Editing Cat (section)

=== Hunting and feeding ===
{{See also|Cat food}}
[[File:Kot z myszą.jpg|thumb|right|A [[deermouse]] is the prey of this domestic cat.]]
The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward into their mouths.<ref name="Reis 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Reis |first1=P. M. |last2=Jung |first2=S. |last3=Aristoff |first3=J. M. |last4=Stocker |first4=R. |year=2010 |title=How cats lap: Water uptake by ''Felis catus'' |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=330 |issue=6008 |pages=1231–1234 |bibcode=2010Sci...330.1231R |doi=10.1126/science.1195421 |pmid=21071630 |s2cid=1917972 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Kim 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=W. |last2=Bush |first2=J.W.M. |year=2012 |title=Natural drinking strategies |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/80405/2/Bush_Natural%20drinking%20strategies.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Fluid Mechanics |volume=705 |pages=7–25 |bibcode=2012JFM...705....7K |doi=10.1017/jfm.2012.122 |s2cid=14895835 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307214820/https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/80405/Bush_Natural |archive-date=7 March 2022 |access-date=23 September 2019 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1721.1/80405}}</ref>

Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell, and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed [[neophobia]]) and learn quickly to [[conditioned taste aversion|avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant]] in the past.<ref name="Bradshaw" /><ref name="Zaghini">{{cite journal |last1=Zaghini |first1=G. |last2=Biagi |first2=G. |year=2005 |title=Nutritional peculiarities and diet palatability in the cat |journal=Veterinary Res. Commun. |volume=29 |issue=Supplement 2 |pages=39–44 |doi=10.1007/s11259-005-0009-1 |pmid=16244923 |s2cid=23633719}}</ref> It is also a common misconception that all cats like milk or cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are [[lactose intolerant]]; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or [[diarrhea]].<ref name="Kienzle 1994">{{cite journal |last=Kienzle |first=E. |year=1994 |title=Blood sugar levels and renal sugar excretion after the intake of high carbohydrate diets in cats |url=http://jn.nutrition.org/content/124/12_Suppl/2563S.full.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Nutrition |volume=124 |issue=12 Supplement |pages=2563S–2567S |doi=10.1093/jn/124.suppl_12.2563S |pmid=7996238 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903163949/http://jn.nutrition.org/content/124/12_Suppl/2563S.full.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2013}}</ref> Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things such as wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, [[pica (disorder)|pica]], can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.<ref name="Bradshaw 1997">{{cite journal |last=Bradshaw |first=J. W. S. |year=1997 |title=Factors affecting pica in the domestic cat |journal=Applied Animal Behaviour Science |volume=52 |issue=3–4 |pages=373–379 |doi=10.1016/S0168-1591(96)01136-7}}</ref>

Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents,<ref name="Woods">{{cite journal |last1=Woods |first1=M. |last2=McDonald |first2=R. A. |last3=Harris |first3=S. |year=2003 |title=Predation of wildlife by domestic cats ''Felis catus'' in Great Britain |journal=Mammal Review |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=174–188 |bibcode=2003MamRv..33..174W |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2907.2003.00017.x |s2cid=42095020}}</ref> and are often used as a form of pest control.<ref>{{cite book |last=Slesnick |first=I. L. |url=https://archive.org/details/clonescatschemic00sles/page/n16 |title=Clones, Cats, and Chemicals: Thinking scientifically about controversial issues |date=2004 |publisher=NSTA Press |isbn=9780873552370 |page=9 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hill |first=D. S. |url=https://archive.org/details/pestscropswarmer00hill/page/n125 |title=Pests of Crops in Warmer Climates and their Control |date=2008 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781402067372 |edition=First |page=120 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Other common small creatures, such as lizards and snakes, may also become prey.<ref>{{cite web |last=Learn |first=Joshua Rapp |date=17 August 2018 |title=Cats Have A Killer Impact on Reptiles: Experiments in Australia reveal that kitties are catching more than birds |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/cats-kill-reptiles-populations-australia-animals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124225514/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/cats-kill-reptiles-populations-australia-animals |archive-date=24 November 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 |work=[[National Geographic Society|NationalGeographic]]}}</ref> Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or [[Ambush predator|waiting in ambush]] until an animal comes close enough to be captured.<ref name="How Cats Evolved to Win the Internet">{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=A. |year=2016 |title=How cats evolved to win the Internet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/opinion/sunday/how-cats-evolved-to-win-the-internet.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019204937/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/opinion/sunday/how-cats-evolved-to-win-the-internet.html |archive-date=19 October 2016 |access-date=13 November 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The strategy used depends on available prey, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.<ref name="Turner 2000">{{cite book |title=The Domestic Cat: The biology of its behaviour |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521636483 |editor-last1=Turner |editor-first1=D. C. |edition=2nd |editor-last2=Bateson |editor-first2=P.}}</ref>{{rp|153}} Domestic cats are a major [[Cat predation on wildlife|predator of wildlife]] in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0&nbsp;billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3&nbsp;billion mammals annually.<ref name="NC012913">{{cite journal |last1=Loss |first1=S. R. |last2=Will |first2=T. |last3=Marra |first3=P. P. |year=2013 |title=The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=4 |page=1396 |bibcode=2013NatCo...4.1396L |doi=10.1038/ncomms2380 |pmid=23360987 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Certain species appear more susceptible than others; in one English village, for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality was linked to the domestic cat.<ref name="Chucher 1987">{{cite journal |last1=Chucher |first1=P. B. |last2=Lawton |first2=J. H. |year=1987 |title=Predation by domestic cats in an English village |journal=Journal of Zoology, London |volume=212 |issue=3 |pages=439–455 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb02915.x}}</ref> In the recovery of ringed robins (''[[Erithacus rubecula]]'') and dunnocks (''[[Prunella modularis]]'') in Britain, 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation.<ref name="Mead 1982 183–186">{{cite journal |last=Mead |first=C. J. |year=1982 |title=Ringed birds killed by cats |journal=Mammal Review |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=183–186 |bibcode=1982MamRv..12..183M |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.1982.tb00014.x}}</ref> In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as [[coyote]]s, which prey on cats and other small predators, reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as [[opossum]]s and [[raccoon]]s on bird numbers and variety.<ref name="Crooks 1999">{{cite journal |last1=Crooks |first1=K. R. |last2=Soul |first2=M. E. |year=1999 |title=Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system |url=http://www38.homepage.villanova.edu/jameson.chace/Urban%20Ecology/Crooks%26Soule_Mesopredator_release.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Nature |volume=400 |issue=6744 |pages=563–566 |bibcode=1999Natur.400..563C |doi=10.1038/23028 |s2cid=4417607 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720110246/http://www38.homepage.villanova.edu/jameson.chace/Urban%20Ecology/Crooks%26Soule_Mesopredator_release.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the [[dominance hierarchy]], in which humans are reacted to as if they are at or near the top.<ref name="Leyhausen 1978">{{cite book |last=Leyhausen |first=P. |title=Cat Behavior: The predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats |date=1978 |publisher=[[Garland STPM Press]] |isbn=9780824070175 |location=New York}}</ref> Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten".<ref name="Morris Catwatching 1">{{cite book |last=Desmond |first=M. |title=Catwatching: Why cats purr and everything else you ever wanted to know |date=2002 |publisher=Ebury Press |isbn=9781409022213 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=51–52 |chapter=Why does a cat play with its prey before killing it? |access-date=25 October 2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3ysT6xTJu4C&pg=PA51 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331062240/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3ysT6xTJu4C&pg=PA51 |archive-date=31 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, though males have negligible involvement in raising kittens.<ref name="Turner 2000" />{{rp|153}}