Cats Fish
Cats fish at home in their living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms. They can do it whenever they play.
You know when your cat is playing she sometimes throws things into the air – she just caught a fish.
Like many others, I always thought that when a cat threw her toy up into the air and pounced on it when it landed, she was activating the object, making it come alive to pretend that it was a real creature.
Cats hunt for a variety of wild animals including mice (rodents), birds and fish. A number of the small wild cats fish, for example the Serval . The wild cat/domestic cat hybrids are generally fond of water and some actively enjoy being in it. These cats are for example, the Bengal, Chausie, Safari and Savannah. The characteristics of their wild parents are showing.
They have different techniques for each animal, quite naturally. Fishing requires a special technique. Bengal cats are particularly good with their paws in holding and grabbing things. This skill, I believe, comes from the cat’s fishing backgroung (her wild parent the Asian Leopard Cat can fish effectively and lives near water courses).
They lie in weight at the edge of the water and when the fish comes by they place the paw under the fish and hook it up, sometimes using both paws if needed.
The fish is then flipped out of the water and thrown over the cat’s shoulders on to the ground behind the cat. She turns and pounces on the fish to kill it. Voila eezie peezie lemon squeezie.
Research indicates that this skill in inherited and therefore does not need to be taught by the mother cat. It is “hard wired” into the brain leading your cat to instinctively play her fishing skills with her toys and other objects.
Photographs:
All are reproduced under Creative Commons.
Top: copyright ilmungo
Middle: Libby
Bottom: inkswamp
