Why does a cat sometimes play with its prey
before killing it?
Horrified cat-owners have often experienced
the shock of finding their pet cats apparently torturing a mouse or
small bird. The hunter, instead of delivering the killing-bite of
which it is perfectly capable, indulges in a cruel game of either
hit-and-chase or trap-and-release, as a result of which the
petrified victim may actually die of shock before the final coup de
grace can be delivered.
Why does the cat do it, when it is such an
efficient killing machine?
To start with, this is not the behaviour of
a wild cat. It is the act of a well-fed pet which has been starved
of hunting activity as a consequence of the 'hygienic' environment
in which it now lives – neat suburbs or well-kept villages where
the rodent infestation has long since been dealt with by poison and
human pest control agencies. For such a cat, the occasional
catching of a little field mouse, or a small bird, is a great
event. It cannot bear to end the chase, prolonging it as much as
possible until the prey dies. The hunting drive is independent of
the hunger drive as any cat-owner knows whose cat has chased off
after a bird on the lawn immediately after filling its belly with
canned cat food. Just as hunger increases without food, so the urge
to hunt increases without access to prey. The pet cat over-reacts,
and the prey suffers a slow death as a result.
On this basis, one would not expect feral
cats which are living rough or farm cats employed as 'professional
pest-controllers' to indulge in play with their half-dead prey. In
most cases it is indeed absent, but some researchers have found
that female farm cats do occasionally indulge in it. There is a
special explanation in their case. As females, they will have to
bring live prey back to the nest to demonstrate killing to their
kittens at a certain stage in the litter's development. This
maternal teaching process will account for an eagerness on the part
of females to play with prey even though they are not starved of
the hunting process.
There is one other explanation for this
seemingly cruel behaviour.
When cats attack rats they are quite nervous
of their prey's ability to defend themselves. A large rat can give
a nasty bite to a cat and has to be subdued before any attempt is
made to perform the killing-bite.
This is done by the cat swinging a lightning
blow with its claws extended. In quick succession it may beat a rat
this way and that until it is dazed and dizzy. Only then does the
cat risk going in close with its face for the killing-bite.
Sometimes a hunting cat will treat a small mouse as if it were a
threatening rat, and start beating it with its paws instead of
biting it. In the case of a mouse this quickly leads to a
disproportionately savage pounding, with the diminutive rodent
being flung to and fro. Feline behaviour of this type may appear
like playing with the prey, but it is distinct from the
trap-and-release play and should not be confused with it. In
trap-and-release play the cat is inhibiting its bite each time. It
is genuinely holding back to prolong the hunt. In hit-and-chase
attacks on mice the cat is simply overreacting to the possible
danger from the prey's teeth. It may look like cruel play, but in
reality it is the behaviour of a cat that is not too sure of
itself. Even after the prey is nearly or completely dead, such a
cat may continue to bat the victim's body around, watching it
intently to see if there is any sign of retaliation. Only after a
long bout of this treatment will the cat decide that it is safe to
deliver the killing-bite and eat the prey.
An experienced, full-time hunter would not
react in this way, but a pampered pet cat, being a little rusty on
the techniques of a quick kill, may well prefer this safer
option.