Why Do Cats Bring Their Prey To You?
It might be rather traumatic or disgusting to see a dead bird or mouse on your bed or dining table. It doesn't make sense at first sight: why would your cat bring dead animals to you? Don't get mad at your little, cute, pawed friend. They mean very well!
Intended spoiler: It isn't to earn your appreciation and bring you a present! Get reading!
Why such significant spots as the bed or the living-room?
Cat owners have experienced this: cats bring the prey that they have caught on the terrace, balcony, in the garden or wherever in your place and leave it right in the middle of the living-room. This prey might be a butterfly, or a mouse, etc. Cat owners mostly interpret this 'My cat brought present to me' or 'It wants to be acknowledged and appreciated,' and this whole thing is often a topic of many jokes.
It turns out they actually do this to train us!
Although cats have been domestic animals for around ten thousand years now, they still haven't lost their hunting instincts. According to a study, around four billion birds are killed by cats yearly in the USA. Also considering the other small animals they hunt, we get a shocking number: almost 30 billion!
What makes cats such good hunters are their instincts and their bodies that have evolved specifically for this purpose and the training they receive from their mothers when they are (small and cute) kittens.
This tendency to bring dead animals to humans, which is especially seen in female cats, is only because they see you incapable of doing the job and therefore they want to train and educate you. That's the reason why they leave a small dead animal right in front of you and look at you like they expect something from you.
When cats train their offspring, they also bring dead animals and put them in front of the kittens.
The second step is working with animals that are still alive but unable to flee. Anybody who has a pet cat must have witnessed their cat waiting patiently by the side of a suffering animal.
Yeah, these animals have been trying to train us for 10 thousand years! This behavior is observed more frequently in sterilized female cats.
Imagine how incapable we are in their eyes!
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