# Why do cats bring you their kills? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818 "2009-03-26T01:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/21 "2009-03-26T21:41:51Z")
Come to think of it, my Border Collie (when I was a teen) would not only “herd” us kids, but would occasionally bring us something of a gift. Could be anything from a stick, to a bone, to a dead animal. He’d drop it then ignore it and walk off, unless one of us picked it up. Then he’d have one of those excited barking (friendly like) fits till we put it down, at which point he’d go back to ignoring it. If we never touched it, he’d eventually forget it. If after an hour or so we picked it up he’d act like he had never seen it, even if we threw it or teased him with it. This was absolutely _not_ a fetch game. I never did figure that one out, and I never saw another dog do the same. Ol’ Taco, my paper route companion. Tried to eat a moving tow truck. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/22 "2009-03-28T03:11:01Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Thanks for the reassurance, **mangeorge**. She really is pretty; the picture doesn’t quite capture the variation in color in her coat, though. We adopted her, so we’re not sure, but I think she’s a [Maine Coon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maine_Coon_2.JPG), or at least partially one. I would be surprised if she isn’t at least part Maine Coon. Does she “talk” to you in chatty little trills? She’s got big paws like a Maine Coon, but is there long fur between her toes? It looks like there might be small tuffs at the points of her ears, are there? And you don’t happen to know how old she was when you adopted her, do you? Maine Coons [grow really](http://www.pinecoon.com/about_mainecoons.htm)slowly. Shamus, whom my mother adopted at 18 months old, is finally full-grown now that he’s nearly five. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/23 "2009-03-29T01:24:05Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Your cred’s fine with me, **AA**. That’s one fine looking kitty. 🙂 I fell in love with your kitty, so I did some checking around. There’s a Maine Coon rescue place right here in Berkeley so later this summer I’m going to look into adopting two or three. The site says they have several siblings who would like to stay together. I’ve known some of this breed, and think we’d be a good match. It’ll be a few months before I’ve gotten everything ready, but I’m going for it. Thanks for the inspiration. mangeorge Oops, I replied to my own post instead of yours. That’s okay. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/24 "2009-03-29T02:01:05Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > [Obligatory kitty pic](http://tinyurl.com/cxfnaq) _Finally!_ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/25 "2009-04-01T07:26:30Z")
And here’s Clover, the Ice-O-Holic. [As promised.](http://s494.photobucket.com/albums/rr308/DeathB4D_Calf/?action=view¤t=Clover.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/26 "2009-04-01T07:30:54Z")
> [@Psiharis](#): > > My family once had a cat (appropriately named Uggo) whom we tried to put on a diet. The diet ended when my parents were woken at the crack of dawn by the following sounds: > > _peep_ _peep_ _peep_ > _crunch_ _crunch_ _crunch_ > _noisy, satisfied grooming_ > > So in at least one case, it was to make a point. . Or it could have been just get essential nutrients. Cats who are denied meat by their owners (or enough of it, as they see it) will hunt to get it. We’re all used to the idea of cats hunting, because we see their play behavior which mimics it. Many people don’t seem to be quite as aware of the fact that they actually eat their kills too, if hungry. I didn’t realize how a cat actually sets about eating a rodent until I saw some YouTube clips. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/27 "2009-04-02T01:54:09Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > All kidding aside, in many respects pet cats clearly take on the rule of a kitten (with the human as their Mommy): purring, kneading, crying for food, and so forth. In this case, though, the cat is instead exhibiting a Mommy-like, dominant behavior, and the human is being put in the role of kitten: Mommy has brought home dinner. If the prey is still alive, Mommy is trying to teach her (large, ungainly, funny looking) kitten how to hunt. > > Dogs come from social animals (wolves) so there’s a sort of natural set of roles the dog and human can be put into–the human is the Alpha of the Pack. Since the wild ancestors of domesticated cats were solitary hunters, rather than just taking over a ready-made set of social roles, pet cats probably wind up with an assortment of re-purposed instincts and behaviors in relating to their humans; the cat (even as an adult) may sometimes act as a kitten, but sometimes the cat winds up acting as the mother cat instead–the same cat may display either behavior depending on what’s going on. (Adult domesticated cats also act in more kittenish ways towards each other with respect to their wild ancestors, in that they will–usually, anyway–put up with other adult cats in much closer proximity than undomesticated wildcats would, “hanging out” or even playing with other adults, acting like a litter of kittens on into adulthood. Even feral domesticated cats will associate in loose colonies in a way pure wildcats don’t.) How curious. Do the cat’s instincts not work out that its master gives it food so humans therefore do not need to be trained to kill rodents etc? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/28 "2009-04-02T02:06:25Z")
> [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](#): > > How curious. Do the cat’s instincts not work out that its master gives it food so humans therefore do not need to be trained to kill rodents etc? I love cats, but let’s face it, they’re not exactly rocket scientists, if you know what I mean. I don’t think they’re big on abstract thought and reasoning things out, and the whole thing about instincts is that they don’t “work things out”; they’re kind of pre-programmed (small scurrying thing = pounce on it! Other mammal to whom you have bonded = mommy and/or kitten. Mommy = sit on tummy, purr, and knead; kitten = bring food and if need be live prey so it will learn how to hunt). ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/29 "2009-04-02T02:06:50Z")
“A dog will starve to death on your back porch. A cat will go kill something and eat.” So they want you to know what to do if you run out of food from that magic box. Sometimes cats attitudes will fool you, but they really do love you. Hence the training mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/30 "2009-04-02T02:32:35Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > And here’s Clover, the Ice-O-Holic. My dogs love ice cubes. In fact, my mastiff loves food, but he’ll follow me very closely and almost jump up and down if I have an ice cube in my hand. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818/31 "2009-04-02T02:40:42Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > All kidding aside, in many respects pet cats clearly take on the rule of a kitten (with the human as their Mommy): purring, kneading, crying for food, and so forth. In this case, though, the cat is instead exhibiting a Mommy-like, dominant behavior, and the human is being put in the role of kitten: Mommy has brought home dinner. If the prey is still alive, Mommy is trying to teach her (large, ungainly, funny looking) kitten how to hunt. I’m not sure that bringing back a kill is necessarily mom-specific behavior for a cat. The typical training that a mother cat gives her kittens is in multiple stages, right? First the kittens have to get a taste for meat. Then mom will bring-'em-back-alive to demonstrate a killing bite and give the kids some easy practice. Finally they’ll be out stalking prey on their own. So they may still be in the role of kitten, bringing back a kill to show mom that they have learned the lessons she has taught them, and are ready for whatever’s next. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-bring-you-their-kills/490818.md?page=1)