I love my little predator

Raven was hunting a fly in the house this morning. I was watching her in awe as she stalked it with total patience and concentration. It is really amazing the hunting instints that cats have, even kittens. I love watching her stalk.
Living with a little predator is really cool.

It is and even though it can be easy (with some cats anyway) to forget that they are predators, they are.

I'm constantly amazed by the fact that I can share my space with a small furry very capable predator.

Just be happy you haven't caught her with a live mouse in her mouth, that was a bit much "I'm a predator!" moment from Nikita. Heh..

Originally Posted by Siggav

It is and even though it can be easy (with some cats anyway) to forget that they are predators, they are.

I'm constantly amazed by the fact that I can share my space with a small furry very capable predator.

Just be happy you haven't caught her with a live mouse in her mouth, that was a bit much "I'm a predator!" moment from Nikita. Heh..

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LOL, I am thankful for that, she is indoor only so unless there is an unknown mouse infestation here that is unlikely to happen lol. Now the "toy" mice just better watch out!.

Nikita is indoor only (well apart from a leash and harness and she's never caught anything like that) so don't count your blessings just yet.

Yep I'm dealing with a mouse infestation atm. with the winter setting in. Nikita is very helpful and keeps them away though mostly just by being there now.

My bunch are all indoor only cats too. About a month ago though I was sitting on the couch and Mercury started going crazy running back and forth and around the couch squeaking so I decided to lift it up and see what all the fuss was about. . . Well to my surprise. . . Mercury came running out from under the couch with a mouse in his mouth! That would have been bad enough but then Trinity decided she wanted the mouse too. Of course, she stole it from Merc and ran into the basement! I about had a heart attack chasing my cats around trying to get the mouse from them. I didn't want them to eat it and I didn't want to take a chance that it would escape from them. I finally caught the thing and put it outside (and far away from my house). Matt was so proud of our kitties that he brought them home some nice fresh fish from work. Having little hunters around can definately be entertaining!

They are amazing aren't they?

I love watching Chloe "hunt" her feather bird teaser. She'll crouch down and try to hide behind something (usually something that is way too small to hide her, hehe ) and just pounce. She doesn't want to give up a good pouncing position so she will wait until the perfect moment.

It's also funny to me how cats just like to hunt for the fun of it. They like to bat prey around and will bring it to you as a gift.

The other night I noticed something in the hallway. Before I could get there Forrest ran past me and chased this HUGE leaping cricket down and got it in his mouth. I wanted to take it away from him but he kept running away from me....then...crunch, crunch, crunch...it was gone

I guess his predatory instincts will keep my house cricket free.

Originally Posted by AudioCat

The other night I noticed something in the hallway. Before I could get there Forrest ran past me and chased this HUGE leaping cricket down and got it in his mouth. I wanted to take it away from him but he kept running away from me....then...crunch, crunch, crunch...it was gone

I guess his predatory instincts will keep my house cricket free.

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You have the crickets too huh? I guess it must be the time of year or something, but at least two or three times a day I'll see my little guys chasing crickets around the house. They never seem to eat them, but rather they like to torture them to death by continuously pouncing on them. It's really pretty cute!

Originally Posted by orltwa

You have the crickets too huh? I guess it must be the time of year or something, but at least two or three times a day I'll see my little guys chasing crickets around the house. They never seem to eat them, but rather they like to torture them to death by continuously pouncing on them. It's really pretty cute!

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The crickets are not so bad as they were a few weeks ago - but still a lot around. Must be a Texas thing

Lilly will play with the crickets, but since Forrest was born feral I think his cat Mom taught him that they are food. Yummy

I got to see Zoe stalk a fly not long ago and I was like you in that I just stood quietly to watch it happen. That was the first and only time I have gotten to hear that strange chirping/clicking noise I've heard people say their cats make when bird watching or something. It was really something, I just stood there with my mouth open and watched my sweet little kitty stalk, catch and EAT the fly. Now today, she's taken to watching and meowing at a couple of ladybugs on the ceiling. We also had a cricket in the house a couple days ago, but my son caught it and took it outside before the cat ever got to see it

I love the predatory nature as well. I only wish we would have had Jack about 2 months ago when we had a furry friend visit our kitchen. Instead we had to walk around on pins and needles for 3 weeks until we caught the little sucker!

I will add though, it isn't very loving when he hunts my feet.

Leslie

My cat Bubby managed to catch a crow though the chain link of their "cat environment" and surprised me with it.

I was surprised, and screamed and jumped. I couldn't help it, because I didn't want to hurt his feelings!

I knew he was hurt, I could tell from the look on his face. Poor fellow! I apologized, but it was just as well he never caught another.

Umm your cats are a little more agile than mine apparently. My Kitty, chases a fly around the house, then he pounces! The fly gets away and he smacks into the wall!

Both of my cats are very into chasing flies in the house. I've never heard them do the chatter sound I've heard some of you talking about, but they will stalk them from room to room and leap very high to catch them in midair.

Last month Dory was able to snatch one from about the height of my chest, which was impressive! Kittens are fearless!

Originally Posted by Sakura

She'll crouch down and try to hide behind something (usually something that is way too small to hide her, hehe

) and just pounce. She doesn't want to give up a good pouncing position so she will wait until the perfect moment.

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Junior does that too. I turned a box upside down and stiffened one of the flaps so it sits at an angle. Junior will crouch under the box, spy one of his toys then pounce it. Then it's back under the box to do it all over again. He'll do that several times in a row before finding a new game to play.

Mez