Shadowlea

Cats happen to be famous for hunting mice and rats as long as cats and people have been together. As strange as it may seem to some people, cats usually are not born knowing how to hunt. It is just a skill they learn from watching their mothers. If your mother cat is a good hunter, then her kittens will discover to be good hunters. Interestingly, kittens appear to learn the best from their mothers. They do not seem to learn as well or as fast from watching other adult cats.

At about five to six weeks of age, a mother cat begins teaching her kittens the best way to hunt. At first she brings dead mice towards the kittens. She will eat some of the mice in front with the kittens. In this way she is showing them that mice are their prey and they are good to eat. As time goes on the kittens set out to play with the dead mice their mother brings them. Before long the kittens are flinging the dead mice around and pouncing on them. It's a good idea to stand clear of them when they're at this stage. You might get smacked by a flying mouse if you don't!

In a short time, the mother starts bringing mice which might be still half alive and releases them to the kittens to practice. Very soon the kittens are leaping on and flinging these mice around as confidently while they did the previous dead ones their mother brought them. Then, mother start bringing live, healthy mice and releases them for the kittens to practice on. The 1st time the mother cat releases a live mouse, and it tries to elope, there's immediate bedlam among the kittens. Wildly excited, the kittens hovering trying to leap onto the running mouse zigging and zagging with shod and non-shod. If the mouse escapes the kittens, mom will usually swat it back into play. By this time the kittens are so over excited they're leaping at whatever moves. The mouse, a blade of grass, a blowing leaf or even each other, are all fair game to the kittens. Not surprisingly, the mouse often escapes over these early lessons.

As the lessons progress the kittens be discriminating in their targets and develop their skills in catching the fast and agile mice. These lessons don't always go smoothly. One kitten got the surprise of her lifetime when a large mouse she was chasing suddenly sat up before her and began scolding her on top of its' lungs. The mouse was apparently so sick and tired of the whole business that it actually jumped on the kitten. The startled kitten fell over backward along with the mouse raced off to safety. Live and learn.

Eventually, the mother cat will decide that the kittens are set for their first real hunt. She is going to take them out to a good location that she knows will have plenty of mice for your kittens to practice on. She won't demonstrate her hunting way to the kittens. Instead, lets them develop their own unique styles on these hunting forays. Each kitten discovers particularly that work best for them. By the end of their lessons the kittens have become fine mousers in their own right.