Cats are indeed predators. In fact, being a predator is your feline friend’s specialty. Although your companion may be spending everyday of his life eating cat food out of a bowl and cuddling on your lap, he is a predator by nature and has specialized eyesight to make him a more efficient hunter. Like most hunters your cat’s eyes are located on the front of its head, instead of at the sides. Having eyes at the front of the head have many advantages for a predator, including superior depth perception which is very helpful in helping your cat figure out how far he has to pounce to land on his prey while hunting.
Cats are obligate carnivores and can sever a small creature’s spinal cord in a matter of seconds. They are fast runners and can see well in the dark, making them an even bigger threat to the rodents and smaller creatures that they hunt. At just five weeks old they are full-fledged killers, hunting and successfully killing mice on their own. Cats have even been known to hunt whole islands of birds into extinction. British scientists have even theorized that a cat’s mere presence is frightening enough to stop birds from breeding, thereby driving down population size.
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