by Bruce Fogle
Dawn is one of the best times for successful hunting. Dew worms are still lying on the ground. Frogs are concentrating on dog flies. Flies are concentrating on dog droppings. Birds are concentrating on dew worms. Rodents are returning to their nests.
There is a cornucopia of food, a three star restaurant fresh for plundering. The only complication is that house cats usually have full stomachs. They have no physical need to hunt but they simply can't help it. They follow their instincts. The question then is what to do with this prize.
Many cat remain in arrested emotional development when it comes to capturing, killing and eating prey. They remain kitten-like in that they capture, release and capture their prey again and again. They torment and tease rather than carry out the natural and instantaneous death bite that feral cats would inflict on prey almost immediately after catching it.
Domestic cats with full stomachs catch animals because of the thrill of the hunt, much in the same way that fishermen catch and release fish.
In a curious way, adult household cats in particular have split personality. Part of their development arrested because people feed them and house them, so they retain some kitten-like behaviors. This is part of the reason why they torture prey rather then inflicting instantaneous death bite.
Because domestic cats develop social bonds with people, they often want to share their prizes with them. Dawn is the most successful hunting time, it is also the time of day when people are most likely to be in bed.
A wounded frog or bisected earthworm on the pillow at dawn simply a manifestation of feline generosity; it is only because people do not show generosity in a similar way that they find it unpleasant. It is just feline way of saying 'I love you'.
Dawn is one of the best times for successful hunting. Dew worms are still lying on the ground. Frogs are concentrating on dog flies. Flies are concentrating on dog droppings. Birds are concentrating on dew worms. Rodents are returning to their nests.
There is a cornucopia of food, a three star restaurant fresh for plundering. The only complication is that house cats usually have full stomachs. They have no physical need to hunt but they simply can't help it. They follow their instincts. The question then is what to do with this prize.
Many cat remain in arrested emotional development when it comes to capturing, killing and eating prey. They remain kitten-like in that they capture, release and capture their prey again and again. They torment and tease rather than carry out the natural and instantaneous death bite that feral cats would inflict on prey almost immediately after catching it.
Domestic cats with full stomachs catch animals because of the thrill of the hunt, much in the same way that fishermen catch and release fish.
In a curious way, adult household cats in particular have split personality. Part of their development arrested because people feed them and house them, so they retain some kitten-like behaviors. This is part of the reason why they torture prey rather then inflicting instantaneous death bite.
Because domestic cats develop social bonds with people, they often want to share their prizes with them. Dawn is the most successful hunting time, it is also the time of day when people are most likely to be in bed.
A wounded frog or bisected earthworm on the pillow at dawn simply a manifestation of feline generosity; it is only because people do not show generosity in a similar way that they find it unpleasant. It is just feline way of saying 'I love you'.
