Your high-achieving cat Simba has taken up a new hobby. After quickly tiring of cat toys that simulate mouse and bird hunting, Simba has begun to stalk – and neutralize – the real thing. For the past few weeks, Simba has been catching and killing mice and birds at least once every day. If that’s not bad enough, Simba is bringing the carcasses inside and dropping them at your feet. You’ve scolded Simba and threatened to downgrade him to the cat food he hates. Nothing has worked, so Simba now has a behavioral counseling appointment with his Smyrna veterinarian.
Why Your Well-fed Cat Wants to Hunt
Even though Simba eats a tasty, well-balanced diet every day, deep down he still has an instinctive desire to catch prey for his kittens. Since Simba’s been neutered, and doesn’t have any kittens, perhaps he thinks you need to be fattened up. Simba might also be thanking you for adopting him a few months ago. After all, he has a nice comfy bed, good food, and treats. Or maybe Simba just wants to enjoy his trophy in peace.
Make the Outdoors Off Limits
While keeping Simba inside will help preserve the mouse and bird population, your fearless hunter will be miserable, and so will you. He’ll pace at the window, meowing in distress as he eyes his tasty prey that he can’t quite reach. Try to distract Simba with a wind-up furry mouse that skitters across the floor; or with a dangling feathered bird you can move around in front of Simba. Of course, Simba’s a smart cat, so he probably won’t be fooled by your deception. He’ll just turn up the meowing volume.
Make It an Even Fight
If you decide to relent, and allow your cold-blooded killer outside, give the mice and birds a chance by attaching a loud bell to Simba’s collar. Ideally, the bell will make such a racket that a few of Simba’s victims will have time to escape. Make sure you purchase a breakaway collar with an automatic release function. After all, you don’t want Simba strangling himself if he catches the collar on a branch or fence.
If all of your strategies fail, and Simba keeps dropping the bodies at your feet, pretend to be excited and dispose of the carcass when Simba goes off to celebrate his conquest. You can share some good hunting stories with your Smyrna vet during Simba’s next physical exam.
