Cats and mice are an instinct, after all, mice are regular customers on cat recipes, but if the friends of cats who have been free-range at home must have encountered a situation: after the cat catches the mouse, it is not in a hurry to eat, but plays first, hey, it is play. And the rats at this time almost did not dare to escape. So, the question is, why do cats behave this way? The rats look like they have a chance to run, so why not run? Let's talk about these two issues together.
Cat catches mouse, why not eat first and play?
As the saying goes, "cats catch mice, it is natural", this is because domestic cats are domesticated by wild cats, and wild cats account for the largest proportion of rats in the main prey, that is to say, cats and mice are a normal hunting behavior. So, why is there a situation of catching prey, not eating prey, but playing? I think there are three reasons for this:
First: over-predation. Most of the domestic cats that catch mice are semi-free domestic cats, of which the Tanuki cat is a master of rat catching. However, after all, in the case of semi-free range, the cat's food has a basic guarantee. However, in the face of rats, the cat's desire to hunt is still there, so the cat catches the mouse after eating, not to eat, but a hunting instinct. However, under the full stomach, the cat has no appetite, so it is not in a hurry to kill the mouse, but first "play", and finally get tired of playing, bite to death. (The cat in the picture below does little harm to the mouse, but it is extremely insulting)
Second: hunting safety. Although cats are the natural enemies of mice, small partners who have clashed head-on with rats know that rats are not weak in fighting, and in addition to squeaking, they will jump up and bite people. The same is true when facing cats, the fastest way for a cat to end a mouse's life is to bite off the spine or neck with its canine teeth, but if the mouse is still alive at this time, it is likely to bite the cat. Therefore, there is a possibility that the cat caught the mouse, but at this time the mouse's combat effectiveness is still very strong, for the sake of safety, the cat will continue to hit the mouse with its paws, so as to achieve the purpose of making it consume physical strength or lose the ability to resist, and finally bite the mouse under the premise of safety.
Third: Absolute strength. In the face of absolute strength, all skills and efforts are in vain, this sentence may be able to explain the cat caught the mouse, why play first, not in a hurry to eat? Friends who like wild animals must be familiar with some wildlife documentaries in Africa, in these documentaries, we can often see leopards, lions and other big cats hunting, they will spare no effort to hunt them when hunting large prey, because the longer they fight with medium and large prey, the greater their physical exertion, the higher the risk of injury. But what would big cats do when they were faced with small prey?
Yes, it is not hunted immediately, but there will be a seemingly harmonious picture of the door, the above two sets of pictures are often referred to as "lioness or leopard mother love flood", but I just want to say that for the smell-sensitive cat and prey, there is no so-called "mother love", there is no so-called "benevolence", and the two antelopes above are "played" by the lioness and leopard for a while and then bitten to death and eaten. In the same way, the same is true for cats, when the cat is not very hungry, catch the smaller mouse, it also has enough confidence to let the other party sooner or later be its own belly, so in this kind of self-confidence under the disparity in size, it is reasonable for the cat to play with the mouse for a while.
Summary: In the wild, wild cats kill prey decisively, because on the one hand, they can reduce the consumption of physical strength, on the other hand, they can hunt the prey as soon as possible, and it is also conducive to hiding themselves from other large carnivores. However, under captivity, energetic cats will "play" with mice, which has a lot to do with food security, safety factor (after all, the flexibility and killing ability of domestic cats are already weaker than that of wild cats), and self-confidence.
When a mouse is played with by a cat, why doesn't it run away?
After the cat catches the mouse, even if it wants to play, it usually does not sit on the spot, but instead chooses a relatively empty place with the mouse, which is one of the reasons why the mouse does not escape, because in the open area, the mouse can hardly escape the cat's capture.
Secondly, when the cat plays with the mouse, it is at the distance that its claws can touch the mouse, and once the mouse raises its head, it will be slapped by the cat's paw, and there is no chance to escape.
The third is the suppression of natural enemies, when the strength of the two sides is too disparity, once the weaker side is caught, they do not even have the intention of fleeing, which has a lot to do with fear, just like us people, in the face of several times the size of the beast, usually stand on the spot, rarely make an escape action.
summary
Cats catch mice and play without eating, usually only happen to domestic cats, they have human feeding, usually not as hungry as wild cats, and in human settlements, domestic cats are also safe, do not have to worry about the threat of animals in the upper food chain, so they can play with mice with confidence. Combined with the factors of hunting safety and disparity in strength, cats can play a lot.
As for the mouse caught by the cat, it is equivalent to the fish on the board, which is already "let the cat slaughter", and even if they escape, it is futile.