The cats chased the rats and mice as long as cats and humans live together. Strange as it may sound to some people, cats are not born knowing how to hunt. It's a skill they have learned by watching their mothers. If the mother is a good hunter, so her kittens will learn to be good hunters. Interestingly, the kittens seem to learn best from their mothers. They do not seem to learn as well and as quickly from watching other cats.
At an age of about five or six weeks, a mother cat will begin to teach its kittens how to hunt. First, she brings dead mice to the kittens and then before them, he eats some of the mice. In this way, it shows them that the mice are prey and they are good to eat. Over time, the kittens begin to play with the dead mouse that their mother has made, then very soon, kittens throw dead mice around them and jump on it. It's a good idea to stay away from them when they are at that stage. You could be slapped with a flying mouse if you're not careful!
After some time the mother begins to give half of the mice died and left the kittens for their exercises. Soon, the kittens pounce and throw these mice around them with as much confidence as they did with those who died and their mother had made. Then, their mother begins to bring live mice, healthy and free for the kittens do the exercise. The first time the mother cat releases a live mouse, and tries to escape, there is an immediate uproar among kittens. Wildly excited, restless kittens, trying to pounce on the mouse that zigzags between them. If the mouse escaped to the kittens, the mother usually returns in the game at this time, the kittens are so excited that they jump on anything that moves. The mouse, a blade of grass, a loose sheet, or even one of their fellows, it looks like everything is a mouse for them! Thus, not surprisingly, the mouse escapes often during those first lessons.
Over the lessons, the kittens are becoming more discerning in their goals and develop their ability to catch the mouse agile and quick. These lessons do not always turn out nicely. A kitten has been the surprise of his life when he was hunting big mouse suddenly sitting opposite him and began to rumble with all the force of his lungs. The mouse was apparently so upset by this whole thing that she really jumped on the kitten. The frightened kitten fell backwards and the mouse runs away to seek safety. Live and learn the experience of life ... even for a kitten!
One day the mother cat decides that the kittens are ready for their first real hunt. She takes them to a good place where she knows there are many mouse to train the kittens. It does not reveal his technique for hunting kittens. Instead, it lets them develop their own style during these incursions to hunt. Each kitten discovers the techniques that work best for him. At the end of their lessons, the kittens have become themselves good hunters of mice.
Monday, June 6, 2011
How kittens learn to hunt
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