Cats As Backyard Predators

We will also need ingenuity to solve problems stemming from the cat's natural hunting behavior. Much of what we understand about the predatory behavior of cats is the work of Paul Leyhausen, a German animal behaviorist, who spent the 1950's through the 1970's studying domestic cats and related felines.

Leyhausen believed that rodents are a cat's natural prey. Being naturally solitary creatures, Felis libica could successfully hunt rats and mice alone, whereas to hunt larger prey, two or more predators had to cooperate. Usually, the cat waits in front of a rodent's burrow until the rodent strays from its shelter. Then the cat stalks after it, slinking along a trail or ditch and pausing to wait for the opportune moment to pounce on the prey. Actually, the odds generally favor the prey. From his observations, Leyhausen estimated that a cat makes about three attempts before it catches one mouse.