We all know that cats are really good hunters. In fact, some even bring their owners dead rats to show affection.
But, does you cat not hunt or not seem interested in hinting at all?
Well, there’s a reason why it happens and in this blog I will answer your question, “Why doesn’t my cat hunt?”.
So, let’s begin.
In a study conducted in the 1920s, Professor Kuo Zing Yang conducted a psychological experiment on cats to study which behaviours were learnt and which were instinctive. For this, he raised kitties to answer one burning question—“Do cats hunt and kill rats out of instinct?”
He raised solitary kitties and litters and worked on this for 10 years!
Finally, he came to the conclusion that cats only kill rats if their mum teaches them.
A Psychological concept of Instrumental conditioning works here. The thing is, when a kitten does something right, she is rewarded by licks, food, etc.
However…
If a kitten does something that the mum doesn’t approve of, she’s ignored by the mum.
So, kittens only learn to hunt if their mom teaches and reinforces them.
No, nothing’s wrong with your cat! She just didn’t learn to chase mice, that’s all.
Were you aware of this before? Let me know in the comments section!