Ever watch house cats out hunting?

[GatorFarmer]

I have never actually owned a cat, to the extent that one can own a cat. My wife used to have one, before we met, the raccoons out by the dumpsters ate it. Bremerton was a rough town.

I was never really a cat person.

As of late, I do find watching them hunt interesting. There is an abandoned house with a weed filled yard nearby. When ever the neighbors let their cats out it, or the thick grass by the creek, becomes a miniature jungle as the cats stalk whatever rodents call them home.

They put on a fine show, as good as any nature documentary, in miniature. As I point out to my children, some have coats that blend in surprisingly well. They stalk, sniff about, do what amounts to patrols of their territory as they see it, develop favorite perches. I even watched an orange one stand on its hind legs for a prolonged period while watching for something.

I am sure they are why I find the occaisional severed rodent head out front.

Other than chasing them out of my garden, I leave the cats alone, figuring that I would rather have cats outside than mice inside. I don't feed them or pet them, but I have come to enjoy watching them.

 

[steveno]

years ago the Wyoming outdoor magazine had an article on the damage that feral cats do to the wildlife like birds. cats should be inside if they are pets. if they are outside and off property they are feral and should be removed

 

[islamoradamark]

wheater the cats are indoor or outdoor they provide great entertainment especially when they hunt , but thats after a good nap

 

[litenlarry]

Over the years, my neighbors have had several cats..My house has a vacant lot next to me..The cats love to hunt in it as the grass can get a bit high.. Only issue is that the cats have been declawed and they usually wind up eating out of a can at home..

Fun to watch them toss a mouse in the air numerous times..
Pounce, toss, pounce toss..

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I saw a feral cat stalking about 125 yards from were I stood inside the grape arbor. He was a mostly black with about 1/3 white patch that wrapped his front right shoulder and both forelegs. As he crept along about 4 to 6 inches inside the tall grass, he had locked his gaze on a target four feet out into the unmowed lawn. I had the scoped 22 to my shoulder and was figuring the hold over and aimed at the spot he was intent upon. His pounce was so fast, my reflexes couldn't shoot fast enough to save the young bird I thought he was after. Instead he had come 5 feet closer to me landed on a tuft of crabgrass that contained one or more mice and came up with a long thin tail sticking from his mouth. I never drew a bead on that cat again, over the next few years I saw him harvested several voles and mice. The last time I saw him, some form of hawk had completed the circle of life, with the hunter becoming the hunted! Ivan

 

[steveno]

feral cats (and other pets) are also an easy menu item for coyotes and mountain lions. just ask the people that chose to live along the front range in Colorado when their favorite pet didn't come home when called. if you have a pet keep it in the house or watch it very carefully if outside

 

[vonn]

All cats are pure hunters and as they mature and learn they become very proficient at it. Love to watch them. If you have barns and livestock feed they can be very beneficial by holding down rodent populations.

 

[Salty RI]

We had feral cat's here by the thousands, people would come here for the summer and when it was time to go home, if they couldn't find their cat, they would leave it, also college students would go to the shelter and get a cat and when it was time to go home, their parents would tell don't bring that cat home, we used to have rabbits all over the place, it didn't take long before we didn't have any, if you were out fishing at night you would have no less than 30 cat's all around you trying to get the fish you were reeling in, finally coyotes moved in and in a few years they got the cat's under control.

 

[Edmo]

My wife and I have always owned both cats and dogs. Well, you don't really "own" a cat... It allows you to care for it and in return it thinks it owns you.

All of our cats are indoor cats, but they all get a chance to go out with us into our backyard for some supervised "jungle" time. Before these safari trips are over they have usually honed their hunting skills and caught several bugs.

Edmo

 

[Drm50]

Cats

House Cats belong in the house!

 

[THE PILGRIM]

House cats retain more hunting ability than any domesticated animal.
And they can take down your bird population, especially ground nesting birds.
I come a family of 'bird' hunters, that's Southern speak for Quail hunting.
My folks and lots of other folks would shoot cats while out hunting.
They knew that a cat out in the field in the predator state of mine was a threat to the local Quail population.

 

[snowman]

My wife and I have always owned both cats and dogs. Well, you don't really "own" a cat... It allows you to care for it and in return it thinks it owns you.

All of our cats are indoor cats, but they all get a chance to go out with us into our backyard for some supervised "jungle" time. Before these safari trips are over they have usually honed their hunting skills and caught several bugs.

Edmo

Edmo,

That is one healthy-looking and attractive cat. It's obvious that you and your wife take good care of him/her.

Andy

 

[RobertJ.]

Years ago, my mom saw her cat, Frankie, stalking a small bird in her back yard. She opened the door and yelled "KITTY KITTY KITTY" as loud as she could. The cat broke her concentration, the bird flew, then the cat ran and jumped and snagged the bird in mid air! Then she (Frankie) turned around and gave my mom a real cat stink eye!

Frankie wasn't a large cat, but one time she came home dragging a small rabbit! All our cats growing up were indoor/outdoor and good hunters.

 

[redlevel]

I come a family of 'bird' hunters, that's Southern speak for Quail hunting.
My folks and lots of other folks would shoot cats while out hunting.
They knew that a cat out in the field in the predator state of mine was a threat to the local Quail population.

I shoot feral cats when I see them on my property.
I have a good population of rabbits and several coveys
of quail. I am not about to let a bunch of feral, non-native
cats destroy those animals. I still will shoot coyotes, but
I don't go out of my way to hunt them. They help
immensely with cat control. Feral cats, like kudzu, are
a non-native introduced species in the wild. They have no
business roaming free. A barn cat or two is acceptable.
I'm speaking of the dozens of cats that are abandoned
at the trash dumpsters within a mile or two of my farm.

 

[Old TexMex]

House cats retain more hunting ability than any domesticated animal.
And they can take down your bird population, especially ground nesting birds.
I come a family of 'bird' hunters, that's Southern speak for Quail hunting.
My folks and lots of other folks would shoot cats while out hunting.
They knew that a cat out in the field in the predator state of mine was a threat to the local Quail population.

I am in accord with THE PILGRIM.
As a house/barn companion I love felix, but ferals are not on. They live short lives individually, but do huge damage to bird population around the areas where they can survive the bigger predator.
Barn cats keep the snakes down as well.
Wildcats like bobs there aren't enough of them to kill measurable quail HERE IN S. TEXAS, and old coyote keeps the feral cats out of the brush.
Hogs, coyote, skunks, raccoon,caracara and all sorts of raptors are the real threat down here, along, of course and primarily with loss of habitat and clearing of land, and drought.

I feel this is an example of different problems and solutions for different areas of the country. But ferals are bad news in the country. In cities, they're probably the only thing keeping the Plague from startin up again.

 

[red14]

My wife and I have always owned both cats and dogs. Well, you don't really "own" a cat... It allows you to care for it and in return it thinks it owns you.
Edmo.

Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
Our (Manx) attack-cat Bob;

 

[Rangerpat]

I have a buddy who is a responsible cat owner and keeps his cat indoors.

On occasions he takes his cat with him when he goes deer hunting and takes the cat to his ground blind, the cat does a good job of going on alert when he hears or smells an animal nearby.

He keeps the cat on a leash so it does not wander off, especially after he shoots his rifle.

 

[Old TexMex]

Here's a picture of Roop tryin to borrow my backup...
Must've been having trouble with a bad rat.

 

[Old TexMex]

I have a buddy who is a responsible cat owner and keeps his cat indoors.

On occasions he takes his cat with him when he goes deer hunting and takes the cat to his ground blind, the cat does a good job of going on alert when he hears or smells an animal nearby.

He keeps the cat on a leash so it does not wander off, especially after he shoots his rifle.

That is BRILLIANT! I have never heard of that.

 

[DWalt]

Current "Top Cat" at our house is a 5 YO orange tabby tomcat (see my Avatar). He was a rescued feral cat, at least sort of. He came to us while a kitten, so we took him home. We got him fixed and healthy, and he has grown into a monster, nearly 20 pounds. I think he must have some Maine Coon Cat blood in him. He's too fat to be much of a hunter, but he does play with snakes and lizards in the back yard. The local squirrels taunt him, but he's not nearly fast enough to catch one. Different from most cats in that he has an unusually friendly personality and loves people - and our three dogs. He ignores birds. Much like the cartoon cat Garfield.