the sickest thing i have ever had to do

Hello

Today I caught my oldest cat who is a pervious rescue and is like 11 or 12 years old eating a rabbit while its STILL ALIVE IN my DRIVEway it was the most disgusting site ive ever seen he was chewing his way into the rabbits LEG WHILE IT WAAS STILL ALIVE! I took the rabbit and seeing that the poor thing was behond repair i drowned it to give it the quickest death but god what a horrible thing to do see.


I dont mean to be so explicit but i had Never seen this cat hunt before and i had no idea a cat (WELL FED FAT CAT) Would actually begin eating its prey while its still allive? GOd it was horrific! Im just in shock right now not sure where else to post this has anyone else had similair situations? ITs just hard seeing such a sweet gentle pet act like such a monster

I think it's easy for us all to forget that our cats are carnivores. They are also at times, at least how it appears to us, sadists in regards to their prey.

Your cat was doing what his instincts commanded. I am a bit surprised he was able to catch a rabbit. Maybe it was already injured?

Don't hold his behavior against him, it's what they do when left to their own devices.

Yes, that's gross, been there done that.
Though I would think quickly breaking it's neck might have been better.

One my cats is as old as yours and hasn't caught anything in a couple of years. She used to bring home half-eaten baby rabbits, but I've never caught her in the act of killing.

Kai Bengals is right. Cats have an instinct to hunt and kill even if they're well fed.

was it a wild rabbit or someones pet?

it was a total wild rabbit yeah i am suprised he caught it! the only injury i saw on the poor rabbit was the part where my cat was eating away at it. Youd think 6 thousand years of domestication would have a larger effect on their predatory natures?

Wild rabbit cant that be dangerous.

Sickest thing I saw from my cat was him eating a bird alive...

this is gross ... I love Skittles she has give me NOTHING

Cats will be cats.

rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain & i really would not consider them dangerous prey dangerous prey would be something like a mink or a possum or a hawk.

I meant for the cat might get something from the wild rabbit

I know my cat loves me because he leaves dead birds in my drawers

I'm lucky, mine just leave me mouthfulls of kibble on my pillow

Well Bobber brought a robin in the garage on Wednesday!!! Yuck..
When Sheba was living she was the great rabbit hunter of the bunch. Mainly babies or smaller ones. We used to have a terrible rabbit problem but in the past couple of years a couple of hawks have moved into the area and they are really keeping the rabbit population down!! Bobber who is the only hunter catches lots of voles and meadow mice and an occasional gopher too.

the hawks here are huge and have such audacity I saw a cat (not one of mine) chasing a rabbit trying to catch it the rabbit got away and shortly RIGHT after was pounced on by a red tailed hawk the cat just kinda stood there in shock (Probably jealous) was amazing to see that since a hawk is a natural wild predator

rabbits can be dangerous - though it depends on the kind of rabbit. If it's a baby, or a cottontail, they probably don't pose much threat, but if it's anything bigger, watch out! They don't call it "rabbit kicking" for nothing!
I've heard of full grown rabbits or hares eviscerating and killing cats who have attacked them.
When I lived in Arizona, we would have jackrabbits (which are really hares, not rabbits) in the back yard and they were at least as big if not bigger than our cats. I always tried to scare them off if I saw either of my cats stalking them as I'm pretty sure they would come out on the loosing end of that fight.
I am sorry you had to see your cat eating the bunny though. One of our cats brought in the front half of a baby bunny, complete with intestines hanging out. He left in our hallway and I think my mom almost stepped on it! yikes!

~Julia

ive actually seen a few cats kill rabbits the same size of themselves! iTs pretty shocking because almost all the time you bring a big rabbit into the house the cat usually respects it. I just hope that a fox or a mink will pick up and eat it so it doesnt go to waste

I don't know... I guess I'm callous or something, but I always thought cats' hunting was pretty amazing. I mean, a rabbit is half the cat's size, and fast too... I used to love watching Skimble (who brought down a mouse as a kitten still being bottle fed) catch flies right out of the air; and Daffy always lined up at least one or two field mice on our doorstep...

Your cat really has been domesticated more than you think; though that's not really a good thing. A truly wild cat would attempt to break the rabbit's neck or bite its throat; at any rate, something more lethal than chewing on its leg. This is because wounded prey--especially larger prey like rabbits, rats, and the larger birds--can be pretty dangerous to a cat. When an animal is fighting for its life, it can hurt a cat surprisingly badly.

Wild cats do leave prey wounded if they are teaching kittens to hunt, though; or if they are inexperienced at hunting.

I never really thought cats were "horrible" for bringing down mice, rats, moles, birds, baby rabbits... I'll admit I've never had to deal with a live bird or adult rabbit; and my cats were generally quite neat about their killing.

Maybe it's because I myself eat meat, and rather enjoy it... so I am a carnivore (okay, omnivore) too.

I am not sure I can handler killing the animal even if suffering. I would probably be chicken and take it to the vet to do the deed