Cats, along with dogs, are one of the favorite pets. With many lovers as well as detractors, this animal stands out for being territorial and a hunter -specializing in small rodents-. But even if our cat is well fed and does not lack anything, it is possible that his desire to want to hunt be above it all. Today we explain the why this behavior.
“Although cats are well fed, the predatory behavior of their ancestor, the wild cat, persists in them, since it is known that hunger and the instinct to hunt reside in different areas of the brain and are regulated by different neurological controls” say Isac Mella Méndez and Rafael Flores Peredo in an article published in the Universidad Veracruzana.
For these reasons, cats are designed to activate the hunting sequence whenever they have the slightest opportunity, by picking up auditory and visual cues from potential prey, and not just when they are hungry.
The risks of letting our cat hunt freely
Although many may think that cats hunt for fun and therefore do not eat the prey later, this is not the case. However, letting our animal hunt freely can bring some dangers that we have to be aware of. And it is that many of the prey, being wild and living abroad, can have diseases or parasites (such as toxoplasmosis).
In the case of mice, our cat can hunt a rodent poisoned, which can cause serious coagulation or bleeding problems. In addition, cats can also be carriers of contagious diseases to humans.
Main photo | Luca Finardi
Photos | Beyza Kaplan, Joost