My cat Gabriel is a fast and surgically efficient eater of prey.
I watched him do it. He brought in another mouse. He must have found a nest of them and virtually wiped them out of existence. This time he brought the mouse into the living room. It was dead. He immediately ate it. He started at the top. He decapitated the mouse within 5 seconds and ate the head. There was the usual gross sound of crushing bones.
He then proceeded to eat all the remainder except for the guts which you can see in the photo. With great skill he always leaves the guts. The whole process took approximately 60 seconds. It took me about a minute to clear up because the area was pretty clean. He does not leave behind much of a mess. Surgical precision comes to mind.
Some “experts” say cat owners should not feed their cats chicken with bones but it seems natural that a cat eats bones. It is certainly natural for my Gabriel. Although the bones of a mouse are much small and digestible than those of a chicken.
The reason why I have written this short note is because it surprised me how fast he eats a mouse. I suppose this is partly down to survival instinct. If he was in the wild he’d eat fast to avoid his prey being stolen. That sounds as correct to me. Or perhaps it is just a normal speed for a domestic cat.
In one way I feel bad to see this but it is natural. We can’t feel bad about nature taking its course. We should only feel bad about deviant unnatural behaviour; something that humans are sadly experts at. No, I don’t dislike humans. I am just making a point. A mouse is the perfect raw cat food except that a cat can get worms!
Thanks Elvin. There is not mice infestation. He catches them outside some way away from my home.
The only thing I would add to his response is if you have a urin smell you may have a major infestation. Mice like many rodents carry disease risk and you may save money in the long run hiring a professional.
I just don’t know how to comment.
Ofcourse cats are predators.
But, this gave me flashbacks of the mama that decapitated her babies that I wrote about.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/mother-cat-decapitates-her-four-kittens.html
It all still haunts me.
I totally agree with you as usual, Rudolph. My cat was born outside. His mother was a feral cat. He lived outside the first six or seven weeks of his life and he has that stark wild cat quality in him which makes him an excellent hunter. He is the most wild, domestic cat that I have loved and cared for. In fact I domesticated him and socialised him. It took me a long time and lots of patience. Now he is very domesticated but there is still that glint in his eye and that wild nature which comes to the fore.
Cats are cats whether in European England or Asian India.”Farm Cats” or “Outdoor cats” are natural predators and the same can be observed even in the domestic pet house cat confined to indoor houses or small flats as are my two cats.”Gabriel” eating a mouse in 60 seconds proves the fact that he is a natural predator since he is a outdoor cat.That’s nature and the natural World. My two cats hunt the “Gecko lizards” in my small flat and on more than two occasions i have rescued a gecko from their jaws.A few gecko lizards were not so lucky and became their meal.That’s cats, whether “Outdoors” or “Indoors”.In India most villages have farm houses and its common for the house cat to come home with the odd snake or a rabbit.