Cats: Playing with your kitty and feeding them meat-rich foods can deter them from hunting…

Fed up with kitty bringing home ‘little presents’? Playing with your cat and feeding them meat-rich foods can deter them from hunting wildlife, a study has found.

Domestic cats with outdoor access can represent a major threat to local wildlife, including birds, small mammals, amphibians and fish.

Researchers from Exeter, however, have demonstrated that there are some simple strategies that can help temper Mr Tiddles’ murderous impulses.

These include ensuring that cats get all the micronutrients they need from their human-provided diet, so that they are not driven to seek extra food.

It is also important to ensure cats lead enriched lives and have opportunities to explore their natural hunting impulses through play with toys.

‘Keeping cats indoors is the only sure-fire way to prevent hunting,’ said paper author and ecologist Robbie McDonald of the University of Exeter.

However, he added, ‘some owners are worried about the welfare implications of restricting their cat’s outdoor access.’

‘Our study shows that — using entirely non-invasive, non-restrictive methods — owners can change what the cats themselves want to do.’ 

In their study, Professor McDonald and colleagues monitored 355 cats from 219 households in the south-west of England over the course of twelve weeks, testing interventions that included dietary changes, play and puzzle feeders.

The team found that feeding the cats diets rich in meat-derived proteins reduced the number of prey the animals brought home to their humans by 36 per cent.  

‘Some cat foods contain protein from plant sources such as soy,’ explained paper author and feline ecologist Martina Cecchetti, also of the University of Exeter.

‘It is possible that despite forming a “complete diet” these foods leave some cats deficient in one or more micronutrients — prompting them to hunt.’ 

‘Our study shows that — using entirely non-invasive, non-restrictive methods — owners can change what the cats themselves want to do,’ said paper author and ecologist Robbie McDonald of the University of Exeter. Pictured, Minnie, one of the cats in the study

In the ‘play’ cohort of cats, owners were encouraged to play with their cat using a feathered wand toy that the felines could stalk, chase and pounce on.

After each play hunting session, the owners gave their pets a mouse-like toy to play with, allowing the cats to mimic a real kill.

The team’s findings revealed that as little as 5–10 minutes of such play each day reduced the cat’s predation levels by around a quarter.

Puzzle feeders, meanwhile — from which cats can recover treats through play — did not seem to have the desired effect. In fact, for reasons that the team say are unclear, they seemed to encourage cats to bring home more prey.

One reason for this may have been the relatively short duration of the study, the researchers proposed, with there being the possibility that the owners and their cats hadn’t managed to fully adapt to using the feeders yet, leaving the cats hungrier.

With their initial study complete, the team are now hoping to find ways to further reduce cat predation, such as by exploring whether the addition of micronutrients to cats’ diets could reduce their hunting levels without extra meat.

‘We also plan to investigate whether different kinds of play have different effects and whether combining strategies can reduce hunting even further,’ said Ms Cechetti.

‘This latest study we have funded is excellent news for birds,’ said George Bradley of SongBird Survival, an independent UK Bird Charity. 

‘The data show that cat owners (like me) can make a few small and easy steps to really improve the health and happiness of our pets as well as make a really big difference for all our wildlife, especially our beloved songbirds.’

‘Making these easy-to-implement changes will be a win-win for birds, cats and cat owners.’

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Current Biology.