"Kaarl Hungus" wrote in message
. ..

"William Graham" wrote in message
. ..
:
: "Dan Espen" wrote in message
: ...
: "Garret Swayne" writes:
:
: -to not react with anger or displeasure at the sight of his kill, for
: it's
: really a "gift" that he's offering me and I don't want to appear
: "ungracious".
:
: Now this latter observation, I must say, I can't help but be
skeptical
: about. Is that really true? Or are we just stretching to ascribe
: "positive" human attributes to our feline buddies, whom we love and
: cherish?
: If cats were really "givers" by nature, I'd think they're smart
enough
to
: figure out a lot of other things we'd prefer to receive rather than a
: dead
: carcass! Seriously, is there any scientific research to suggest that
: they
: really are bringing us what they consider a "gift"?
:
: I don't think looking at it as a "gift" is the right perpective.
: As you say, it's too complex a trait to attribute to a cat.
:
: Mother cats will bring home kills for the kittens.
: That may be the basis of the evolution of the instinct.
: Instincts aren't reasoned, they are built in.
: Most likely the instinct operates in females even when they don't
: have kittens and in males even though they don't normally provide
: food for kittens.
:
: After a cat kills it's prey and eats it's fill it is no longer hungry
: and it's no longer satisfying the hunting instinct.
:
: Therefore weaker instincts are going to take over.
: It's going to return home, why not take the animal with it?
: It's not a complex behavior, it doesn't require complex motives
: to operate.
:
:
: We once had a mother cat bring home a full grown pheasant.
: Small cat, really large bird.
:
: Large birds of prey will sometimes kill cats....I had a cat who was
almost
: killed by a large osprey....It swooped down onto my rear deck while the
cat
: was sunning itself, and almost got it....Fortunately, the cat door to
our
: bedroom was right next to the cat, so it escaped inside before the bird
: could get her......but it was a close call......


I live in Florida, so I see ospreys on a daily basis. Sure, I'd hate to
tangle with one if I were a cat, but these birds aren't any larger than 5
pounds or so. I have a hard time believing that an osprey could subdue
your
average housecat.


This bird looked larger than that to me, but I didn't get a really good look
at it....I heard the thump as it hit the wooden floor of out rear deck, and
when I looked out, the cat was high-tailing it through the cat door, and the
bird was taking off again.....Perhaps it was an eagle....I'm not a bird
watcher, so I have problems identifying them....We live about a half mile
from the river (Willamette) so we get a lot of ospreys........