Many animals have a natural need to teach their young to hunt. For example, this behavior has been observed in killer whales. In the BBC documentary “Patagonia: Earth’s Secret Paradise”, the intelligent creatures are identified as group hunters and depicted chasing seals just off the coast as a family. The mother times her assault with a wave that propels her towards her prey, the killer whales moving at an angle so that their dorsal fins are hidden. “It’s a highly specialized technique that took her years to master,” explains the narrator, after first stating that “…the orca is not a solitary killer. It’s also a mother, who teaches her own family to hunt.”
Like these titans of the oceans, cats are also cunning and powerful hunters. In the wild, there are few land predators larger than the big cats. Domestic cats may not be as large and strong as big cats (the largest of which is the Siberian tiger, according to National Geographic, reaching sizes of over 10 feet long and 660 pounds), but they have also sharp claws and teeth and they don’t. I tend to be afraid to use them.
When your cat companion brings you a dead spider, mouse, or other small beast, it seems like he’s also using those hunting instincts. Plus, many house cats don’t need to look any further than their bowls at mealtime, thanks to humans. It seems to be part of our evolutionary influence on the cays causing this rather macabre behavior. Here’s why.