Squirrels and cats are really not a dream team. Even your house cat still carries a lot of its ancestors in itself. Whether domestic cat or free-roaming cat, the animals have not lost the hunting instinct until today.

Squirrels and cats hardly become friends

It can be said quite clearly that all cats hunt. This is also true for your well-fed house cat. For this reason, squirrels and cats will probably never become friends. You will now say that the house cat only plays with the squirrel. At first this may be true, but at some point the fatal neck bite will inevitably follow. Even if this does not happen, playing means pure stress for the squirrel.

Can the cat kill the squirrel?

Once the squirrel has been preyed upon by the cat, it has little chance of surviving. Sure, the squirrel may appear unharmed from the outside, but this has nothing to say. Stress alone can cause the squirrel to die - even without a fatal neck bite. According to experts, the survival rate of squirrels by cats is just 20 %.

What other enemies does the squirrel have?

Not only the cat belongs to the Enemies of the squirrel. There are enough enemies in nature, so you understand why your cat can not become a friend of the squirrel. It does not matter how cuddly your cat is and how sweet it is. Sooner or later she will Squirrel hunting and bring to death. Other enemies of the squirrel are:

• Pine marten
• Weasel
• Hawks
• Buzzards
• Owls

Fortunately, it can be said that none of these enemies becomes a serious threat to the nimble squirrel, even if every now and then an animal falls victim to predators. Much too nimble, the small rodents move up the trees and also down again.

The squirrel can irritate birds of prey by running up and down logs in circular motions.

Enemies from your own kin 

Much more threatening for our red squirrel are animals from the close relatives. We are talking about the gray squirrel. This North American variety was brought to Great Britain in the 19th century. Basically, one wanted to improve the animal population. However, the consequences were fatal. The large and also strong gray squirrels have displaced the small red rodents piece by piece from their territories. Not least, gray squirrels carry a pathogen with which they can infect their fellow species. The native squirrel falls ill with the so-called squirrel pox. This disease is fatal in most cases.

Do cats specifically attack squirrels?

With wild cats this question can be answered more affirmatively than with a domestic cat. The domestic cat is fed by its owner and it prefers to roam around rather than chase a squirrel.

If your pet cat is hunting, it will bring the captured squirrel home safely and show it to you proudly. You should not encourage your cat in its behavior and ignore the prey.

Fortunately, in most cases, the squirrel will emerge victorious from an encounter with a cat. The rodent is simply too fast for most cats.