# What preys on housecats in their natural environment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021 "2005-07-18T19:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/21 "2005-07-18T21:42:05Z")
Opossum eat snakes don’t they? Such a creature could clean up an unguarded nest of kittens I should think. > [@](#): > > My (very minimal) understanding of population biology tells me that the reason an animal would be that prolific is that most of the babies can’t be expected to make it to adulthood in the natural environment. Salt Crocs are prolific breeders and have no natural predators…apart from other bigger salties eating very young ones. Kind of a paradox on the surface: If they weren’t cannibals they wouldn’t need to be prolific. One theory to answer that suggests it’s a mechanism for plague recovery. Should a large number of crocs die out suddenly there will be less predation on the babies until the carrying capacity is again met. Which would be soon. Would wild cats be subject to any such pressures? Feline lukemia perhaps? That could decimate local populations? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/22 "2005-07-18T22:00:33Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > _Opossums_? Seriously. You’ve got to be kidding. My fraternity house in undergrad was frequently infested with possums, especially in the summer when fewer people were around and we weren’t as observant as taking out the trash. It was surreal; you’d get up in the morning and there would be a damn freaky possum running down the hall or hissing at you in the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/23 "2005-07-18T22:03:51Z")
If you take “prey” as it’s primary meaning of “an animal hunted or seized for food, esp by a carnivorous animal”, then the answer is: none, _under normal circumstances_. ( I am limiting this to mammals only mind you) Other carnivores would certainly kill or attack a small cat if the small cat got to close to the larger carnivores “kill”, or in some cases- if the small cat invaded the large carnivore’s territory. And, any carnivore will attack and eat just about anything if it’s starving. Thus, just becuase a wolf wouldn’t normally hunt a samll cat for FOOD, it could well kill one for other reasons, and if the wolf’s natural common prey was scarce- watch out! Sometimes dogs will kill cats. They rarely eat them. Owls on a rare occasion will kill and (AFAIK) eat small cats. Coyotes- especially urban coyotes- will sometimes make a snack of a cat. We had a 'cat killer" coyote in San Jose- it killed about a dozen. However, it mangled the bodies and ate little if any. Oppossums wouldn’t likely _attack_ a cat, but a cat might attack one of them, and get very badly bitten. Mostly, the limits on small predators are territorial and it’s prey. Of course, disease enters into it, as well as a host of other factors. There was a thread here in GQ a while ago. I still stand by my theory: _in general-_ mammalian carnivores don’t _prey_ on other mammalian carnivores. Note “in general” “mammalian” and “prey” (meaning 1). > **[Peeing in the back yard to scare off coyotes](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=318633)** > > My wife wants me to pee in the backyard. She says it will scare off coyotes so that they won’t get the cats. It sounds a little suspicious to me. Anyone know for sure? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/24 "2005-07-18T22:14:09Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > . Salt Crocs are prolific breeders and have no natural predators…apart from other bigger salties eating very young ones. The biggest losses to salties occur with the eggs and young, which is why the mothers are so fiercely protective of the nest and makes an efort to carry the young to water where they are somewhat protected. Almost no salty eggs ever make it through to become second year crocs. Salty eggs are preyed upon by humans, rats, pigs, cats, foxes, snakes, monitors, dogs, monkeys and pretty much anything else in the area that is even slightly carnivorous and capable of digging. The juveniles are even more vulnerable and are part of the normal diet of all those things (I’ve never heard of a monkey eating young crocs but they probably would given a chance) and also have to deal with predation from large fish and a variety of birds form herons to harriers. A young croc is just a few inches long. Why would it have no predators when they live in environments that have such massive numbers of predators of lizards? How would a heron or a fish even distinguish betwen a baby croc and the aquatic lizards upon which they normally prey? Which I guess brings us towards a secondary point in cat control. Wild cats have a very large range and over much of that range reptiles, especially snakes, would constitute a significant predator under natural conditions. Although reltively few snakes in their range could tackle a wild cat a nest of kittens would be an ideal snack. Wild cats are also standard prey for other cats: leopards, lynxs, lions, cheetahs and so on all eat cats if they can catch them ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/25 "2005-07-18T22:24:43Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Aye, which is why Rhiow is indoor only. There are opossums and owls in this neighborhood. OMG, you have a cat named Rhiow?? (Named after the diane duane books??) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/26 "2005-07-18T22:28:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sometimes dogs will kill cats. They rarely eat them. That’s what I thought. > [@Ainak](#): > > corn – NOT a natural or favorable food for felines. My cat Luna disagrees with you. She loves cornbread. I suspect that “whatever they can get their paws on” is a natural food for wild or feral felines. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/27 "2005-07-18T22:42:41Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > :eek:_ **B-BII-BB-B-B-I-BBBBIG MM-MOU-M-MM-M-MOU-OU-OUSE** _ There’s a crazy moose loose in the hoose. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/28 "2005-07-19T00:07:04Z")
A few years ago I saw a hawk on a fence post with a small animal in it’s claw. As I drove past I noticed it was a young kitten and it was still alive, it was struggling but the hawk had a good grip on the kitten’s neck. I stopped and ran at the hawk hoping it would drop the kitten but it didn’t, it flew off with it. The rest of the drive home was rather difficult, I had something in my eye. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/29 "2005-07-19T00:25:51Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > A few years ago I saw a hawk on a fence post with a small animal in it’s claw… Yikes, that’s the kind of story that could scar a person for life. Thanks a _lot_, pal! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/30 "2005-07-19T00:27:29Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > :eek:_ **B-BII-BB-B-B-I-BBBBIG MM-MOU-M-MM-M-MOU-OU-OUSE** _ [This guy saw him.](http://www.strangezoo.com/images/content/8837.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/31 "2005-07-19T00:29:02Z")
Automobiles? I’m thinking of “mimi,” a stray we ‘adopted’ when she appeared one day and refused to leave. He has a habit of falling asleep in the middle of the driveway or the road, and absolutely. will. not. move. For anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/32 "2005-07-19T05:51:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Vacuum cleaners! > > Out here, coyotes regard house cats as mobile hors d’oeuvres. Yeah, when a cat doesn’t come back from a house within striking distance of the hills, one of the first suspicions is coyotes. Above my parents’ house in Ventura, they are sometimes audible howling in packs. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/33 "2005-07-19T13:59:20Z")
I guess it depends on what you consider their natural environment. The [Fisher](http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/habitat/northforest/fisher.html) will gobble up house-cats like candy, and hunts them as prey. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/34 "2005-07-19T16:05:20Z")
Fisher was going to be my reply as well. Where I grew up, cat’s didn’t last very long outdoors. As far as the natural environment, the Fisher is a natural predator to the bobcat here in Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/35 "2005-07-19T16:13:05Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > In addition, the survival rate for kittens is low. When a queen has a litter every heat, and is often not very well nourished herself, each litter of kittens is less likely to survive. In the South, it is not unusual for an entire litter of kittens to be bled literally to death by fleas. Yep. Viral disease also has both high morbidity and mortality in cats. Feline Leukemia, rhinotrachetis, calici virus, feline infectious peritonitis, etc are some of the virii involved. Nobody mentioned in this thread that the cats fecundity is due to their being _induced ovulators_. A female cat (queen) cycles in and out of heat, but only ovulates as a response to penetration. The male cat (tom) has dozens of little barbs on his penis which induces ovulation (as well as the Howl you might hear when cats do their thing). ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/36 "2005-07-19T16:29:47Z")
Tomcats will kill kittens. I don’t know why this is, but I would think they play a role in keeping the feral kitten population down. I was once cleaning cat cages at the city pound, and let a tomcat prowl around while I was doing his cage. Unbeknowst to me, he could get his paw through a gap in the bars of another cage where a stray mom had a litter of kittens. Quick as a flash he yanked a kitten up to the bars and fatally bit it. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/37 "2005-07-19T16:38:47Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > Tomcats will kill kittens. IIRC they only kill kittens that are not theirs. How they can tell, I have no clue. Theory is that they make the world a better place for their own kitties by eliminaing the spawn of any other goddamned tomcat that dared an attempt at reproduction in his turf. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/38 "2005-07-19T16:40:59Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > Tomcats will kill kittens. I don’t know why this is, but I would think they play a role in keeping the feral kitten population down. A lot of male mammals, including lions, will kill offspring under maternal care that they themselves have not fathered. This brings the female into reproductive condition sooner, giving the male the chance to sire her next litter more rapidly than otherwise would happen. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/39 "2005-07-19T16:42:42Z")
A raccoon killed a friend of mine’s cat. Not sure if it was eaten, though. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021/40 "2005-07-19T17:20:31Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > You might have heard of them: Canis > > Canis familiaris > dog _Canis familiaris_ is no longer a valid name. Dogs are [_Canis lupus_](http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=183815), just like the gray wolf. _C. familiaris_ is now a junior synonym of _C. lupus_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-preys-on-housecats-in-their-natural-environment/313021.md?page=3)