# Do pet cats routinely lead a double life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654 "2014-08-27T17:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/1 "2014-08-27T17:25:24Z")
In the 60s we got a young kitten, just old enough to be weaned. He grew up in our household, into a streetwise tomcat who spent his nights like any normal tom–beating up other tomcats, romancing his feline girlfriends, and putting the odd dog in his place now and then. In the morning, however, we could hear Archie meowing to be let in; he would then trot out to the kitchen, where he would continue meowing, to be fed. Once fed, he would nap on the couch, and spend most of the daytime hours looking at us silly humans or that dumb dog. So: Is that it? Does your basic house cat live two lives while having his nine lives? ---
**Author:** ![staballoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@staballoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staballoy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/2 "2014-08-27T17:44:05Z")
A well fed cat may spend as many as 22 hours a day sleeping. So, after a sportive night out, your fighting and loving kitty may well be only too happy to curl up and nap. Cats are also nocturnal critters, so daytime dozing is certainly normal. Also, in genial households, one or more of the residents may be imprinted on the kitty as an ersatz mother, so that couch is a place of relative security. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/3 "2014-08-27T17:53:04Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > In the 60s we got a young kitten, just old enough to be weaned. He grew up in our household, into a streetwise tomcat who spent his nights like any normal tom–beating up other tomcats, romancing his feline girlfriends, and putting the odd dog in his place now and then. > In the morning, however, we could hear Archie meowing to be let in; he would then trot out to the kitchen, where he would continue meowing, to be fed. Once fed, he would nap on the couch, and spend most of the daytime hours looking at us silly humans or that dumb dog. > > So: Is that it? Does your basic house cat live two lives while having his nine lives? I’ve had a number of cats that behave the same way. In the evening they become active hunters and look for sexual partners and rivals to fight. It’s not really a double life, just two different aspects of their normal behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/4 "2014-08-27T18:29:10Z")
Mine do the opposite in times of good weather (April thru November). I let them out into the fenced backyard when I leave for work in the morning and they are free to chase mice, get worked up over birds and swat at the neighbors labs thru the fence; that and they sleep quite a bit. By the time I get home they are wore out, get fed and then sleep thru the night for the most part. In the winter they are hell to get along with because they just look out the window and cry. No matter how many mornings I throw them in to foot high snow banks at 10 below they just don’t get it. Makes me want to wrap them in bacon and throw them over the fence. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/5 "2014-08-27T18:45:57Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Mine do the opposite in times of good weather (April thru November). I let them out into the fenced backyard when I leave for work in the morning and they are free to chase mice, get worked up over birds and swat at the neighbors labs thru the fence; that and they sleep quite a bit. By the time I get home they are wore out, get fed and then sleep thru the night for the most part. > > In the winter they are hell to get along with because they just look out the window and cry. No matter how many mornings I throw them in to foot high snow banks at 10 below they just don’t get it. Makes me want to wrap them in bacon and throw them over the fence. They are obviously not kosher kitties. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/6 "2014-08-27T18:50:32Z")
> [@staballoy](#): > > A well fed cat may spend as many as 22 hours a day sleeping. So, after a sportive night out, your fighting and loving kitty may well be only too happy to curl up and nap. Cats are also nocturnal critters, so daytime dozing is certainly normal. Also, in genial households, one or more of the residents may be imprinted on the kitty as an ersatz mother, so that couch is a place of relative security. Cats aren’t nocturnal, they’re crepuscular (active during dawn and dusk). ---
**Author:** ![staballoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@staballoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staballoy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/7 "2014-08-27T18:55:26Z")
Crepuscular. I stand gratefully corrected. Yes, my cat is active at dawn. Too active, as I don’t need a 5AM reveille. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/8 "2014-08-27T18:56:42Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > In the 60s we got a young kitten, just old enough to be weaned. He grew up in our household, into a streetwise tomcat who spent his nights like any normal tom–beating up other tomcats, romancing his feline girlfriends, and putting the odd dog in his place now and then. > In the morning, however, we could hear Archie meowing to be let in; he would then trot out to the kitchen, where he would continue meowing, to be fed. Once fed, he would nap on the couch, and spend most of the daytime hours looking at us silly humans or that dumb dog. > > So: Is that it? Does your basic house cat live two lives while having his nine lives? Ours certainly does. When she is in the house, she’s a sweet kitty softie. Gentle and would not hurt a fly. Let her out, and she’s a terror to other cats, and a monster to mice. I never even knew we had so many mice about on the property, until she started leaving their guts on the patio. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/9 "2014-08-27T19:00:24Z")
If you can provide cats with enough stimulation so they aren’t sleeping all day they will often sleep at night instead, especially if they are neutered and don’t have an active social life. You can also discourage them from hunting by putting a bell around their neck. It’s hard to sneak up on anything if it hears you coming from 10 feet away. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/10 "2014-08-27T19:33:09Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > If you can provide cats with enough stimulation so they aren’t sleeping all day they will often sleep at night instead, especially if they are neutered and don’t have an active social life. > > You can also discourage them from hunting by putting a bell around their neck. It’s hard to sneak up on anything if it hears you coming from 10 feet away. Discourage Archie from hunting? We wouldn’t think of it! For a long time he would sit outside by a hole in the house foundation, just staring at it. Then we found he had accumulated a pile of mouse skeletons! He was a fine mouser, that Arch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/11 "2014-08-27T19:37:07Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > If you can provide cats with enough stimulation so they aren’t sleeping all day they will often sleep at night instead, especially if they are neutered and don’t have an active social life. > > You can also discourage them from hunting by putting a bell around their neck. It’s hard to sneak up on anything if it hears you coming from 10 feet away. Would not work on our cat. I’ve seen her hunt. What she does is hide under a bush in the dark, not moving a whisker. When a mouse comes by, she pounces. The first time that mouse heard the bell, it would be the last thing that mouse ever heard. In any event, I’m not altogether against her keeping the local mouse population down. Luckily, she does not go for birds. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/12 "2014-08-27T19:46:35Z")
Cats that kill, but not eat mice are fine. According to my vet, mice can carry nasty things that cats can pick up from eating them. I had a cat that would kill mice and present them to me whole on my doorstep 2 or 3 nights week. The bell worked with one of my cats who was a skilled bird killer. I don’t think we should encourage cats to kill birds… even if they deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/13 "2014-08-27T19:55:13Z")
Growing up, our male cat became the alpha male at my uncle’s farm down the road. He would show up at home to rest - eventually. When I would go to my uncle’s farm the cat would look at me like “don’t I know you?” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/14 "2014-08-27T19:56:23Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Cats that kill, but not eat mice are fine. According to my vet, mice can carry nasty things that cats can pick up from eating them. I had a cat that would kill mice and present them to me whole on my doorstep 2 or 3 nights week. > > The bell worked with one of my cats who was a skilled bird killer. I don’t think we should encourage cats to kill birds… even if they deserve it. Yeah, I’m glad mine isn’t a birder. So far, she seems to do okay eating mice - we give her the worming pills, and she’s pretty healthy - twelve years old, never really been sick. Which is a good thing, because she hates going to the vets and seems to know via telepathy (well, probably by reading our body language) when we intend to take her, put her in a cage, put the cage in a rattling vehicle, drive her miles out of her territory to a place filled with animals in fear and pain, to be placed on a metal table under a bright light and have a stranger stick a device up her ass and then prod her with sharp needles - and, for some strange reason, she doesn’t like it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/15 "2014-08-27T20:28:17Z")
That doesn’t sound like a double life to me, unless you count humans as living a double life, too. I go out and about and generally take care of business during the day, and then come home at night and sleep: Is that a double life? Now, a real double life for a cat would be to get up at a house where it’s named Fluffy, eat breakfast, and then go down the block to another house where it’s named Mr. Mittens, meow to be let in, and then eat a second breakfast. Which cats are also known to do. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/16 "2014-08-27T20:42:23Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Cats that kill, but not eat mice are fine. According to my vet, mice can carry nasty things that cats can pick up from eating them. I had a cat that would kill mice and present them to me whole on my doorstep 2 or 3 nights week. > > […] And why not? You give your kitty good things to eat ; he’s just returning the favor! OK, go ahead and throw the mouse or bird out–but first praise your cat for his hunting skill. He wants to be recognized and thanked. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/17 "2014-08-27T21:14:29Z")
So, I asked my own cats about this and here’s the run down: Katrina said she was going to kill me one of these nights, Gypsy said yech, Spicy forgot who I am so he ran, Bernard said HELL YEAH and of course the kitten said It’ssomuchfuntochasethemlittlebuggersdownandtossthemandchewonthemandit’satonoffunandIwould’tlovelifeasmuchasIdowithoutthehuntingofeverything. At least they kill the filthy things now before they bring them in the house. It was pretty sick to have a few mice hobbling around the house in a state of being half eaten. Kitten was shocked about how big an animal could fit in a cat’s stomach … I had to point out it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![lilihob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a9adbd/32.png) [@lilihob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilihob)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/18 "2014-08-27T22:34:55Z")
We have an ex-stray, now fairly domesticated and very affectionate. He is also a cat of many personas. To the builder’s merchant down the road, he is Felix, the mighty rat exterminator. To the little girl next door, he is Fluff, who loves to help her eat ice-cream. To the neighbourhood cats, he is an evil bully. To us, he is Sox, the mouse and pigeon! Killer, but cuddly cat. (Incidently, I have watched him treat small birds as beneath his notice). I don’t know what the family down the road call him, but I have seen him sleeping in their window,(behind the glass). I have even seen him at the pettting zoo, on the llama’s cage! And all that is just the shit I know he gets up to. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/19 "2014-08-27T22:35:15Z")
**Moderator Action** While this can be (and has been) answered factually, we’re also getting into a lot of personal experiences here which is turning the thread into more of an informal poll than a factual question. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654/20 "2014-08-27T22:39:21Z")
When I first read the OP, I thought about a cat that a friend of mine used to have. He took it in as a stray, and for a while everything seemed normal. Then one day he let it out, and as he watched, the cat went up the street a bit and into another house. The cat had literally been living a double life, with two separate owners, neither one knowing that the other existed. Both my friend and his neighbor thought it was pretty funny when they found out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pet-cats-routinely-lead-a-double-life/696654.md?page=2)