Why do cats play with mice or bugs before they eat them?

For kittens, it's training. The mother cat brings mice back alive for her kittens to learn to hunt, stalk, catch. I've heard that for grownup cats, hunting comes from individual stimuli, motion causes the cat to hunt(be it a mouse or wiggly toes), but when the mouse stops moving, then the next is ready to fall in place. Hunger. But, as most cats we see doing this are fed already, they just flop down and wait for it to move again, then it starts again. Cats have no actual awareness of the mouse or bug as being another living thing.


What would be crualty for humans because we are aware, is just practice for a cat, who is not.Why do cats play with mice or bugs before they eat them?
I'm a cat behaviorist...Omikronincristia鈥?is dead on.

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Why do cats play with mice or bugs before they eat them?
its instinct.
';Why do cats often appear to torture or play with their catch before killing it? There are several theories. One theory is that these cats lack confidence. They may still be wary of their prey which if not killed quickly can fight and bite back. Another theory is that domestic cats who live in a relatively rodent-free environment lack the opportunity to catch real live prey. When they finally do catch a mouse, they want to prolong the ';great'; event as much as possible.';
As in almost every feline in the animal kingdom, cats play with their prey because this enhances their hunting, ability and reflexes skills, even if they are likely old. In fact, when the female has cubs, this is the first method to teach them how to seek for preys. This kind of behavior is interesting to observe in other mammal orders such as Cetacea (killer whales) and Pinnipeds (winged foot), most exactly, leopard seal and sea lion, seem to ';play with their preys'; as well, even if they aren麓t females in nursing period.
I think cats have a way of wanting to see their food dance :)





Seriously I think that some cats are just playful by nature and when they are chasing prey, they want to spend a few minutes tormenting the victim.
try to see if there dead:-}