Hello all. Nice discussion we have here, I see.
I don't believe there is anything that can stop the hunter instinct in a cat, nor the drive a cat has to please it's owner (to an extent with the latter).
There are definitely ways (as said above) to prevent a cat bringing home such gifts; keeping them indoors the most obvious and mishap-proof. I suppose cats could still catch small house animals like mice, but that's out of the question. Another innovation I think is great is an outdoor "Cat Roamer" (one of the names for it) - a series of tunnels, enclosed areas and ramps/ladders, with hard wire mesh walls, floor and roof. Variations can be added like jungle gyms, cat toys.etc, but the main purpose is that a cat can roam outdoors at its will, at no cost to the local wildlife.
A good way to compensate for a cat's instinct to hunt and present gifts to its owner is to play regular games such as catch the [fake] mouse, that springy ball on a pole, and other things sparking and exercising a cat's instinct to hunt, scratch, "kill" and paw. Plus, it's lots of fun for you too!
Originally posted by Gundamor
Kind of like how lions or some other wild cats act |
I can only really think of lions behaving in this way; the less dominant in the hierarchy, the lionesses [i.e. your house cat] hunt and kill the prey, and bring it back for the dominant male lions [you, the owner], who in turn get to feed first as well. I'd imagine your poor cat expects you to eat the gift...
- Knights -