Preferred Prey

Cats are opportunist hunters, taking what is available. Most prey upon land mammals and reptiles, but some, learning from their mothers and their experiences, become adept at catching birds.

There are local variations in cats' prey; in the German study of cats' stomach contents, the rural cats had eaten 14 different species of animals, while the urban cats had eaten only cat food and a single grasshopper.

 Prey also varies on a larger scale. North American cats eat mice, ground squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, and robins. European cats take mice, voles, sparrows, and fledgling birds, taking shrews only when they are very hungry.

In southern Sweden, males catch more rabbits than do the smaller females. Kittens around the world, and adults in the tropics, eat spiders and insects. On sub antarctic islands, noddies, terns, and penguins are taken.

 In Australia, where cats were imported in order to control the introduced European rabbit, they will eat opossums, reptiles, and ground-nesting birds.

 Some cats take unusual or inedible prey in the absence of appropriate prey, or because they lack hunting experience. Cats may hunt frogs, but this is done for the thrill of the chase, and few cats will actually eat their catch.

Poisonous toads are occasionally killed by cats, with painful or fatal consequences.