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. 
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 reallyslowly. Shamus, whom my mother adopted at 18 months old, is finally full-grown now that he’s nearly five.
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.
Finally!
And here’s Clover, the Ice-O-Holic.
As promised.
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.
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).
“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.
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.
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.