Hope it's ok to post a cat question on here

[nijinsky]

I have 3 cats who are around about 10 years old & to a degree they all hunt which I know is 100% natural. They've all hunted the odd bird, mouse, vole, then delightlfully bring it to me as a present. Lovely!! They've never eaten their prey, just killed it.

For the past month or so they have been actually eating what they catch, you just find the odd bit of guts left or head.

They are fed a large forkfull of meat a.m and p.m which they eat immediately and I leave dried biscuits out all day. They've now stopped eating the biscuits and seem to have turned into proper "meat" eaters.

At 1.30am this morning I was woken to the horrible squealing of some poor animal, dived out of bed & one of the cats had a rabbit in the house, it was dead by the time I got there but OMG they've never caught a rabbit before, it wasn't much smaller than the cats. There was also a dead hare in my field when I got home from work yesterday but I didn't even think about the cats getting it - surely a cat couldn't catch a hare - could it??

So my question is - is it normal for cats after all these years to suddenly start eating what they catch. Could they be hungry & that's why they are eating it. I wormed them all on Saturday. Can they get diseases from their prey??

Thank you.

 

[AmyMay]

I think cats go through all sorts of phases. And I expect they've been catching and eating much more prey than you think - just not bringing it to the house.

One of my cats as a panchant for frogs!!!! And it's not uncommon to find one partially dismembered in the kitchen.

Like you I feed my cats meat, and have biscuits down all day. I have four cats - so the biscuits always get eaten. However, each of them goes through a phase where they want them and don't want them.

Basically cats are a law unto themselves.......

 

[nijinsky]

Thank you Amymay I was beginning to think nobody was speaking to me.

You're probably right - God knows what they do outside - I just couldn't believe one of them had brought a rabbit in - and through the catflap as well. YUK

Don't suppose you know if cats can get anything from rabbits do you?

 

[fairhill]

Our YO's cats have been eating rabbits for years, regularly catching huge ones and dragging them back to the yard to eat. The cats are both still very healthy...

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Thank you Amymay I was beginning to think nobody was speaking to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure anyone has been able to get on - I kept getting error messages....

[ QUOTE ]
Don't suppose you know if cats can get anything from rabbits do you?


[/ QUOTE ] I'm sure not - other than the usual - worms!

 

[JAK]

Several of our older cats have decided that they are no longer going to eat biscuits, thank you very much, so have been offered more tinned meat instead!
If you don't want your house & garden looking like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre on a regular basis, an extra tin of Whiskas or whatever between them may be your best option! lol

Hunting however, keeps older cats fit & alert, so slaughtering the local wildlife is certainly beneficial to them, if unpleasant for you!
(My kids leave the house most mornings, picking their way through the previous night's pile of heads & entrails! lol)
All ours regularly hunt & catch shrews, moles, rabbits, pigeons, squirrels, etc. & look very well on it!

If you are still worried about the biscuit thing, check their teeth over & keep an eye on any increased water intake. Apart from that, I shouldn't worry about it!

 

[Selkie]

Our cats are fed twice a day and still they kill. They will eat a rabbit starting with the head leaving just the gall bladder and the tail. They then lay there with their big fat tummies unable to move for about 24 hours and then they go off and do it all again. We do worm every month and once had to worm them after 3 weeks

 

[nijinsky]

Thanks - think an extra tin of whiskas then!! I know it's nature but the thought of it makes me want to throw up. The mice I can live with but rabbits, I don't think so.

Think it's time to stop cats having run of house then, or certainly all bedroom doors kept closed. Don't want to wake up to a rabbits head in my bed!!!!!!!

 

[dozzie]

Rabbits are not a problem! My friends cat brought the odd adder into the house!

Fortunately mine were not that brave!

 

[TheresaW]

One of mine brought a grass snake in once. Have had slow worms as well.

 

[Blackhawk]

My cat, who is a year old, will eat biscuits until they are coming out of his ears. However, he will still kill and I imagine eat all sorts. His favorite is rabbit, but he killed a wood pigeon last night. Quite good for a cat with a bell on and a limp.