When cats are in the wild, they usually follow a particular eating habit where they feed on small amounts of food throughout the day.
All animals living in the wild believe that food is the ultimate survival resource. When it comes to cats, this fact is evident because they have to hunt in order to feed and live. According to animal experts (who have studied about wild cats for long), these animals feed on a variety of different item depending on the geographical location.
With that being said, this post will go ahead to highlight what cats eat and drink while in the wild.
Small rodents and birds
According to research conducted by scientists who have examined the faces and stomach contents of most wild cats, these feline friends mostly feed on small rodents such as mice, rats, hares and rabbits as well as small birds such as sparrows and robins. According to deeper research, cats also feed on larger prey such as moles, squirrels and bats. When a cat is hunting in the wild, the degree of success is impacted by the level of experience, the body size/mass, the season and the availability of prey.
Insects and reptiles
Although this may appear somewhat insignificant, the truth is that most cats feed on insects and reptiles in large quantities in order to get full. Insects such as spiders, grasshoppers, cockroaches and lizards come with essential nutrients that are not found in any cat foods sold locally.
Puddle water
Cats are very interesting creatures. Since they’re known to be wild creatures, cats mostly search for water which has accumulated in potholes, manholes and small puddles around the garden. The reason why cats enjoy drinking natural water over “processed” tap water is due to their sensitive sense of smell which detects water preservatives such as chlorine and fluorine. A cat’s sense of smell is 14 times higher than humans meaning the water that seams odorless to us is quite irritating to cats on the other hand.
Cats eat fresh prey
Similar to the rest of the feline family, cats also feed on fresh prey which they’ve hunted by themselves. This principle classifies cats among the cleanest animals in the wild. To add on this, cats usually consume the entire prey they’ve hunted such as skin, feathers, organs and bones. Something else you need to know about the feeding habits of cats in the wild is that they don’t eat plants such as grains, vegetables or fruits. This means that when feeding your cat, you have to avoid adding large amounts of grains and plant substances to their meals.
Final thoughts
Cats enjoy feeding alone while in the wild. Quite different to how we treat them, cats mostly hunt and feed 10-15 times a day. When it comes to drinking water, cats prefer drinking natural rain water which has accumulated in small pools around the garden.
Written by Jonas Jurgella, Animal Communication Scientist and author of the Cat Language Bible – How to finally understand and speak wth your cat.
Meow Connection 
One thought on “What Do Cats Eat And Drink In The Wild?”