Is It My Cat Bringing Home Killed Prey?

[nananuzz]

I have a question I hope someone can answer. We have 2 cats, brother & sister, 4 years old. They're mostly indoor cats, but we let them outside in the back yard only when we are out there, too. The female, Ruby, pretty much stays on the patio under the table for shade. Max is a little more adventurous. He'll walk around the house, going under bushes, but usually comes when we call him. We're very lucky they stay in the yard. So.....We found out there were bunnies born near our driveway. We'd keep checking the hole & actually saw them & the mom. The cats have not noticed the hole at all. Last night, My husband & I saw lots of movement & the mother bunny was sitting on the walkway very near the bunny hole. Our cats were inside & I was taking a video from the window & one of the bunnies came out & was hopping around. The mother saw me in the window & she ran down the stairs, across the driveway & into the front yard. The baby was just sitting at the top of the walk watching for the mom. The baby hopped back but was staying on the grass near the hole. I think there were 3 babies in there. It got too dark to see after.
We got up this morning & we went outside & there were no babies in the hole. It was open with no coverings on or in it. We figured the mom took them away. Well, I was out in the morning & when I left, I left the garage door opened since my hubs was home. I came back, we went out & after we got back after a couple of hours, my husband had to go out & used my car. When he got to the garage, he called me & said there was something dead in front of my car in the garage. I went down & it was one of the babies. Mauled. Later we saw the mom on the sidewalk as if she was looking for her babies. My husband went back into the garage to look around and found another baby behind a box. I am so upset...well both of us are. My husband doesn't think it was our cat, Max. There's a cat that lives 2 houses away from us that is always around & a couple of other cats that love to use our veggie garden as a litter box. My question is would another cat kill something & leave it on our property or in our garage? Max was out this afternoon for like 10 minutes & my husband was watching him while he went around that side of the house where the bunnies were & then I called him & he came right in.
Any thoughts? Sorry this was so long.....

 

[LawnCow]

I read an article in recent years where there was a study done to determine the most "vicious" killer among all the feline species. It was determined that, as fierce and brutal as lions and tigers and cheetah are, the most vicious was the regular house cat. House cats will kill solely for the "fun" of it... so it is entirely possible one of the neighborhood cats was doing what comes natural to them and hunting down prey to kill. Its kinda what cats do..good with the bad and all that...

Sorry that your bunnies had to pay the price for it tho..

 

[nananuzz]

I read an article in recent years where there was a study done to determine the most "vicious" killer among all the feline species. It was determined that, as fierce and brutal as lions and tigers and cheetah are, the most vicious was the regular house cat. House cats will kill solely for the "fun" of it... so it is entirely possible one of the neighborhood cats was doing what comes natural to them and hunting down prey to kill. Its kinda what cats do..good with the bad and all that...

Sorry that your bunnies had to pay the price for it tho..

Thanks for responding!
I know cats will hunt & kill prey & bring it as a "present" to their owners. But you think a neighboring cat would leave it at MY house?

 

[LawnCow]

Its possible. But I think it more likely they just left it where they killed it. While cats do bring home trophies to show off, they dont always bring everything they kill home. The last outdoor cat I had would devour birds on the front door step and leave a feathered mess. But I am certain she didnt bring home every kill. I wouldnt read too much into it. I think it just a bad set of circumstances and a very bad day for you and the bunny family...
And your kat kids seem not to be interested in the hunt... so they are safe from all the dangers that hunting (and eating wild caught things) bring...

 

[Kieka]

It could have also been a local predator and the Mom rabbit interruped the kill. We had raccoons, possums and foxes kill our rabbits when I was a kid. They would frequently leave behind the body if we interrupted them. The babies also could have gotten scared and just died, rabbits actually can have heart attacks very easily, only to get torn apart by another animal. Or they got sick, died and we're scattered by predators.

Really any number of things. I seriously doubt it was your cat if he was only outside for a little. Not to be grusome but my guys could play with the same lizard or mouse for hours. Rocket once cornered a mouse for 18 hours before it .... ummm broke (she cornered it where I couldn't get to it before bed and kept it there until after I left for work the next morning so 12 to 22 hours really). A well fed housecat is only hunting for fun so they don't do it quickly. You or your husband would have noticed if it was Max. So rest assured he was not the bunny killer.

It could be a neighbor cat. My guys tend to bring their stuff home though. My theory is that they want it where they don't have to worry about other cats or dangers. We have a large empty field near us but way more mice and lizards than our actual yard would be able to support. I'd imagine a neighbor's cat would do the same of bringing their toy or meal home with them, not leaving it behind. I really am going for one of my other suggestions besides your cat or a neighbor's cat

 

[nananuzz]

Thanks for your responses. I hope any rabbits having babies will decide to make their nest far away from my house!