Why Cats are Awful: 6 Reasons Your Cat Brings in Dead Animals
The night that Nemo brought in the bat was, and will, forever be remembered as the night I lost all sense of my humanity. Bats make a noise that is both cringe-worthy and insanely terrifying. They don't fly like you'd expect, but instead run about the floor on their little bat elbows like crazy rat ninjas.
Lucky and Nemo are completely different in terms of 1) how they hunt, and 2) what they consider a completed hunt. For instance, Lucky brings in dead creatures - including one very dead squirrel. He'll bring in the remains of a bird wing or the leg of a grasshopper, but never a live specimen. Lucky hunts for the kill and the kill alone.
Nemo hunts to demonstrate his superiority over all house humans. He'll bring in a live bat - completely unharmed, hummingbird moths - also completely unharmed, and basically anything else of weird and strange origin, completely unharmed. He finds great joy in letting things loose in the house and watching as the humans run around in panic attempting to vanquish the most recent addition.
So why do cats bring in dead (or alive) animals?
1. The cat believes that the human is not providing enough food and is attempting to demonstrate the art of the hunt. All cats worry constantly about their food bowl and when the supply appears to dwindle they will act out and demand attention from their human. Setting up a food bowl with a timer can be a great treat, as it gets the cat on the timer's schedule and they come to expect food at specific times of day.
2. The cat believes the human needs physical activity and must thusly provide an outlet. Cats are very judgmental creatures and might think their human is too lazy to keep their food bowl full. Or, they might just want to see how their human reacts to certain stimuli, because they can.
3. The cat wants to show off their incredible and highly impressive hunting skills. All cats believe they are the king of the jungle, and catching prey seems impressive and attention-worthy.
4. The cat is bored and doesn't have enough to play with inside the house. This can be true of many cats. They might appear lazy, but they do require attention, especially attention from their favorite human,
5. The cat found something new that they want you to see. Cats are very proud animals and laud themselves on a great hunt. Stepping up from regular grasshoppers to June bugs is no easy task, and something that every cat feels is worthy of praise.
6. The cat is concerned that the human doesn't understand his accomplishments. All cats want to feel superior to their human and will present their achievements in the most shocking, impressive manner possible.
Cats are ever-vigilant of their humans and will take action, where possible, to demonstrate their superiority. Some prefer to watch their humans chase after barely injured creatures while others are content to watch their humans clean up the remains.
