Encouraging a cat to hunt?

[GinaB]

Stan used to be quite the hunter, which is brilliant where I live (out in the country!)

However, these last few months he's becoming very lazy! How can I encourage him to hunt again?

Prompted by the rat who sauntered past me in the barn last night, cool as anything!

 

[Kallibear]

If he's getting older he may be stiff and find hunting hard. Bad teeth can cause the same. An MOT at the vets might be a good place to start.

They don't hunt, other than for fun, if they're too well fed but equally they're far less effective if really hungry as they can't concentrate properly. Reduce his fed to a minimum but ensure he gets regularly

They also don't hunt well when cold or wet so make sure he's got somewhere warm and dry to sleep.

However some cats just loose interest and if hunting was never their main way of gaining food, it's not something you can force them to do.