One of my cats is "collecting" moss...

loveysmummy

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I didn't know how else to word that..


Unsure if this is the right venue for this question, but here goes...

I don't know which one of my adult male boys is doing it or why?? but one of them seems to have adopted an odd nuisance behaviour.

About 2 months ago, we moved into a new apartment. The apartment has a rooftop patio. This area is enclosed somewhat but the cats can jump down into the neighbour's patio


A couple of weeks ago, I started noticing big clumps of dirt/moss on the steps leading up to the patio. I first dismissed it as coming off on their feet perhaps? I cleaned it up and the very next day once again, there were about 10 of these clumps of moss attached to dirt (about half the size of a fist) on the stairs again!

I haven't been able to catch them in the act, I don't know where they are getting this moss, and have no idea why they are doing it.

I suspect that one of them is "stealing" this from a neighbour's plants (as my plants all seem ok?). I am ashamed that I allow them on the upper patio but they love it so and it has proven to be safe otherwise. However, I would like to know the root of the behaviour so I can "nip it in the bud"


Admittedly, one of them has killed 2 birds in his life and brought them to the door, but surely he knows the difference between clumps of moss and a bird?
 

catpsych

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Hi there,
Unfortunately I do not have a good answer for this one, basically if you let you kitties out, you cannot not make them bring you back a gift or two.....or ten for your matter.
But at least it's not birds. If it is moss from your neighbor's plants, you'll need to find a way of preventing your kitties from venturing to the neighbor's porch. As far as him bringing moss to the door, he may be bringing it to you because if it is moss from the ground perhaps there is a dead animal around there and the moss smells of the dead animal so he believes he is bringing you food.
This is a possibility. As far as the experts believe, they think cats will bring you kill or moss in your cause as a gift, because they are not starving and so they offer it to us as food, or they believe we are helpless sorry hunters so they bring it home for us because they believe we cannot hunt for oursleves. Some believe they view us as their kittens so they bring food to us.....there are so many theories, I hope to one day venture to Africa to study cats and this exact issue, because I myself am so curious and wish we had an answer that made some good sense.
But the exterts are really not 100% sure about this behavior. As far as you having moss and not dead animals, it is a very common displacement disorder that when cats feel the erge to provide you with a kill, if they cannot capture it, they will bring you what they can capture, in your case it is moss. I had on lady who's cat would drag all the pillows in the house to her bedroom door to present her owner with a kill everyday, come to find out the pillows were all made with down feathers, we switched out the pillows with synthetic fiber pillows and the behavior stopped. That is what is making me think there may be a dead animal around there and the scent is on the moss so they think they are bringing you food. Well, I hope this sheds a little light on the subject, I wish I had a better answer for you though...maybe one day I'll get to go to Africa to study the wild kitties, I think there I will find the answer.

Take Care,
Kerry

Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

I didn't know how else to word that..


Unsure if this is the right venue for this question, but here goes...

I don't know which one of my adult male boys is doing it or why?? but one of them seems to have adopted an odd nuisance behaviour.

About 2 months ago, we moved into a new apartment. The apartment has a rooftop patio. This area is enclosed somewhat but the cats can jump down into the neighbour's patio


A couple of weeks ago, I started noticing big clumps of dirt/moss on the steps leading up to the patio. I first dismissed it as coming off on their feet perhaps? I cleaned it up and the very next day once again, there were about 10 of these clumps of moss attached to dirt (about half the size of a fist) on the stairs again!

I haven't been able to catch them in the act, I don't know where they are getting this moss, and have no idea why they are doing it.

I suspect that one of them is "stealing" this from a neighbour's plants (as my plants all seem ok?). I am ashamed that I allow them on the upper patio but they love it so and it has proven to be safe otherwise. However, I would like to know the root of the behaviour so I can "nip it in the bud"


Admittedly, one of them has killed 2 birds in his life and brought them to the door, but surely he knows the difference between clumps of moss and a bird?
 
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loveysmummy

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Thanks so much for taking the time to answer that, Kerry!! I have heard these theories before and wasn't sure if there was one clear answer that arose from the rest...As of my typing this, they (whichever one it was) has stopped the behaviour, oddly enough...Perhaps you are correct and it was a dead animal smell (and now the dead animal smell has been eradicated
)

I do hate that they go outside (in a way) but they do not go far and they don't go to the street...They are both adult rescues who used to live on the street at one point in their lives and so I attempt to compromise with them somewhat.


Thanks again!
 
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