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So cats die in the wild, if they cannot catch mice for a few days? No mammal I know of dies due to food interruptions of a mere few days. This sounds wildly i
by b112 2y ago
So cats die in the wild, if they cannot catch mice for a few days?
No mammal I know of dies due to food interruptions of a mere few days. This sounds wildly inaccurate.
- jaggederest 2y agoCats hunt 20-50 times a day, with approximately a 50% success rate. No cat in an environment with any available prey goes more than a few hours without eating something. They're not like lions or other climax predators, who eat much less regularly.
- b112 2y agoThere are droughts, there are dry seasons and yes for wild cats, and cat ancestors too. Cats can go weeks without food and manage to survive, and going days during tough times is a certainty.
- jaggederest 2y agoThey'd almost never go from a full diet back to zero instantly though. If you reduce their intake over time, even a few days, they don't develop liver issues.
- ajb 2y agoThey usually won't be starting from obese though.
- jprete 2y agoI agree with the sibling comment about small cats hunting very very frequently, and I'd also add that animals cache food for exactly the reason of avoiding starvation. Small mammals also have quicker metabolisms, and their surface-to-volume ratio is worse than a large mammal so they need a steadier supply of food just to maintain their body temperature. Plenty of mammals also hibernate, and they have to fatten up ahead of time to survive it.
- b112 2y agoCats cat go weeks without food and survive. This is non optimal, but we're in the context of "do cats die without food for a day". No. Nada. Hibernation is for months, and few mammals do it. All mammals fatten up for the winter (or dry season).
- aziaziazi 2y agoRabbits can’t hold long with empty stomach, not sure if it’s a rare condition among mammals.