting some illness from a random wild animal.

But animals are going to act like animals.

[Diamond_Dog]

28. Yes they will!

Isn’t it ironic we pay good $ for dog food for them and they go outside and get into something disgusting?

[Irish_Dem]

30. I know, we pay all this money for healthy food and treats.

Then they go outside and eat a dead worm or chipmunk.

[Kali]

24. LOL

ours eat mice, rats, gophers and (urg) juvenile rabbits. one eats mice that have been caught in traps. they are his special treat and he gets excited when he thinks somebody is bringing him one.

[Irish_Dem]

26. Do cats do this when they are hungry?

Or are they more opportunistic and will just catch and eat whatever crosses their path?

[Kali]

31. ours have dry food out all the time, but they do enjoy the hunt

I had to cancel the last two chewy deliveries of cat food because they are not really eating much of it. spring is a busy time for rodents. around here this is also their job. house cats tend to just catch and play with mice if they ever even see them. or birds. our cats get scolded and any birds (or lizards) get taken away. they are pretty good about it. I find an occasional lizard or pile of feathers in the bathtub but mostly rodents are encouraged. - yes two of them are trained to take things to the tub. much easier to clean up. one never brings anything in, and one mostly eats his entire kill, but the girl cat is a little sloppy.

[Irish_Dem]

33. Interesting that the cats have food in their bowls but still chase other animals.

So it really isn't about being hungry.

I noticed Cher's cat had food in his bowl and put the mouse on top of it.
So he had plenty of regular food.

So yes a very primitive wired in activity, going after prey.

Well you have working cats and have trained them accordingly.
So they kill the mice and take them to the tub to dispose of them.
So some eat the mice, others don't. Others won't hunt mice at all.

For thousands of years cats and dogs were working animals.
Or in the wild.
So hard wired in.

But now the animals are house pets and we see a mixed bag.
Some know the drill.

Some of the cats have the wiring but don't know what to do
with it fully because they are not out in the wild. Others just ignore
the wiring.

[Duppers]

34. Most kill are eaten or....

Brought back to kitty's family to be consumed.

Once had a kitty bring me her kill, a small mouse: "look, mom, what I brought you!" 💕 She was very proud of herself.

I really adore most critters.

[Irish_Dem]

37. In any species bringing home the bacon is a good thing.

A point of pride.

I can feed myself and my group.

[Ocelot II]

43. A guy I worked with had a cat who specialized in rabbits.

He'd kill them and take them home, drag them through the cat door in the garage service door and dismantle and eat them in the garage, where the mess and guts could be more easily cleaned up. And then he'd go in the house and throw up. He was so good at hunting rabbits that the neighbors wanted to hire him.

[Irish_Dem]

45. Interesting that even when he kept throwing up the rabbits

he would still go out for more. Apparently it did not deter him.

Right I have a neighbor who would hire this cat in a heartbeat.
The rabbits eat her flowers and plants every year.

[Ocelot II]

46. Cats throw up a lot, sometimes as a result of eating too fast.

If you have a cat you have to be careful about walking around your house barefoot in the dark. Stepping in cold cat puke in the middle of the night is kind of disturbing (actually, it's even more disturbing if it's warm).

[Irish_Dem]

49. Good God.

Stepping in warm cat vomit in the middle of the night.

My little dog occasionally throws up a little bit.
But not very often and I see it right away.

Interesting, so the cat gobbles down food fast.
Then throws it up. They must still get some of the calories.
Natural selection has eliminated this trait for some reason.
Or maybe it is the modern day breeders who are not weeding it out.

[Ocelot II]

50. In the wild they probably go back and re-eat it.

[Irish_Dem]

52. Oh yes of course.

Semi-digested food, just waiting for the cat's second meal.

This might be why the trait has not been selected out of the gene pool.

[Polly Hennessey]

4. Same here. Pumpkin Pie brought his prize to the back patio

and proceeded to eat the thing. To this day I believe he knew I was watching.

[Irish_Dem]

7. Good God. Maybe he was proud of his catch?

[Duppers]

35. They truly are!

[Irish_Dem]

36. If a species really enjoys the hunt, kill and dinner chances of survival are higher?

[Duppers]

38. You may be on to something!

How might that fondness develop?

[Irish_Dem]

39. Darwin's natural selection?

More animals are produced each generation that can survive.

Animal traits and characteristics vary and the variation is heritable. Those animals with heritable traits better suited to the environment will survive.

So say some animals are born just liking to hunt, to eat, etc. They will survive in greater numbers and pass down that DNA trait. As opposed to animals who are indifferent to hunting and killing.

So a random animal trait will appear which loads on survival and then pretty soon that becomes a widespread trait.

I am just guessing here, evolutionary processes are not my area of expertise.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Oliver thinks you ate his dinner.

And he doesn't appreciate it?

[NJCher]

11. Ahh!

I think you have it.

I am sure it has never crossed his mind that I would not want his mouse, his prize, his raison d'etre.

[Irish_Dem]

22. Ocelot gave me a tutorial in feline hunting behavior.

So basic primate behavior.

Yes you took his kill and ate it.

Which is what happens in the wild, so they would normally eat it quickly
to avoid a competitor taking the kill.

But he is not habituated to it because he is a house cat.

He knows that you don't eat his cat food, so it didn't occur to him that
you would eat his mouse.

His primitive brain was excited by his basic kill to eat DNA wiring coming alive.
And then dashed back to reality that his food was stolen by you.

Next time he will know to eat the mouse in private, away from you.
You are the competitor who ate his mouse.

That's the best explanation I have for the moment.

[NJCher]

29. this is cracking me up

The cat mind.



So I guess I will be the bad guy for a while.

[Irish_Dem]

32. I am always trying to figure out cats.

They are such odd, complicated creatures compared to dogs.
That is why people love them I think.

They are a bit of a mystery on why they do what they do.

Yes he is a little miffed and confused right now.
But he has learned an important survival skill.
Don't play with your mouse or someone else will eat it.

He should bounce back, since he loves and trusts you.
And you feed him and pay attention to him.

[Ocelot II]

44. Cats are definitely quirky. People who have only ever been around dogs

find them baffling and weird. I consider their weirdness to be one of their charms.

[Irish_Dem]

47. Yes they are baffling compared to dogs.

My little dog is quite predictable and not up to all kinds of constant high jinks.
Maybe cat people think my dog is boring.

I don't know if you saw a video some months back here on
DU which blew my mind.

It showed a little girl on a swing and a cat jumping around which got
the little girl twisted in the chains, who looked like she could have
been decapitated. Yikes.

[Ocelot II]

48. I don't think dogs are boring, but they are fairly predictable in most cases.

They don't usually do super weird things that leave you wondering what that was all about or why the hell they did that thing. Dogs don't completely disappear in your house, for example.

Never saw the video you mentioned, but the internet is full of videos of cats being strange.

[Irish_Dem]

51. Dog behavior is more predictable and understandable.

I can understand why my dog does what she does.
It is usually a clearly goal driven behavior.

My dog sticks to me like glue. She doesn't disappear.
If she did, all I would have to do is ask her if she wants
one of her peanut butter treats and she would come running.

[blm]

9. Eek

[The Jungle 1]

40. Yea animals communicate with us quite clearly.

You just have to be willing to listen.