It might seem rather strange to state that this article is about the reason why domestic cats and kittens play because it looks obvious: to have fun, to enjoy themselves. There must be an element of fun in play but the primary reason why kittens play, it is believed, is to develop and reinforce …
Does it surprise you that a 1986 study discovered that about 1 in 6 domestic cats play fetch instinctively without training? We tend to think of dogs playing fetch because dogs breeds were created to be working dogs and some fetch something as part of their work – game birds for instance. And dog …
My conclusion from my discussion below is that domestic cats can get confused when they are licking their owner’s passive hand at a time when there is no petting and relate to the hand as food, perhaps a prey animal and bite it. It is an instinctive mental aberration brought about because of conflict …
There are 3 reasons why domestic cats apparently torture their prey by playing with them. I list and discuss them here. It is a form of feline behaviour which at best irritates their human caregiver and at worst disgusts them. It does, however, provide the cat’s owner with an opportunity to save the mouse. …
