Dr. Karolina Westlund

Yeah. So the common house cat that we have today as a pet evolved as a solitary hunter, but that aggregates in social groups, loose social groups. So they sort of hang out together, but it's not this really... cohesive group and they hunt on their own, so they'll eat on their own also. And me as an ethologist, what I tend to do when I look at an animal species is I look at three things.

I look at their social environment. So typically with cats, I would then say that they, you know, they should, if they are raised well, so they've had the opportunity of spending enough time with mom, typically it should be up to 14 weeks, which I think that we see that in Sweden nowadays. I don't know how it is here in the US, but that seems to be...

I look at their social environment. So typically with cats, I would then say that they, you know, they should, if they are raised well, so they've had the opportunity of spending enough time with mom, typically it should be up to 14 weeks, which I think that we see that in Sweden nowadays. I don't know how it is here in the US, but that seems to be...

I look at their social environment. So typically with cats, I would then say that they, you know, they should, if they are raised well, so they've had the opportunity of spending enough time with mom, typically it should be up to 14 weeks, which I think that we see that in Sweden nowadays. I don't know how it is here in the US, but that seems to be...

long enough for the animal to actually learn how to be a cat so that they don't get too emotionally disturbed by the separation once we wean them and sort of put them in a new environment. So just looking at the social bit is one thing that I do, the first thing that I do. The second thing that I do is I look at how do they get food. So again, cats are solitary hunters.

long enough for the animal to actually learn how to be a cat so that they don't get too emotionally disturbed by the separation once we wean them and sort of put them in a new environment. So just looking at the social bit is one thing that I do, the first thing that I do. The second thing that I do is I look at how do they get food. So again, cats are solitary hunters.

long enough for the animal to actually learn how to be a cat so that they don't get too emotionally disturbed by the separation once we wean them and sort of put them in a new environment. So just looking at the social bit is one thing that I do, the first thing that I do. The second thing that I do is I look at how do they get food. So again, cats are solitary hunters.

So I would look into ways of, and they, as opposed to dogs, cats typically retain the whole hunting sequence. Sometimes the killing bite isn't quite there, but certainly the grab bite. And the fact that some cats will, if it's an outdoor cat, that they might bring their prey back home is to me, it's not that they want to gift you with their kill, but rather that they feel safe.

So I would look into ways of, and they, as opposed to dogs, cats typically retain the whole hunting sequence. Sometimes the killing bite isn't quite there, but certainly the grab bite. And the fact that some cats will, if it's an outdoor cat, that they might bring their prey back home is to me, it's not that they want to gift you with their kill, but rather that they feel safe.

So I would look into ways of, and they, as opposed to dogs, cats typically retain the whole hunting sequence. Sometimes the killing bite isn't quite there, but certainly the grab bite. And the fact that some cats will, if it's an outdoor cat, that they might bring their prey back home is to me, it's not that they want to gift you with their kill, but rather that they feel safe.

So they're simply bringing their prey to a place where they feel safe.

So they're simply bringing their prey to a place where they feel safe.

So they're simply bringing their prey to a place where they feel safe.

I wouldn't say – I would not call that a gift, no.

I wouldn't say – I would not call that a gift, no.

I wouldn't say – I would not call that a gift, no.

Would the cat put them in the shoes or would the mice hide in the shoes?

Would the cat put them in the shoes or would the mice hide in the shoes?

Would the cat put them in the shoes or would the mice hide in the shoes?

I would not assume that they were gifts. No, no. From what I know, cats will sort of bring back what they catch to a place where they feel safe.