Do you feel guilty when your cat kills things?

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I do. My cat kills everything that is smaller than it. I just caught him with another mouse. He kills a few a week. He's killed a few birds lately too. Anyway, whenever I see him mauling a mouse, I try to stop him. But he just wont stop. So now I am feeling guilty and a little depressed. Cant help but think it is somewhat my fault, even though it is in the cat's nature. Anyone else ever think this way?

Why should I? Her clients pay very well.

lol no. he is not eating them. just torturing them, and killing them. he likes his food.

Nope. Cat would kill me if I was small enough.

Fortunately, my cats are both too incompetent to kill anything.

In Australia, where cats are not a native animal, problems arise when domestic moggies escape into the bush and go feral. A breeding population of feral cats will quickly revert to grey-tabby or red-tabby coloration. They tend to be large-sized as the smaller, weaker kittens have a lower survival rate. Predation on native animals can be catastrophic.

Measures such as desexing, fenced cat runs, curfews and triple-belling are part of the response to this problem.

Nevertheless, even a well-fed domestic cat will hunt, because that behaviour is hard-wired into the species. If the cat is permitted outside at night, it will range over a surprisingly large area looking for prey. However, the chase-catch-kill-eat pattern is often truncated, in a pet cat, to chase-catch-bring home for the delectation (eeew!) of my humans.

We used to have one of those "come & go at will" cat flaps for our own pet cat, but it was locked shut permanently after she brought into the house two live venomous snakes, one baby king-brown and one red-bellied black. Now she has to pass a visual inspection at the door before we let her in the house. She is quite capable of miaowing loudly to be let in while clenching a mynah-bird in her jaws!

My cat Dizzy kills things so infrequently, beyond an ocassional Anolis lizard, that I am excited for her when she actually kills a little bird or squirrel. She's so cute, because she certainly hunts often, but she's just too old so she mostly seems to do it for exercise.

I do feel guilty, but I don't let the cat know. Most of the time, my cats bring me their preys as "gifts" for me. The come to me and deposit what they hunted in front of me, expecting me to eat. They do the same with their siblings, it's a display of "affection".

I usually pet them to thank them and throw the poor corpse away. That's what should be done if you don't want to hurt the cat's feelings. Hunting is a good thing for them.

Anyway, cats won't hunt too often if they have enough toys at home (and especially if you play with them until exhaustion). Capturing flies for them (and keeping them alive to be tortured) is also a good way to satisfy their hunting instincts.

Yes I feel guilty as well, especially when I can hear their poor terrified squeaks. But I also know that it is a very good thing, otherwise my house would be overrun with mice (and mice can spread disease and eat up your food). And I am proud and grateful to my cats, they are just protecting their home their humans and their food dish.

Not really. I understand that it's the natural way things work. My cat comes and goes as it pleases too. I know it hunts but it either eats them and doesn't catch them. It's gotten mice and very small rabbits. At least that's what I've seen.

Not really. I feel some guilt
when I do though.

I have three cats but only one (the female) hunts. She doesn't eat what she kills though, they're brought back to me as presents. I've been presented withmice, lizards and small birds for breakfast. Do I feel guilty? Not a bit, cats are domesticated wild animals and I'm quite sure they have not been completely tamed.

Ed Almos

I feed wild birds. If I get a cat I'll put a bell on it.

Samantha used to catch and eat flies.
Puffy used to carry lizards around in her mouth.
My boys and my feral Siamese have killed a bird on occasion.

It's a long time since I've had a cat. I remember when ours came in before dawn and deposited a cold dead mouse on Mom's chest as she slept. As I recall, Mom did not conform to cat etiquette - she wasn't even polite about the gift.