As a cat parent, you surely deal with gross things from time to time.
You may step on a hairball in the middle of the night or find that Fluffy somehow missed the litterbox last time she used it.
But without a doubt, finding that your cat has brought you a dead animal “gift” is the grossest thing an owner has to deal with.
Why does she do this? What drives her to bring you a dead bird, chipmunk, mouse, or lizard?
We’ll explain everything you need to know about this odd but natural behavior below.
7 Reasons Your Cat May Bring You Dead Animals
Unfortunately, because we can’t read our cats’ minds, no one knows exactly why they sometimes bring us dead animal deliveries. In fact, it’s quite likely that different cats do so for slightly different reasons.
Nevertheless, most authorities in feline feelings believe the behavior is due to one or more of the following:
1. Despite being a pet, your cat still has predatory instincts.
As a group, cats are some of the most remarkable hunters on earth. So, even though domestic cats no longer need to hunt for survival, they still retain the strong prey drive their ancestors possessed.
You probably even see this kind of natural instinct play out when your cat “hunts” you, oddly moving shadows, or her toys. That’s just her way of satisfying her ancestral need to capture prey.
2. Your cat may be trying to teach you.
While cats are born with hunting instincts, they must hone and refine their skills to become effective predators.
Mother cats often help kittens do so by bringing wounded or recently deceased animals to them. This allows the young kittens to practice killing easy prey before they may need to hunt fleet-footed critters on their own. Additionally, prey animals can and do fight back, so it’s safer for the kittens to learn on wounded or dead animals.
So, by bringing you dead prey animals, your cat may think she’s helping to teach you how to be a better hunter.
3. She may be seeking your approval.
Cats are very clever animals, who are good at figuring out how to get what they want. And one of the things some cats want is their owner’s approval and appreciation. So, in your cat’s mind, one of the best ways to solicit your approval is by bringing you something she thinks you’ll like.
Now, this may be a little misguided – most owners would rather their cat bring them anything instead of a dead animal.
But from your cat’s point of view, it seems like you appreciate the dead animal gift. After all, you probably immediately pick it up and “store it” (i.e. put it in the garbage can) for safe keeping.
4. Territorial motives may be at play.
In the wild, cats not only have to develop the skills to catch and kill prey, but they must be able to do so better than their competitors. Plenty of other predators may live in the same area as a cat, and that represents competition for food.
So, some behavioral experts suggest that cats may leave dead carcasses around to ward off any other predators potentially lurking in the area. Think of it as a sign that says, “a better predator already lives here – you better look for food elsewhere.”
5. It may be an attempt to show her appreciation.
Some believe that dead animal “gifts” are exactly that – things cats bring to their people as a sign of affection. We’ll admit that this is pretty strange. Dead animals aren’t on most people’s wish lists, and we’d rather just enjoy a little more snuggle time.
But it may very well be the best way your cat can think of to express her love for you and demonstrate that she appreciates the role you play in her feline family.
6. She may just want to bring the prey back home.
One other possibility is that your cat isn’t bringing the dead animal back as a gift, but rather, she’s bringing her newly acquired food back somewhere safe so that she can consume it.
Many wild cats do this – think about how leopards will drag a carcass up into a tree, so they can protect their food from other animals. So, if your cat catches a field mouse somewhere in your yard, she may bring the body back to your front porch, where she feels safe and secure.
But because your cat would probably rather eat some delicious cat food than a dead animal, she may quickly lose interest and wander off, leaving her dead prey behind.
7. Your kitty may just be playing.
Your cat’s dead-animal-leaving behavior may not be associated with a desire to hunt or please you at all. It may just be the way that she plays and entertains herself.
She sees something small darting around, so she captures it. Maybe her predatory instincts drive her to kill it, or maybe she kills it accidentally. Either way, her “toy” has now stopped working, so she loses interest and drops it – potentially on your front porch or at the foot of your bed.
How to Stop Your Cat from Bringing You Dead Animals
Whether your cat is bringing you dead animals because she’s playing or trying to teach you better hunting skills, it’s wise to stop your cat from hunting – or at least reduce her hunting success as much as you can.
Besides the damage this kind of cat carnage causes wild animal populations, it can also be dangerous for the family pet. As mentioned, wild animals may fight back, which can leave your cat with injuries. And if your cat decides to hunt venomous snakes, the results could be tragic.
Wild animals can also be infected with diseases or parasites that could be transmitted to your cat (or even the human members of your family).
So, consider adopting some of the following strategies to help curtail your kitty’s critter-killing habit.
- Place a bell around her neck. Cats rely heavily on stealth while hunting – they typically remain virtually silent while sneaking up on prey, only to pounce at the last minute. But if you fix a bell to her collar, she won’t be able to stay quiet, which will give her would-be prey a good chance to escape.
- Stop letting your cat go outdoors. There are certainly benefits to allowing your cat to enjoy the great outdoors, but there are also drawbacks – such as the animals she may kill while perusing the yard. So, it is wise to at least weigh the pros and cons of giving your kitty outdoor time.
- Keep your cat indoors when prey is active. If you don’t want to keep your cat indoors at all times, at least try to limit her outdoor time to those periods in which her prey isn’t very active. This means keeping her inside at dawn if she tends to bring you dead birds or keeping her inside at dusk if rodents are her preferred prey.
- Don’t encourage prey animals to frequent your yard. Things like bird feeders and bird baths will encourage lots of small animals – not only feathered friends – to hang out in your yard. So, if your cat is a skilled huntress who brings home lots of dead animals, you may want to consider ditching your bird feeders.
- Provide alternative forms of stimulation. If your cat is hunting animals as a form of play, she may be under stimulated. Fortunately, that’s one of the easiest problems to address. You can do things like provide her with more cat toys (such as feather wands, battery-powered toy mice, or flirt poles) or give her new things to use and explore, such as a cat tree or empty cardboard box.
In Conclusion
Regardless of why your cat brings you dead animal “trophies,” you’ll just have to accept that this is occasionally something cats do. Ideally, you’ll try to put an end to the behavior, but it’s not always something you can stop completely.
Just make sure that you warn visitors about her hunting habits, so they won’t be caught off guard. And this is especially true of anyone who cares for your cat while you’re gone – some people can find it quite traumatizing to see a dead mouse or bird left on the kitchen floor.
But you don’t have to worry about that if you have one of The Comforted Kitty’s professional cat sitters care for your feline friend while you’re gone.
Our team members are all well-aware of this common cat behavior, and it won’t catch them by surprise. In fact, as cat owners themselves, they’ve likely already dealt with this issue with their own pet once or twice.