Why do some cats give freshly caught small prey such as mice, birds, cockroaches, etc. to their owners? The popular saying is to "repay a favor" or "offer a sacrifice"; but in fact, in the eyes of cats, it is to give them to their owners. The owner regards you as a "hopeless hunter", or you can be said to be its family member (kitten), so the act of sending prey is equivalent to "showing you how to hunt."

　▲Cats regard their owners as "hopeless hunters", so they catch their prey and bring them back to humans

According to animal behaviorist Desmond Morris in the book "Catwatching", cats take home small prey they have just caught and offer it to their owners because they think their owners are "hopeless hunters." ”. This behavior usually occurs in "neutered female cats" because they have no kittens of their own, so they turn this behavior to their human companions.

Desmond Morris said that big cats in their natural environment will gradually introduce prey to the kittens they are caring for. At first, the prey will be killed, but it will not be eaten immediately. Instead, it will be brought back and eaten in front of the kittens. The next time, the prey is brought back, played with before eating, so that the kittens can observe how it uses its claws to deal with the prey. The third stage is to leave the prey for the kittens to eat. When the kittens grow older, they will hunt directly in front of them so that they can focus and learn. In the future the kittens will join the hunt and then try to hunt on their own.

　▲Cats give prey to their owners out of the generosity of the "caregiver"

However, if a female cat kept in captivity by humans does not have kittens of her own and does not regard humans as mothers but as "family members", she may transfer such teaching of hunting behavior to the owners, that is, out of control. A generous attitude towards “caregivers”. Usually when humans receive such rodents, half-dead birds, etc., they are often frightened half to death, and even yell at cats; but cats obviously have good intentions, and if they treat it like this, it is likely to make it even worse. Understand human friends.

Therefore, Desmond Morris suggested that when humans receive prey from cats, the correct response should be: praise it, pet it, take the prey away, and then quickly throw it away when it is not paying attention.