How Cats Prepare Their Food

After the kill a cat, unless starving, will pace up and down for a while, this pause will give its system time to calm down after the excitement of the adrenalin-charged 'kill'. When the cat is ready to start eating the prey has to be converted into smaller pieces for easier swallowing. Small rodents are eaten head first, and skins, if swallowed, are regurgitated later. Some cats will leave the gall-bladder and intestines, others will just eat the entire animal.

Small birds are eaten in their entirety, with the exception of the tail and wing feathers. Medium sized birds are semi plucked before eating, with the cat plucking a few feathers, then tucking in, stopping to pluck more, before eating further. This is repeated throughout the feeding process. Larger birds demand a more systematic way of plucking, and if a cat is successful in catching a large bird, the feathers must be stripped away before it can begin to eat.

First the cat will hold down the body of the bird with its front feet, seize a clump of feathers between its teeth, then it will rip out the feathers with some force, shaking its head from side to side and spitting to clear its mouth from any attached feathers. It may pause from time to time to lick its flank fur, enabling it to rid the tongue of any last remnants ready for the next plucking action to take place.

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