Le crunch!

Tablet is an experienced hunter who has killed and eaten countless small and not-so-small mammals during his 12 or 13 years. Rats are his speciality although here he's consuming a vole or a short-tailed field mouse, a process that takes him only seconds - leaving just the stomach to be stepped on with a bare foot first thing in the morning.

Note the 'garnish' ( as we call it) - the leaves or  grass that were caught up when he administered his killing bite.  Cats stalk their prey, ready themselves to pounce and then sink their teeth into the nape of the neck, forcing their fangs between the cervical vertebrae to sever the victim's spinal cord in an instant. The grip of the jaws is not relaxed until the cat feels safe to consume the catch, which often means taking it back to its lair (eg. under the kitchen table).

Anyone who lives with a cat is likely to have noticed the chattering sound emitted when puss watches birds outside the window. It means that the instinct to bite is operating the jaws, a reflex action that's not under conscious control.

When cats bring live prey into the house it's usually because they are inexperienced or not hungry. Mother cats will do it to teach their kittens and sometimes they provide a masterclass in the art of dining too. It's important for the youngsters to recognize what's edible. Errors do occur. A neighbour's fluffy hat was once captured and brought home, another time we discovered a nervous frog in the water bowl.

Tablet never makes mistakes. He's earned his keep as a rat-catcher over the years. Actually, his favourite food is shell fish and he's also very partial to melon rind.