Why Do Cats Bring Gifts To People?

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Have you ever wondered why your cat brings you gifts, whether it be prey they caught or even their favorite toys? Yesterday morning I slept in which is GREAT when the dogs let me, and when I woke up and went out into the yard I found the gift of a dead mouse at the stairs up to my deck and bird parts scattered around the yard!

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Since I woke up late, I came to the conclusion that our honorary house guest Hamish gifted me with these treasures as my cats had not yet been outside. As much as it grossed me out to be picking up dead animals around the yard, in a way I was amused that Hamish brought me these gifts. And my cats are also pretty useless when it comes to catching even a fly and just don’t seem to have the interest to hunt! Whiskers will get close to something and then just lie on the ground, eyes huge and bottom wiggling…but never actually make that next move!

Why Cats Bring You Their Prey

It is important not to yell at your cat if they bring you their prey! They are only following their instincts, and it means that they consider you a part of their pack! You can see why I was so amused that it was Hamish gifting me!

In The Wild

While cats are domesticated, their instincts are still profound and in feral cat colonies extra food is brought back and shared in order to ensure that everyone is fed. They may just be trying to make sure that they are taking care of you, even if they get are getting all their food requirements met by you. It is just one of the ways that your cat shows it cares about you!

Authority

It may also be that your cat is acknowledging your status and authority as leader of the pack! It is a great sign of respect and they are proud to bring you their catch, no matter how gross it may be to you. They just cannot understand why you aren’t happy with your gift (and believe me they are masters of reading body language so they know it).

Hunting Skills

Mother cats bring home prey that is still alive to teach their kittens how to hunt. As cats still have strong instincts, they may just be teaching you how to be a predator! Or they may simply be showing off their own prowess and hunting skills and expect you to be proud of them.

My Mom’s cats (much to her sadness) often bring home gifts for them that are still alive. There was the time that one of the cats brought a bird into the house. Her partner was there, and when he went to get it all you heard from the was “IT’S STILL ALIVE!!!” and a LOT of noise and yelling as the bird started trying to escape while he tried to catch it and release it back outside! I would love to have seen that…They also quite frequently bring home mice and occasionally shrews that are still alive and my mom tries to get them and let them have a chance to escape. But these cats clearly think that my parents have some work to do in the hunting skills area!

There was our one cat, Tosh (our dog was named Mac….Mac ‘n’ Tosh…) who had a litter of kittens. She really hadn’t done much in terms of bringing anything home until after she got pregnant! Then we would find the remains of birds all over the basement…feathers tucked under cushions and under the couch…So perhaps she was teaching her babies how to take care of themselves as we rescued her off the streets of Calgary in the middle of winter and she was never really comfortable being a full time pet.

Love

This is the big one. Your cat would not bring you a gift if they did not love you! Cats have been known to be more aloof than dogs and show they love you in different ways. And they are very aware of your reaction, so as I mentioned above about the worst thing you can do is get upset and yell at your cat for their grand gesture! And if you give them treats or attention to divert them, it can actually reinforce the behaviour so watch out…The best thing you can do is give your pat on the head and try to dispose of it without making much of a fuss.

Toys

Chester was a funny little cat, and as he was an indoor cat he would bring me toys for gifts instead of anything alive or dead (much preferred!). He would go and carefully pick out a toy and YOWL at the top of his lungs while bringing it back to you! I remember the one time we went on vacation and had someone checking in on the cats, and when we got back home there was a HUGE pile of every toy in the house stacked in a neat pile by the front door! He was waiting for us to come home and missed us!

Some cats will do this when they want you to play with them too. Gizmo loved to fetch! He would bring us his ball and sit and wait at the top of the stairs for us to throw it back down. Giz would do this as long as you would throw the toy! He also loved the little rubber arrows that came with Nerf guns and would rip through the house with them (well into the wee hours of the night…)!

What To Do If Your Cat Is Bringing Home Prey

No matter if your cat is bringing you a toy or something a little…er…less pleasant…the end result is the same. They are showing you that they love you and that you are their family! While it can be pretty gross it is instinct and natural to them! If your cat goes outside and you don’t want them to be bringing you home any presents, there are things you can do that can lessen the chance of them catching anything.

Attaching bells to your cat’s collar can alert birds and other prey that your cat is getting close. Just make sure they are breakaway collars for safety (and don’t spend too much…Whiskers loses his collars in about a week, I have learned that lesson after buying a fancy leather collar engraved with my name and number). Otherwise, your cat can be the master of a sneak attack! Hamish has a bell, but he has still managed to get lucky as he is a smart cat and has likely figured out where the birds are and lies in wait!

Leash training also is not that difficult with cats, and allows them to enjoy the outdoors under more controlled circumstances. Consider getting an escape-proof harness as they are masters of slipping a collar! Gizmo was fully leash trained and LOVED to go for walks down the street even! He knew all the neighbourhood dogs and would greet them like dogs greet dogs! It was really cute. I tried with Whiskers…with disastrous results…When I lived in my condo I tried taking him down to the park across the street for some outside time and he was terrified and would not do anything but hide his face in my lap.

Building an outdoor space for your cat is also something that is gaining in popularity! Catios are a way for your cat to be in an enclosed and controlled space while still getting some enrichment in and outside time! Catio Spaces has a variety of designs as well as custom options available. You can also buy designs right on Amazon or you can look at designing and building one on your own. There are many options out there if you have the space!

Next time your kitty shows up with a gift for you, try not to overreact! They are just following their instincts and showing how much they love having you as part of the family. It is one of the ways they show love for you, and any cat owner and lover knows that sometimes they aren’t the best at this! Try some of the methods above to lessen the chance of getting a not so nice gift, and remember to give them lots of love and praise.

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