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Admittedly, without cat content, i.e. all the cat memes and gifs on the web, surfing would only be half as fun.
Often there is a lot of truth in the funny posts.
Cat owners know all too well what we are talking about.
Everyone knows by now that cats are afraid of cucumbers and love cardboard boxes.
However, what their hunting behavior in the wild has to do with how we care for and pamper the moulting animals at home was previously unknown.
According to a study by the UK's University of Exeter, cat owners can be divided into five types - depending on how they deal with their cats' hunting abilities.
The study results, published in the specialist magazine “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment”, were originally intended to take a closer look at the ecological footprint - or rather, paw print - of domestic cats.
For this purpose, the researchers asked 56 households in a more rural area in the south-west of England as well as in the cities of Bristol and Manchester about the behavior of their house tigers.
These are the five types of cat owners
Everyone who lets their cat out from time to time has probably already experienced this: at some point the velvet paws come home with a hunting trophy.
A dead mouse, a pigeon, or a sparrow.
In their study, the biologists at the University of Exeter asked female and male cat owners how they deal with the typical hunting instinct of their pets.
Do they forbid it or do they let nature run wild?
Most UK owners wanted their cats to roam freely outside and refused to keep them indoors to prevent the hunt.
Dr.
Sarah Crowley, Director of Studies, University of Exeter
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As the first type, the scientists identified the so-called “
conscientious overseer
” - those keepers who don't like to see Felix the cat proudly carrying the dead sparrow into the kitchen.
Most of all, they are concerned about the impact their pets have on wildlife in their immediate vicinity.
Most of all, they keep their cats indoors and make sure they hunt less.
Helicopter parents, so to speak.
The exact opposite of this is the "
Freedom Defender
".
This guy gives his pussies a free hand.
They are allowed to develop freely, roam and also give in to their hunting instinct.
In their opinion, it is in their nature.
Many of these cat owners see their pets as natural pest fighters.
Source: Unsplash.com/Jonas Vincent
The “
concerned protectors
” can be classified somewhere in between.
Most of them are concerned that something will happen to their big boys if they roam free outside.
That is why the four-legged friends have to spend most of their time in the apartment or house - to the advantage of many birds, fish and mice in the immediate vicinity.
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The “
tolerant guardians
”
, on the other hand, are rather ambivalent
.
Such pet owners find it okay that cats naturally hunt, but they are a little annoyed by it.
Perhaps because they received a tattered bird corpse as a "gift" a few times too often.
Finally, a very special group are the “
laissez-faire supporters
”: They simply do not care what their cat is up to and what influence it has on other animals in the wild.
Whether out of sheer disinterest or ignorance, the study does not provide any information.
Many want to let their cats roam around - but without a prey trophy, please
Source: Unsplash.com/Andrew Umansky
So although basically all cat owners would like to let their velvet paws romp around outdoors, only one guy in the study rated their hunting behavior positively.
That suggests that the rest may be interested in reducing the hunt in some way.
Dr.
Sarah Crowley, Director of Studies, University of Exeter
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In the study, some owners stated what exactly they were doing to keep their cats and tomcat from receiving an unwanted hunting trophy.
Many use bell collars, which of course make it difficult for kitties to sneak up on a potential victim undetected.
Colorful collars on the collar should also help: they are not only damn conspicuous, but also take away some of the cats' stalking abilities.
Most pet cats kill very few wild animals.
With around 14.8 million velvet paws in 23 percent of German households, the number of birds, small mammals and reptiles caught can add up.
By the way: You can easily find out which type of cat owner you are. The UK researchers at the University of Exeter have put together a quiz in English that you can take from the comfort of your home.
This article was first published in September 2020.