How do I stop my cat hunting birds and mice?
The best tested ways to cut how much a pet cat hunts are a high meat diet and short daily play sessions. In a controlled trial in English households, switching to a high meat protein, grain free food reduced the number of animals cats caught and brought home by 36 percent, and adding 5 to 10 minutes of object play a day reduced it by 25 percent (Cecchetti et al. 2021). Brightly colored collar covers cut birds brought home by 42 percent, while the evidence on bells is mixed. Keeping a cat indoors, especially at night, stops hunting outdoors altogether.
Why do pet cats hunt even when they are well fed?
Hunting is a built in part of being a cat, and a full bowl does not switch it off. Play uses the same stalk, chase and pounce sequence, which is one reason play is worth testing as a substitute. Owners also tend to see only part of it: studies count the prey a cat brings home, and the true number caught is higher, because some prey is eaten or left outside.
How much do cats hunt?
It varies hugely from cat to cat. A UK survey of 553 cats with outdoor access, followed for up to 43 months between 2018 and 2021, recorded 7,013 prey brought home (Lockwood, Bulling and Huck 2025). That works out to a mean of 1.5 prey per cat per month, but in 64 percent of the recorded months a cat brought home nothing, and the median was zero. A handful of "super predators" did most of the damage: eight cats averaged 10 or more prey a month, and three brought home more than 15. Most prey (83 percent) were mammals such as mice and voles, with birds making up about 16 percent. Male cats brought home more prey than females, and more prey came home in summer and spring than in autumn and winter.
The scale matters because there are so many cats. A 2013 review in Nature Communications estimated that free ranging cats in the United States kill 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals a year, with unowned cats responsible for most of it (Loss, Will and Marra 2013).
Does a high meat diet stop cats hunting?
It helped in the best trial so far. Martina Cecchetti, Robbie McDonald and colleagues at the University of Exeter ran a controlled, replicated trial in which households tried different changes and recorded every animal their cats brought home, compared with control households and with the period before the change. Households that switched to a high meat protein, grain free food saw a 36 percent fall in prey brought home. The trial measured the effect, not the reason for it. Talk to your vet before changing food, especially for a cat with kidney disease or other health conditions; see our cat nutrition guide.
Does playing with your cat reduce hunting?
Yes, in the same trial. Households that added 5 to 10 minutes of daily object play, with the cat chasing and catching a toy, saw a 25 percent fall in prey brought home (Cecchetti et al. 2021). Use a wand toy that moves like prey, let the cat catch it at the end, and keep sessions short and regular; more ideas are in our cat behavior guide. Not every enrichment idea worked: introducing a puzzle feeder actually raised prey brought home by 33 percent in that trial.
Do bells on collars stop cats hunting?
The evidence points both ways. In a 2002 study near Carnforth, Lancashire, 21 owners recorded prey for 8 weeks with their cats wearing a bell for only half the time. Cats brought home a mean of 2.9 items in their 4 belled weeks compared with 5.5 without a bell, and there was no sign that they learned to work around it (Ruxton, Thomas and Wright 2002). But in the 2021 Exeter trial, bells had no discernible effect. And in the 2025 UK survey, cats that wore bells actually brought home more prey. The authors point out that their survey compared different cats rather than the same cat with and without a bell, and that owners may fit bells to cats that are already keen hunters. A bell is cheap and may help some cats, but do not rely on it alone.
Do bright collar covers protect birds?
They help with birds but not with mice. In the Exeter trial, Birdsbesafe collar covers (a brightly colored fabric ruff) reduced birds caught and brought home by 42 percent but had no discernible effect on mammals (Cecchetti et al. 2021). Any collar should be a quick release (breakaway) type so a cat cannot get caught by it.
What else can owners do?
- Limit outdoor time, especially between dusk and dawn. The 2025 survey found cats with access to a cat flap brought home more prey, mainly mammals; the authors note that a cat's outdoor time is easier to limit without a cat flap, and link the effect to mammal activity between dusk and dawn.
- Offer an indoor life with plenty to do if your cat is happy with it: climbing places, hiding spots such as boxes, scratching posts and regular play. See cat care basics.
- Never punish a cat for bringing prey home. It will not understand, and it adds stress.
Cat hunting FAQ
What is the best way to stop my cat hunting?
Keeping a cat indoors stops outdoor hunting. For cats that go outside, the best tested changes are a high meat protein food (36 percent fewer prey brought home in a 2021 trial) and 5 to 10 minutes of daily play (25 percent fewer), plus a bright collar cover to protect birds.
Do bells stop cats killing birds?
Results are mixed. A 2002 study found cats brought home about half as many prey while wearing a bell, but a 2021 trial found no clear effect, and a 2025 UK survey found belled cats brought home more prey, possibly because owners bell their keenest hunters.
Why does my cat bring me dead animals?
Hunting is normal cat behavior even in well fed pets, and some cats carry their catch home. In a large UK survey, most months a cat brought nothing home, but a few cats brought home more than 15 prey a month.
Does feeding my cat more stop it hunting?
Quantity alone has not been shown to work, but the type of food may matter: in a controlled trial, a high meat protein, grain free food cut prey brought home by 36 percent. Check with your vet before changing diet.
Sources
- Cecchetti M., Crowley S.L., Goodwin C.E.D., McDonald R.A. (2021) Provision of high meat content food and object play reduce predation of wild animals by domestic cats Felis catus. Current Biology 31(5):1107 to 1111.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.044
- Ruxton G.D., Thomas S., Wright J.W. (2002) Bells reduce predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus). Journal of Zoology 256(1):81 to 83. doi:10.1017/S0952836902000109
- Lockwood H.L., Bulling M., Huck M. (2025) What the cat dragged in: quantifying prey return rates of pet cats (Felis catus) with outdoor access in the UK. Ecology and Evolution 15(3):e71063. doi:10.1002/ece3.71063
- Loss S.R., Will T., Marra P.P. (2013) The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications 4:1396. doi:10.1038/ncomms2380
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General education, not veterinary advice. If you are worried about your cat, contact your veterinarian; in an emergency, go to the nearest emergency vet.